Warren Buffett's 8/14 op-ed piece in the NY Times is all over the media. For all of the 'socialists' out there it is heartening to hear quotes like: "My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It's time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice."

I've been advocating this for years and am particularly frustrated by the Republican congressional bloc which has refused to consider raising any revenue to reduce the deficit or pay for job creation.

I am as puzzled by their intransigence as I am by the arguments posted here supporting the coddling of the billionaires. The standard explanations are that taxing the wealthy will deprive them of their ability to create jobs, or that it's just 'un-american' or 'socialistic' to tax some people more than others.

I'm anxious to read anyone's really cogent argument against raising taxes for the "mega-rich", as Buffett calls them. And it would be great to see any facts or figures supporting the case.

Also, as long as we're on the subject, I'd like to see a government report or estimate of the amount of revenue which would result from using the Buffett formula of increased payroll and capital gains taxes on those earning over 1 million a year. My wild guess is that the amount of new revenue would be head-turning. But even if it didn't make a large short-term dent in the deficit, it would certainly help. Maybe more important, it would be a morale boost for most Americans, whom Buffett agrees, have to struggle to support themselves.