Paul Krugman is Part of "The Rest of Us"? I Don't Think So

Hmmm. Paul Krugman, Ph.D. (from MIT) and now a Princeton professor, actually is jus' plain folks. No, he doesn't like those millionaires, and he realizes that if the top tax rate is lifted from 35 percent to 39.6 percent, not only will the economy get a boost, but those strange, rich people will get their comeuppance.

This is hilarious. But, Krugman is making the claim, not me. He writes:

You see, the rich are different from you and me: they have more influence. It’s partly a matter of campaign contributions, but it’s also a matter of social pressure, since politicians spend a lot of time hanging out with the wealthy. So when the rich face the prospect of paying an extra 3 or 4 percent of their income in taxes, politicians feel their pain — feel it much more acutely, it’s clear, than they feel the pain of families who are losing their jobs, their houses, and their hopes.

Sorry, people, Krugman the populist doesn't cut it. I've met the guy, talked to him at length, and I can tell you that he ain't plain folks. If there ever were an elitist, it is Krugman.

Let's get serious about wealth. Krugman is a millionaire, and I suspect that his mid-six-figure salary at Princeton perhaps may pay some of his taxes. This guy makes millions of dollars a year from his speeches (I don't know his fee, but it probably is close to $100K a pop), his NYT column, his textbooks, and his other books.

Keep in mind that I am not criticizing him for making this money. Granted, the textbook market is not a free market as such, but most of his wealth is earned the old-fashioned way: He sells products and services to willing customers.

However, when Krugman tries to tell us that "other" rich are bad people (unless they are like George Soros, who funds a gaggle of left-wing organizations), he fails to mention that he is wealthier than many of the people he claims should have their income confiscated in large chunks because, well, they don't spend their money quickly enough.

There is another problem as well, and that is Krugman's insistence that if government keeps the top marginal tax rate at 35 percent, it is "giving" something to the wealthy. Let me give an analogy. Say that I break into Krugman's house with a few of my armed friends, and I take his big-screen TV, some furniture, and other nice things.

However, I decide that I will not take Krugman's new laptop. Now according to Krugman's view of the world, I am "giving" him a laptop because I have not confiscated it. (Yes, breaking and entering a house and taking the contents is theft; when the government breaks into and enters your bank account, that is called "taxation.")

So, if Krugman is going to get angry at all of those rich people, then I hope that if the tax rates are left at 35 percent, he will voluntarily give the portion that was not taxed (since he is in that tax bracket himself) and give it either to the government or to a worthy charity, or to the poor.