Taxes are for the other guy

In other posts, I've written about how progressives are all about OPM.  Taxing the money of others.  Using the money of others.  Asserting a moral claim on the money of others.  But when it comes time to pony up their own cash....just ask Tim Geithner, or Kathleen Sibelius, or Al Sharpton.  Now comes news from Massachusetts:

Having criticized her Republican opponent for voting against a millionaires' tax measure, U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren said here Friday that she opted not to pay a voluntary higher tax rate in Massachusetts.

"I paid my taxes, and I did not make a charitable contribution to the state," Warren, who worked with the Obama administration to create the new consumer financial protection bureau, said when asked if she paid a 5.85 percent state income tax instead of the standard 5.3 percent -- a choice given to Massachusetts taxpayers.

The likely Democratic challenger to Republican Sen. Scott Brown told reporters at a press conference that "the key issue" is about "the 'Buffett rule' and whether or not millionaires and billionaires ought to pay their fair share in taxes, or should they be permitted to have a free walk and just pay a much lower tax rate than secretaries.” She was referring to the proposed minimum tax rate on those earning at least $1 million per year; earlier this week, the Senate failed to advance a bill creating the new rate. When pressed on the Massachusetts tax, Warren again said, “I paid the taxes that I legally owed. I did not make a charitable contribution to the state.”

When given the opportunity to pay more to help out her overwhelmingly blue state, Warren takes a pass.  Better to use the force of the state on everyone else.

Brown’s campaign called Warren a hypocrite for not checking the optional higher tax rate on her personal income. “The problem with running a campaign based on self-righteousness and moral superiority is that you had better live up to the same standard you would impose on everyone else," said the incumbent's campaign manager, Jim Barnett, in a statement. The Brown team said Warren earned over $700,000 in 2011, adding, “This is the sort of hypocrisy and double-speak voters are sick and tired of hearing from politicians, especially those who can't keep their hands out of others' pocketbooks."

Remember.....it's all about OPM.  Keeping their own, spending yours.  Just like a GSA employee.

Hat tip to Flopping Aces for the link to Real Clear Politics.