The percent of taxes paid and the total amount of income taxes paid are two separate things. Most people don’t know that at every level of government, the upper income people pay the vast majority of income taxes when measured in dollars. So, you can gripe about the rich, but they pay a lot of tax dollars. If the state tax upper income tax rates rise too much, you risk driving them to another state. If the federal tax upper income rates rise too much, you risk driving them into non-productive tax shelters. One has to find the right balance.

We are now in an era of populism. The media is taking advantage of it by covering and publishing populist stories to help their ratings. Most politicians are trying to use it to their advantage to win elections.

One thing to know about Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, is he knows his numbers — stone cold. He may not be the most sensitive communicator, but he knows his numbers. I don’t work for him, but I have seen him in action once. He rattled off numbers to a major state legislator about the state of the city’s finances. He knew exactly where the city’s revenues were coming from (Broadway, restaurants, tourism, etc.) and he knew the state of those businesses. The interesting thing is this legislator acted like they didn’t even care, even though all their constiuents live in New York City. But Mr. Bloomberg knew the facts, and that was impressive.

I guess you dont’ get to be a self-made billionaire without knowing about revenues and how you get them.