Everyone's favorite billionaire/ecorapist/Tea Party rabble rouser, Charles Koch, jotted off a quick note to National Review Online's Corner in response to Warren Buffet's Stop Coddling the Super-Rich column.
While Mr. Koch's graf-sized manifesto is unlikely to get the play Mr. Buffet's column did, it is notable in that Mr. Koch at no time disputes Buffet's contention that the uber-wealthy pay less of their income in taxes than do their "help," nor the basic unfairness of that arrangement.
Koch's message is simple: "I should pay as little as possible if I don't like how government works."
No, really. Here's Koch's statement in toto:
“Much of what the government spends money on does more harm than good; this is particularly true over the past several years with the massive uncontrolled increase in government spending. I believe my business and non-profit investments are much more beneficial to societal well-being than sending more money to Washington. — Charles G. Koch, Chairman and CEO, Koch Industries, Inc."
While Koch's statement doesn't really address the issues Buffett laid on the table, it is a fascinating window into a (thankfully) rare kind of mind.
To paraphrase: "What I want to do with my money is inherently better than how the government spends money, so it's fair that my secretary should pay more in taxes than I."
A small bit, from a small man, unworthy of very much attention, but I found Mr. Koch's reasoning so very illustrative of the views of his microclass as to be noteworthy.