Envy, Paris Hilton and taxes

Many Americans seem to be taking enormous pleasure from the fact that Paris Hilton has been sent back to jail. I suspect this is due to the most politically destructive of human emotions: Envy.

Because she is rich and attractive, people take pleasure when she suffers. As the fake quote at the comedy-site ScrappleFace says:

"'It's the best thing that’s ever happened to me,' said one poll respondent, a resident of suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 'Just knowing that rich, famous, beautiful people can be miserable, pathetic losers gives me hope that my own troubled existence may have meaning. I can’t get enough of this story on TV. Every moment is like a multivitamin for my ego.'"

Republicans like to claim that high taxes on the rich harm everyone because they reduce economic growth. But people motivated by envy might support harming the rich even it such harm trickles down on the rest of us.