New Language Needed To Describe Wealthy

During the current debate over extending the Bush Tax Cuts, President Obama and the Democrats have used the language of divisiveness to scorn the "wealthy" and "rich." The echo chambers in the media have followed suit, equating tax breaks for upper income earners with moral corruption.

Unfortunately, the Republicans have been equally inept in the language of debate. Too many have lapsed into Democrat-speak, also referring to our most successful citizens as "wealthy" and "rich." It would appear they are frightened of being accused of siding with robber barons.

The problem is that no one inside the Washington Beltway or in media has ever identified who the wealthy are. They are nameless and faceless to most Americans. Pressed to name a wealthy person, many would tick-off the names of Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Labron James or Oprah Winfrey.

But those are the super rich, who make up less than one-hundredth of one percent of the population. By the Democrats' definition, the "wealthy" are those whose incomes exceed $250,000 per year. Most are hard-working people who should be celebrated instead of reviled for making too much money.

Who are these "wealthy?" They are entrepreneurs, paper product salespeople, furniture store owners, motel owners, college deans, lawyers, doctors, community college presidents, city administrators, chiefs of police, authors, farmers, real estate brokers, newspaper publishers and even the President of the United States.

Two-income families make up the bulk of households earning $250,000 or more. In some cases, a husband and wife both have mid-level management jobs, hardly the career choice of millionaires. But when you combine the two incomes, the earnings throw the couple into the category of the "rich." Yet most would tell you they are anything but wealthy.

The Democrats and their president like to rail about how unfair it would be if these so-called wealthy got tax breaks. However, they always fail to mention that the top 50 percent of wage earners in the country pay 96.03 percent of all taxes. In addition, 51.6 million Americans paid no taxes in 2008 and their numbers are growing.

It is time for the media, the Democrats and the President to come clean. The wealthy already pay the lion's share of taxes in the country. They are carrying the burden of millions who pay no taxes. As a country, we owe these taxpayers a debt of gratitude, not a public flogging.

The way to change this debate is for Republicans and the rest of us to insist we stop calling people "rich" and "wealthy." We should refer to these high wage earners as "the most successful," the "smartest among us," the "go-getter's," "the finest entrepreneurs," or the "talented achievers."

If we are ever going to get true tax equity in the U.S., we need to exorcise the words "wealthy" and "rich" from our vocabulary. Otherwise, the nation will never rise above petty politics to address paying for the fiscal excesses of the Obama Administration.