millionaires

But it does bear repeating:

Let me suggest two areas in which it would make a lot of sense to raise taxes in earnest, not just return them to pre-Bush levels: taxes on very high incomes and taxes on financial transactions.

Taxing investment gains at the same rate as wages and salaries would also be a welcome improvement. It's obscene that we have disparity in tax rates for these two sources of income.

Over at Art Pope Exposed there is a story touching on Pope's connection to the new Tea Party favorite, Herman 'thin crust' Cain.

In my 37 years as a North Carolina resident, I've witnessed our state embrace some of the best things America has had to offer. From visionary initiatives to preserve our natural environment to strategic investments in public education, North Carolina has been a magnet for innovation and progress, well ahead of the curve in comparison to other states. We have attracted people and ideas from all around the world, resulting in our consistent leadership among the top states for businesses to grow and prosper.

With the Republican takeover of the General Assembly last year, that remarkable reputation was trashed into oblivion. In the span of a single legislative session, radicals like Phil Berger and Thom Tillis imported regressive policies from states like Texas, South Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi, states that have long scraped the bottom of the barrel on issues important to most North Carolina families.

Instead of asking multi-millionaires to pay an extra penny in taxes, extremist Republicans have rammed through a budget that is systemically dismantling our state's leadership position in education, environment, and equality. From special favors for special interests to a full-fledged assault on women and family planning, Republican radicals are taking North Carolina in the wrong direction fast.

If you thought it couldn't happen here, you were wrong. It is happening here.

Via Ed Cone, without comment:

For the 400 U.S. taxpayers with the highest adjusted gross income, the effective federal income tax rate—what they actually pay—fell from almost 30 percent in 1995 to just under 17 percent in 2007, according to the IRS. And for the approximately 1.4 million people who make up the top 1 percent of taxpayers, the effective federal income tax rate dropped from 29 percent to 23 percent in 2008. It may seem too fantastic to be true, but the top 400 end up paying a lower rate than the next 1,399,600 or so.

Just shut up and fire some teachers, because we all know that revenue is not part of the budget equation.

Americans for Prosperity has learned that Governor Perdue is planning to veto “The Balanced Budget Act of 2011,”a bill that makes modest and necessary spending cuts to this years budget to help close a 2.7 billion dollar projected defecit [sic] in next years budget without raising taxes.