Rich can afford to pay a bit more

There's a big fight going on in Congress, and it's because Republicans have made a pledge to Grover Norquist to not raise taxes. If they do nothing, on Jan. 1, the 2001 Bush tax cuts will expire and we'll all pay more income tax.

President Barack Obama wants to make those tax cuts permanent for 98 percent of American people. He said, "Nobody's income taxes will go up on the first $250,000 of income. Even people making $200 million will be getting a break on the first $250,000." Income higher than that will be taxed at the same rate as before the Bush tax cuts in 2001, meaning the highest bracket would go from 35 percent to 39.6 percent. Our country has had much higher tax rates than that in the past. The president's plan for a balanced approach will increase taxes on the wealthy and make cuts in expenditures.

When the Republicans say they'll put "revenue on the table" it means they'll cut deductions and that might be our home mortgage deduction. Considering the amount of money the wealthy donated to try to elect Mitt Romney, I think they can afford a 4 percent increase to help our country.

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