A version of the "Buffett Rule" was introduced today by Senate Democrats after a call by President Obama for the super-rich to start paying their fair share in the State of the Union Address last week. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, formally introduced what he's calling the "Paying a Fair Share Act of 2012." Under the law, millionaires would pay a minimum 30 percent effective tax rate, or more than double what millionaire Mitt Romney has been paying. According to the Congressional Research Center, approximately 94,500 taxpayers, a quarter of all U.S. millionaires, pay a lower tax rate than the vast majority of middle-income taxpayers. While potential revenue has yet to be formally calculated, Whitehouse estimates that the law could generate $40-50 billion annually. more ›

Russians—urbane, successful Russians—aren't happy that Vladimir Putin will likely be their next president, again. Over 30,000 took to Red Square over the weekend to protest against ongoing election-tampering and the sense of inevitability that Putin's party, United Russia, will rule in perpetuity. But billionaire oligarch and majority owner of the New Jersey Nets Mikhail D. Prokhorov, announced that he will collect the 2 million signatures needed to run as an independent in March. “I made a decision, probably the most serious decision in my life: I am going to the presidential election," Prokhorov said at a press conference. more ›

Those space age optical scan voting machines that were supposed to enrich a company in Omaha reduce overvotes have backfired spectacularly, according to a new report from the Brennan Center for Justice, which found that in the 2010 election, 20,000 voters in New York State did not have their votes for governor counted because the machines read their choices as "overvotes" (the invalid selection of more than one candidate). And most of the invalidated ballots were cast in areas with higher populations of low-income residents, people of color, and immigrants. more ›

Vice President Joe Biden took time out of his busy Trans-Am polishing, endangered tortoise-hating schedule to give an interview with CNN and tease us all with the prospect of his unadulterated leadership. Replying to a query about whether or not the 69-year-old Gaffe-O-Tron 4000 will run in 2016, Biden said he'd "make up my mind on that later. We'll find out." Shouldn't Obama say the same thing when asked, "Is Biden still on the 2012 ticket?" more ›

Just last Sunday, FOX News' Geraldo Rivera had some relatively thoughtful things to say in Zuccotti Park about the Occupy Wall Street protesters gaining momentum. But yesterday, when Giraldo tried to return to the park for a followup, he was shouted down with chants of "FOX News lies!" We would have preferred "Where's Al Capone?!" or "Dig That 'Stache!" more ›

2012 GOP presidential candidates Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich are positive that this whole Occupy Wall Street thing is overblown. This is because they represent all of the everyday millionaire pizza moguls and Tiffany's marketers/serial adulterers who know that these nurses, students, union members and other "people" are just jealous. "Part of it is jealousy…My parents never said that we hope the rich people lose something so that we can get something," Cain said at a joint appearance on Face the Nation, presumably forgetting that time he left a flaming bag of poo on John Schnattner's doorstep. more ›

For those on the right who feel that Michele Bachmann's Newsweek cover photo was a blatant hit job, you have an unlikely supporter with a massive platform: Jon Stewart took to The Daily Show last night to lampoon Newsweek editor Tina Brown for choosing such an unflattering image. After showing a few examples of how photogenic Bachmann is, Stewart asserts, "You gotta go pretty far out of your way to find a crappy photo of Michele Bachmann." more ›

The Bloomberg and Thompson bout was certainly been more entertaining than many expected, but it wasn't the night's only contested race. Though all of the incumbent Borough Presidents won another term and the citywide elections for Comptroller and Public Advocate were unsurprising (John Liu and Bill de Blasio won easily), several City Council races were action packed. more ›

As the City Council reels from slush fund mess and other budget scandals, the NY Times found more 12 of the 51 City Council members, or approximately 25%, were using campaign funds to pay relatives or themselves. One aid to familial lining of pockets is the fact that taxpayers are filling campaign war chests with cash, even when Council Members are running unopposed or face barely credible challenges. more ›