VELSHI: Before the break, I asked you how much of the incomes of richest Americans that they had to give to the government back in the early 1960s. Back then the top personal income tax rate was a staggering 91 percent. So much for the good old days. Right now of course we're quibbling over 35 percent, the current top, rate versus 39.6 percent, the top rate, if the Bush era cuts aren't renewed. The White House wants to keep the cuts for households earning a quarter of a million dollars or less. But Republicans and some Democrats want to keep the lower rates for everyone. By the way, at a cost to the economy of about $700 billion. Although some argue that is offset by the job creation that will happen as a result of tax cuts. Coming down on the White House side is a group called Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength - quite a name. Though it's money out of their own pockets, 47 well-off American's have signed an online letter that says in part, quote; we understand that cutting our taxes will increase the deficit and the debt burden carried by other taxpayers. The country needs to meet its financial obligations in a just and responsible way, unquote. Now, 47 people are a minuscule faction of millionaires and millionaires are a minuscule fraction of the U.S. population - but not of our elected representatives. This raise my taxes campaign came out the same day that the Center for Responsive Politics reported on the wealth of members of Congress based on their own financial disclosure statement. In 2009, 261 lawmakers, almost half, were millionaires. Lawmakers' median wealth? $911,000, up 16 percent from the year before. Senators as a whole had a better year than House members, almost $2.4 million in median net worth compared to $765,000 for the House. In just two weeks, four million Americans could use their unemployment benefits. Why? And why the number of people affected is actually a whole lot bigger than you might think. Next in "YOUR $$$$$."
Millionaires Urge To Raise Their Taxes