President Obama cited Luke 12:48 as a moral argument for his support of “the Buffett Rule,” a version of which is due for a vote in the Senate next week. It is an apt defense for Jesus is describing what it takes to be a faithful steward of our possessions: “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.” No wonder the wealthiest among us swallow hard when hearing this in church…or on the campaign trail.
While the “Buffett Rule” will not solve our debt problems alone, it does address a basic principle of tax fairness. Particularly since the average tax rate paid by the highest-income Americans has fallen close to the lowest rate in over 50 years, and in 2009 22,000 households making more than one million dollars annually paid less than 15 per cent of their income in taxes while middle class Americans paid more. This is fundamentally unfair. Apparently the Republican Bible reads, “From everyone to whom much has been given, less will be required.”
That We All May Be One 
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