The Media Millionaires for Higher Taxes Award

Host Christiane Amanpour: “Some 75 percent of Americans agree with an increase in tax on millionaires as a way to pay for these jobs provisions. Do you not feel that by opposing it you’re basically out of step with the American people on this issue?...Are you concerned that these budget cuts are going to hurt the people who can least afford it?...There doesn’t seem to be the sense amongst people here that the sacrifice is being shared because they point to taxes and tax cuts and who it benefits and who it doesn’t.”

House Speaker John Boehner: “Come on! The top one percent pay 38 percent of the income taxes in America. How much more do you want them to pay?”

“Why do these rich people need another tax cut? I mean, they’re already rich. They seem to be doing pretty well as it is now. Why cut their taxes some more?...If the country needs to borrow 40 cents of every dollar that it spends, how do you help that by reducing the amount of taxes that the richest people in the country pay? It would seem to me that’s where you get revenue.”

“Grover, you’re the eye of the tiger in all this. People take their lead from you on the Republican side and you’ve been intransigent: ‘There will be no tax increases.’ Most impartial observers outside of America say that is crazy, and you have got to change your attitude to this and allow some tax increases.”

“Good evening. It’s a fair question to ask, and for a while now Americans have been wondering how lawmakers in Washington could possibly extend tax breaks for wealthy Americans while allowing benefits for jobless Americans to be cut off.”

“Tax increases should not be off the table. I don’t know why it is that he somehow suggests the rich in the country have no obligation to support the country....Remember, that there’s been extension of the Bush tax cuts. And you’re going on as if, ‘you know what, we don’t know in America how to help our own deficit problems.’ We do. We just have to tax people.”

“George H. W. Bush had the courage, knowing it might cost him re-election, knowing for sure it would cost him support with his conservative base, to violate the central domestic policy pledge of his campaign, ‘read my lips, no new taxes.’...There are some people now saying that we need a moment like that and that the Republicans should give President Obama some tax increases as long as they get from him significant spending cuts and a big deficit reduction package. Should the Republicans learn from George H.W. Bush and sit down with the President and cut a deal?”

“Finding a way to raise taxes may well be the central political problem facing the United States.”