Voluntary donations to fix the budget?

"He should just write a check and shut up...If he wants to give the government more money, he's got the ability to write a check -- go ahead." -- NJ governor Chris Christie, talking about billionaire Warren Buffett's tax stance.

So quoted the February 27th issue of Barron's financial weekly. It's a point of view I've heard from other sources -- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said last year that if Buffett "is feeling guilty about it, I think he should send in a check.” [source] -- but as a populist reaction to the specter of raised taxes it's hard to argue with.

The message, essentially, is: If you want to do something about the deficit, go ahead; just don't raise my taxes.

Buffett's idea was to place a 30 percent tax on everyone who earns more than $1 million a year. The wealthiest Americans typically earn the majority of their income through capital gains, which is taxed at 15 percent. Buffett said that he paid a lower effective tax rate than his secretary.

This is a sticking point with the Republican Party -- frontrunner Mitt Romney's wealth and 15 percent effective tax rate puts him at odds with a powerful segment of his base -- the Tea Partyers. [Source]

But is this really a solution to the budget problem? Republicans say we should roll back benefits and expenditures if we want to balance the budget. That's fine -- they're generally the "haves" who can afford it. However, that alone won't work.

Neither will the supply-side argument that lowering taxes result in greater, future tax revenues [Source: 2010 National Review]

If Republicans are going to be serious about fixing the budget deficit, they're going to accept that we can't maintain such low tax rates on such a large proportion of the population.

Fortunately, as Barron's editorial writer Thomas Donlan has an idea: do nothing. As he wrote in the February 11th issue, the easiest thing to do is simply let the Bush tax cuts and Social Security reduction expire.

As an alternative, I'd like to see Mitch McConnell ask us Americans sincerely for a handout. Maybe even go door to door around D.C. Heck, I'd even pitch in a few bucks.

Assuming my contribution is tax deductible, of course.