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In this episode of Views on the News from the Couch, I take apart the fantasy that we can fix America’s $35‑trillion‑plus debt and multi‑trillion‑dollar deficits just by “taxing the rich.” We run a thought experiment: what if we confiscated all billionaire wealth, then everything from people worth over $100 million, then over $10 million? Even after blowing up the entire top of the wealth pyramid, the debt isn’t gone—and the economy that generates future tax revenue is wrecked.

Then we look at Sweden, a country that actually does big government honestly. Swedes pay high taxes at almost every income level, not just at the very top, and they accept that broad burden in exchange for broad benefits. Americans, by contrast, want Swedish‑style social benefits with U.S.‑style taxes on everyone except “the rich.”

Finally, we talk about waste, fraud, and abuse—why it’s not a magic fix, but why both big‑government and small‑government folks should be serious about rooting it out if we care about what we’re handing to the next generation. If you want an adult conversation about taxes, spending, and reality, this one’s for you.