Rich VC Manager Says the Rich Need the American Consumer, So Raise Our Taxes

It is not a frequent occurrence that you hear someone publicly ask for a tax increase (unless you are kindly Grandpa Buffett).  Nick Hanauer, a wealthy venture capitalist who admitted his last year tax return reflected an eight-figure income (taxed an an effective 11% nonetheless) has called for a tax increase and shift of the burden onto his class, the 1% and above.

His opinion piece in Bloomberg is quite refreshing and it boils down to the idea that the rich have recently forgotten just what got them to where they are today: consumerism by the common man.  Hanauer says nothing he does or invests in can create nearly as many jobs as a regular American consumer, and thus he pokes holes in the common cry in the political sphere that we should not penalize the “job creators.”  The conclusion seems almost obvious: now that the rich have become richer than at any point in history, they are more concerned with guarding their current wealth than they are with incurring the cost of growing even further (which would actually entail shared growth across the economic spectrum).  My question is, when did everyone become so selfishly short-sighted?  If there are more Nick Hanauers out there, speak up and be heard.