That’s the sentiment that billionaire investor Warren Buffett has been pitching in the media and on the democratic campaign trail this week. He feels that income taxes, luxury item taxes and especially the estate tax should be raised on the highest earners in the United States.

This isn’t exactly his first go around with this idea either. When his holding company - Berkshire Hathaway - bought a controlling interest in locally headquartered Fruit of the Loom, I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Buffett and hearing him speak at WKU.

He stated then his desire to be taxed more and his belief that raising tax rates on the very wealthy would have few if any unintended consequences. I was very disappointed in a man I greatly admired, and although I continue to admire Mr. Buffett I believe he is misguided on this point.

Now, another great titan of industry and real wunderkind of financial thought - Mark Cuban - weighs in on the issue. He agrees to a point, but he wants some things in return for his money.

Raise my taxes by 1 percent, by every 1 percent you cut federal spending. Your choice of raising taxes on luxury items, or on annual income of $10 million dollars per year or more. Cutting spending means the government needs to raise less which allows you to raise the income threshold on which you charge this “Forbes 400 surcharge.”

And I want one more thing. I want transparency. The way the government publishes information on money it spends, receives and owes is a joke. No one in this country has any real knowledge of how much our country really owes. There are so many hidden and unpublished liabilities that if our country were a public company, someone would go to jail.

…

I also have one more tax suggestion that I think will create so many jobs in this country that it really won’t matter what else our politicians do.

If we really want to stimulate job creation in this country, take the same approach to small business with fewer than 25 employees that we take to Internet taxes. Outlaw them.

No taxes of any kind on small businesses with fewer than 25 employees. No employer payroll tax. No state or local taxes. No taxes on earnings. Nada. The business owners will pay income taxes on their personal income they pay themselves, but not corporate earnings

Read the whole thing, his article is excellent. You can read it at the link or at Mark Cuban’s blog. Yes, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and chairman of HDnet has a blog. IT’s excellent.

Weighing in on the anti-tax side of this argument? None other than The View’s own political science ad economics consultant, Whoppi Goldberg.

On the broadcast, which is watched by about 1 million women ages 18-49, according to Nielsen Media Research, Goldberg said, “If I give something to my kid and I already paid the tax, why do I have to pay it again because I died?”

“It doesn’t matter if you have or you don’t have money. Once you paid your taxes, it should be a done deal,” said Goldberg, who has a daughter and three grandchildren.