I think what he's saying is that you need more than just taxing the rich. But no, relying on one source of revenue - in this case - taxing the rich, is not enough to reduce the debt. This does not mean it "does nothing".
What I mean is, you could tax everything at 100% and we'd still have a debt. Spending problem, or Taxing problem?
Oh, I'm with you completely. Spending problem. But Ricter, if I am correct, is against cutting spending. He's a Keynesian, and believes cutting spending is the end of the world.