A tax-raiser's guide

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The life of an ex-president is good. Since leaving the White House the Clintons have earned $109 million. But it's hard being liberal multi-millionaires.

The money just won't stop. Consultants pay dearly for Bill Clinton's "advice" to help foreign governments influence Washington. Associations toss tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars at him to give one speech. What could the Clintons do? It would be impolite to stop people from stuffing their wallets.

Even worse, when they give away money — including to their own "charity," the Clinton Family Foundation — their taxes fall even more. And since taxes are far too low, the Clintons keep far too much of their money

Hillary Clinton explained: "We didn't ask for George Bush's tax cuts. We didn't want them, and we didn't need them."

What's a left-wing redistributionist to do? Repealing the tax cuts is logical response, but greedy, selfish Republicans stand in the way. And they've misled a lot of otherwise decent Americans to believe people have a greater right to their earnings than do bureaucrats and politicians.

But the Clintons can still do the right thing even if they've already filed this year. In the future they can engage in some creative accounting.

In this way, the Clintons can set an example by giving back to the community. Call it the Voluntary Clinton Surtax (VCS).

They should be joined by anyone who opposed the Bush tax cuts or who ever said Americans were undertaxed, complained about "tax cuts for the rich," advocated creating new government programs, or charged that reducing the government's take is "selfish." The more categories a person fills, the higher should be his or her VCS.

Pull out the 1040. The starting point is to cut the number of dependents. So what if you have kids or are taking care of a parent? Don't declare them.

Line 7, for "wages, salaries, tips, etc.", is even better. Put down the salary you always felt you deserved. Toss in some imaginary tips.