MSNBC Discovers Billionaire Taxes are an Ancient Idea – Not a New One
MSNBC, ever the intrepid explorers of rediscovered history, has informed us that the idea of taxing billionaires is, get this, *older than you think*. Their opinion piece, 'The case for taxing billionaires is older than you think,' cites Thomas Paine’s advocacy for social welfare through progressive taxation. Truly stunning insight, considering mainstream outlets rarely champion such taxation
unless it's a historical curiosity. While MSNBC breathlessly reports on historical calls for 'equitable distribution,' they often downplay or ignore modern legislative efforts, or the corporate lobbying that stifles them (Lobbying outlays hit $4.2 billion in 2023, according to OpenSecrets.org, much of it from big corporations). One might wonder where this historical curiosity was when Congress
debated the Child Tax Credit, or when various billionaires like Jeff Bezos paid minimal federal income tax some years, as ProPublica exposed in 2021. It's almost as if discussing taxing the rich is palatable only when it’s safely ensconced in powdered wigs and primary sources, rather than confronting the active campaign finance system, funded by these same billionaires, that ensures modern tax
reform remains a theoretical exercise. The case for taxing billionaires might be old, but MSNBC's willingness to publish on it as 'breaking news' conveniently ignores the enduring, self-serving resistance to it.