I've heard it called the "Small Change Defense". It's applied, not just to the rich, but to government programs that people complain are wasteful.
Sure, it's only 50 cents. That other program is only a dollar. But if you look at the federal budget, there are a lot of programs. They might each one be small. But add them all together and I get the huge amount I'm going to owe in April.
And even if I just pick, say, 30 of them, I could still take that money and have at least a cheap date with my wife. I'd rather have that than those 30 programs.
Straws are light, the horse said, but that doesn't mean I can carry a billion of them...