Chuck Grassley doesn't understand progressive taxation

Senator Grassley, who embraces bad tax arguments with an impressive zen-like calm, makes his case against Obama's tax plans:

Democrats [say] that most small-business owners, whose profits flow through to their personal income taxes, do not fall in the top tax brackets. Overall, fewer than 2 percent do, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution.

But Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), the senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, argues that more than half of the most successful small businesses -- those that employ between 20 and 500 workers -- would be targeted by Obama's rate increases.

It's true! A more progressive tax plan means that the most successful Americans with the highest incomes will pay more in taxes. I am somewhat surprised that this comes as a shock to the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee.