The next time Bernie Sanders accuses Joe Biden of being in the pocket of billionaires, he should respond in the following fashion:
- He agrees with Sanders that billionaires have too much political influence in this country. That is why he supports a constitutional amendment mandating public funding of political campaigns.
- He also agrees with Sanders that billionaires are undertaxed as the result of a series of misguided GOP tax cuts over the last 40 years. He supports higher taxes on the wealthy in order to fund programs that will benefit struggling workers and the middle class.
- Finally, he agrees with Sanders that measures should be taken to eliminate billionaires who do not earn their wealth. He consequently believes that the estate tax should be increased substantially, and that capital gains taxes should be reformed, as well.
- He does not agree that a wealth tax is an appropriate mechanism to tax billionaires, as it is both unconstitutional and impractical.
- He does not agree that the existence of billionaires is an inherent threat to the operation of the economic and political systems. We need to maintain adequate incentives to promote excellence and innovation in this country. Would the country be better off today without the innovations provided by, for example, Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos? They are billionaires for a good reason. They need to pay their fair share, but no more.