Joe Biden famously redefined the word patriotic to mean "wanting higher taxes."  Now there's a left-wing group called "Patriotic Millionaires."  You can see where this is going, can't you?

First things first.  Rich people get to be rich people by being pretty shrewd and wise with their money (with the obvious exceptions of a few here and there who just fall into money - but those truly are few and far between).  That's why you should always be skeptical when you hear them start telling you how they think they should be taxed more.  It's a very clever strategy for rich liberals given that they are part of a movement that claims to loathe wealth and personal possessions.  How can a liberal pretend to be a good and decent person if you have material wealth given that liberals see that as a sign of corporate greed?  Well, you do what Michael Moore and Barack Obama do - you go on TV and tell everybody that you want the government to start taxing you more.

By doing so, you convince the gullible that you aren't like all those other misers who hoard their wealth.  No, you are a generous and benevolent rich person, willing to give of your great wealth to care for the masses.  The only thing that kills that little ploy is when you're asked the question: if you really feel this way, why are you waiting on the government to take it from you?  Why not just give that money away to those who need it?

And that's when the whole charade falls apart.  When you see that Barack Obama is one of the country's stingiest people when it comes to his personal wealth (until it became public, the Obamas sometimes gave less than 1% of their income away to charity - Biden wasn't much better), his pleas that he should be taxed more are proven to be nothing more than pandering.

After all, the rich have plenty of loopholes and shrewd accounting tricks to shelter their income and finances from the IRS reach - again, they didn't become rich because they were stupid.  So never judge a rich man's compassion and empathy based on his public cries to be taxed more.  Judge it based on his willingness to freely give from his own pocket.  That's the kind of compassion and charity Jesus talked about.  And interestingly, it's the very kind of compassion and charity these rich liberals don't want any part of. 

Case in point:

A group of self- described liberal millionaires seeking to raise taxes on America's top earners, refused--when questioned by CNSNews.com--to consider making donations themselves to a Treasury Department Web site [2] that allows the public to make contributions to help pay down the public debt.

 

The  "Patriotic Millionaires" group held a conference call on Monday in advance of the10th anniversary of President George W. Bush's tax cuts to encourage President Barack Obama and Congress to raise taxes for Americans who make $1 million or more annually.

 

CNSNews.com asked the liberal millionaires this question: "The Treasury Department has a Web site -- pay.gov [2] -- where anyone who wants to can make a contribution at any time to pay down the federal debt. Are you willing to make a contribution to pay down the debt and, if so, how much would it be?"

 

Dennis Mehiel, the principal shareholder and chairman of the board of U.S. Corrugated, called the notion that he and his fellow millionaires would consider donating some of their millions to the Treasury Department to help eliminate the deficit "preposterous on its face."

Of course it is.  Because to do so would actually cost them something, whereas going on TV and demanding you be taxed more (when you know full well you have ways to dodge the tax man) gets you good publicity without actually hurting your bank account.  Beware the fraudulent compassion of the left.