Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman made the case this morning that Americans are very open to raising taxes on the rich despite protestations from billionaires — and many Republicans — to the contrary.
And his conclusions seem to be supported by numerous public opinion surveys conducted over the past two weeks.
The New York Times columnist wrote in a morning tweetstorm that a Washington Post article he cites shows that there has been a “profound shift” in the way that American voters view proposals to shift more of the tax burden on the rich. He points out that an increasing number of people are much more comfortable talking about it now than they have been for many years.
According to Krugman,
“Suddenly, taxing the rich is on the political agenda. Candidates are talking frankly about taxes as a way to limit inequality in a way we haven’t seen for decades. But why is this happening now? The WaPo says there’s a ‘profound shift in public mood’.”
Using charts showing tax rates, the prominent economist went on explain,
“The public has *always* favored higher taxes on the rich — which also makes nonsense of claims that Dems are moving too far left on this issue. But obviously something has changed. It looks as if the veto power of the 1% over taxes has eroded.”
He then posed a question to political scientists as to why attitudes have changed, before adding, “In a way the question is why soaking the rich wasn’t on the agenda before — at least explicitly.“
Suddenly, taxing the rich is on the political agenda. Candidates are talking frankly about taxes as a way to limit inequality in a way we haven't seen for decades. But why is this happening now? The WaPo says there's a "profound shift in public mood" 1/ https://t.co/LG8SyIvTTm read more