By now you've probably heard of the organization called Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength. They are patriotic Americans who know that they have accumulated the wealth that they have as a result of the uniqueness of the American system and they now want folks like themselves to help the system in its hour of crisis. Patriotic Millionaires has advocated that "the highest earners should pay 39.6 percent in taxes, up from the current 35 percent."
 
Recently six of them sat down with America's anti-tax guru grover Norquist for a discussion on taxes and the role of government. Here's an excerpt: "[Norquist] raised an issue we get all the time which is, 'Well there's nothing stopping you guys from paying higher taxes, just send a check to the government!' And this to me is frankly an absurd position; I don't consider it to be a very serious argument. Government is not a charity and we can't rely on voluntary contributions from people to support the things that government does. And I also said to him, 'Look would you be willing to sign a pledge where you're willing to forgo all the benefits that government provides? Are you willing to sign a pledge that says you don't want the U.S. military to protect you? That you will refuse to contact the police if somebody steals from you? That you will refuse to contact the fire department if your house is on fire? Because that's the equivalent! Why should you get a free ride? Why should you benefit from my willingness to support the government? Let's do it together.' And he said, 'If I don't have to pay any taxes for it, I would forgo all those things!' To which my response was, 'Well there's an easy way to do that, move to Somalia!' And his argument was, 'Somalia doesn't suffer from too little government, it suffers from too much government.' I don't even begin to understand what that means, but again there's only so much you can go into in these conversations."
 
As it turns out many Republican lawmakers are abandoning Norquist and his "No Tax Pledge" as they get down to seriously dealing with this country's fiscal crisis. The conservative organ NewsMax points out: "Republican House members are increasingly separating themselves from Grover Norquist and Americans for Tax Reform, the interest group he leads. Specifically they’re disconnecting from ATR’s pledge to oppose any tax increase, The Hill reports." Quoting Ohio Congressman Steven LaTourette, He said he didn’t even recall joining the pledge until Norquist’s group found the original document earlier this year. And he doesn’t view it as a permanent commitment. “My driver’s license expires. The milk in my refrigerator expires. My gym membership expires, and I find the website to be a little deceptive,”  Moreover: "Republican Reps. Howard Coble of North Carolina, Pete King of New York, and Lee Terry of Nebraska, told The Hill they signed the pledge more than 10 years ago, but not for the current Congress. They were among 40 House Republicans who signed a letter to the super committee last week urging a grand bargain including more tax revenue, entitlement reform, and spending cuts."
 
I think at this point its more than apparent that Grover Norquist and his "No Tax Pledge" will have to bend to the winds of political necessity, either that or they'll be broken and left by the side of the road on the march to fiscal reform in America.
 
 
Sources:
 
Patriotic Millionaires To Grover Norquist: 'Move To Somalia'; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/17/patriotic-millionaires-grover-norquist-somalia_n_1098473.html?ref=politics
 
House GOP To Norquist: Our Tax Pledge Expired; http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/norquist-tax-pledge-gop/2011/11/09/id/417423
 
House GOP To Norquist: Our Tax Pledge Expired; http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2805082/posts