Money Minute: GOP holds the line on protecting the rich [Video]

Our Republican friends have once again made it clear: Rich people shouldn’t pay more taxes.

The so-called Buffett rule collapsed in the Senate as Democrats failed to convince enough of their GOP colleagues to cross the aisle and end a filibuster. Only one Republican, Susan Collins of Maine, voted in favor of bringing the legislation to a vote.

It would have required people making more than $1 million a year to pay a tax rate of at least 30%. The rule is named for billionaire Warren Buffett, who has repeatedly pointed out that his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does. President Obama’s secretary pays more than her boss as well.

But Republican lawmakers say the Buffett rule is nothing more than a political gimmick that would do more harm than good -- i.e. punish all those well-meaning job creators.

I don’t know. Seems to me that job creators aren’t doing a whole lot at the moment, job-creation-wise, paying tax rates akin to the 15% or so that millionaire GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney pays.

Many wealthy people now pay about the same tax rate as the middle class, and job growth has been tepid at best. So how would having the rich pay a bit more (in accordance with their deeper pockets) be such a bad thing?

Isn’t that what a progressive tax system is all about?