I can see the benefit of a low capital gains targeting seniors or other middle income Americans. We could reinstate a marginal rate for capital gains similar to most of the rest of last century. Are you aware of what the marginal rates were? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MarginalIncomeTax.svg A very basic example of a fairer capital gains code, would be for earnings over 1M, it is taxed as normal income. Look, I do brain tumor research. I went to school for 20+ years to do it. I work to develop cures and treatments for a very deadly disease. If you are very savvy, you might get me to buy in on a philosophical level how someone like Warren Buffett or Mitt Romney does something commensurable to pay at a level of 1000x or 200x mine. But, you will never get me to agree that they should be taxed at half the rate. That's not a worldview I will buy. Tax rates shouldn't decrease as earnings do. Being wealthy is a pretty good reward, no need for a regressive tax rate.