Unfortunately they miss the point . Young entrepreneurs use every dollar of capital to build and expand their business. Perhaps the above mentioned were publicly capitalized or inheritors. MOST are not.

Each of these people are free to write a check to the federal government in excess of whatever they may owe. Have they done that yet? I doubt it. Vilifying those who make money and create jobs is the President Obama's favorite thing to do, shame on these guys for helping him.

The Buffet Rule is a ruse to raise the capital gains tax, as the rich people pay a lower rate usually because their income is made up predominantly from capital gains. But it is about election year politics, and not about serious efforts to reduce our deficit. "Fairness" is the ultimate virtue being displayed here, at the expense of basic economics. Lower cap gains rates raise MORE in tax revenue than higher cap gains rates-this has been shown many times. But President Obama famously told Charlie Gibson in an interview in 2008 that it does not matter to him that revenue would be lower. Fairness, he said, was more important. Especially in an election year.

If Mr. Villers wants to give more money for the public, good charities abound....The Pine Street Inn comes to mind.....Who ever said LIFE WAS FAIR.... I always wanted to be tall. I would have liked blond hair.... Blonds have more fun. I would have liked to have come up with an idea that would garner me millions..... I didn't but ---I am not JEALOUS OF THOSE THAT DID...... GET OVER YOUR JEALOUSY.....Stop coveting your neighbors goods. And another thing--- with the government track record do you really think the money taken will be out to good use or will it be squandered and actually add to the TRILLION DOLLAR DEFICIT.

NHCabin, You said it all, especially the last sentence.

The system is rigged. About time that millionaires paid a fair share.

I recall some of the Massachusetts Democrat millionnaires opposing ballot questions that cut or limited taxes on working people, like Proposition 2 1/2. Guess they can't relate to us. I agree with Reagan Repub: if they want to pay more, they should feel free to pay more. But as NH cabin says, there are better ways to do it than give it to the government. One national billionnaire and his wife buy open space for Nevada's wild horses.

It's interesting to me that the ones who seem to be most willing to "give more" not only generally haven't yet proactively written a check as one poster aptly pointed out but they are also seem to be the ones who are minimally effected by an increase in the rate. Be they retired or already have more than enough in reserves that the increase won't negatively impact them. The "sharing marbles" comment in the article was a great example of this.

This "Buffett Rule" is the most blatant canard a candidate has ever attempted to foist on the public. The problem with government, at all levels, is that it is spending at a completely unsustainable rate. Obama is using this ploy to deflect the fact that he has no proposal to reign in spending. You can take all the wealth of the top 1% in this country and it won't fund the government for a month. That the Globe is in the business of facilitating this nonsense is, unfortunately, par for the course. As others below have mentioned, nothing stops the Buffetts and Villers of the world from giving the government money. Yet Buffett himself will leave his assets to a tax free trust which will fund HIS preferred causes and not expand government coffers. The shear audacity of this ongoing meme is unbelievable. By all means, if you believe the government spends money more wisely than other organizations FUND IT. However, don't drag the rest of us down a path with which, we have no confidence. Both Canada and Sweden (which had its own banking crisis not too long ago) have reduced their government spending and have, since, prospered. Spending more will not revive the economy. The economy will improve when investors believe the government is serious about controlling its budget and not a moment before that.

Fine. raise and lower all the other brackets

I got an idea. If millionaires want to pay more taxes, why wait until the tax increase is authorized. Pay the increase now, voluntarily.

I read these comments. Some must double check their english and typos. Others don't. Suggestion: Write your comment first in your word processor, correct it there,then paste it to the comment section. I should do it, too.

These guys are all two-faced. if they want to pay more taxes, they can just write in the additional amounts on their returns. No tox code changes needed. The issue here is they want EVERYONE ELSE to be forced to pay more taxes. They just ought to say that. The government has a terrible spending problem, it is spending too, about 40% too much. All the energy about raising taxes is a waste of effort, and a distraction from what needs to happens: serious and real spending cuts.

Dear Mr. Vilkers, Please make the check out to "U.S. Treasury" and thank you for your patriotism. Unfortunately, your contribution will only pay for a few moments of the government machine. But, hey, it's only fair.