The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age

    Fox News Pundit Goldberg Proposes DC Granite and Stone Monument to Honor the Rich

    By NCD on Sat, 12/11/2010 - 12:50pm |

    No this is not from The Onion. Its from Fox News.

    You can read the December 9th paean to the rich in print on Bernard Goldberg's website at this link, "Thank God for The Rich", or watch it on video it at link.

    Is Goldberg's contract coming up with Rupert Murdoch or does he emit worshipful blather about how heroic and wonderful rich people like Rupert Murdoch are all the time?

    Goldberg says the cruelly assailed (by the usual culprits-liberals/progressives) richest 1%, with 23.5% of all income, pay a whopping 38% of income taxes. For this huge sacrifice they deserve the same honor and recognition we give, for instance, to young Americans who have died in wars. Let's take a close look at the numbers!

    He doesn't mention that the richest 1% owned 34.3% of the nations wealth in 2004,  or that income taxes made up only 43% of US federal receipts in 2009, while Social Security taxes made up 42%. (see chart below)

    If you can follow- the richest 1%'s thirty eight percent of the 43% income tax portion of federal receipts equals 16% of the total federal receipts. Of course the federal government spends every dollar of revenue it gets as soon as it comes in no matter where it comes from, for wars, income tax cuts, etc.  As George W. Bush told us, the SS 'Trust Fund' surplus is just papers in a drawer in West Virginia.

    So those who control 34.4% of the wealth, and receive according to Goldberg 23.5% of the income pay just 16% of the nation's taxes!   (Since the Social Security 42% portion cuts off at incomes just over 100K the top 1% contribution to that portion would likely add only a few percent to the 16% total at the most.)

    And Fox News pundit Bernard Goldberg thinks the rich deserve a monument somewhere near the WW2, Lincoln or Vietnam monuments to honor that sacrifice.

    US Federal Receipts 2009

    Comments

    I appreciate this. Show the bastards for what they are.

    Why do we have to pay all these taxes, the robber barons ask.

    The politicians are there to protect them.

    The police are there to protect their mansions and their banks.

    The military is there to protect their trade.

    The air waves are there to send out their propaganda.

    The prisons are maintained to keep the masses away from them.

    The roads are there to move their goods.

    Well put!


    by Richard Day on Sat, 12/11/2010 - 1:07pm

    And the tax figures do not include state sales taxes, or income taxes.Sales taxes affect the poor and middle class more than the rich.

    Sales taxes take a higher portion of your income directly proportional to the percentage of income you must spend to get by. Poor people spend almost all their income. If you spend all of your income you are for sure paying a higher percentage of your income in sales taxes then someone who spends just half their income.

    In countries with universal health care and good safety nets a sales tax (or VAT) may not make much difference as all the citizens get valuable services for the tax. In the US though, the sales tax in states often pays for the police, fire dept. and city and state government and services, which are essential, but could be viewed as serving the wealthy with property more than the poor.


    by NCD on Sat, 12/11/2010 - 1:50pm

    A few years ago, both he and John Stossel went 'rogue' and became totally insane.  Now they're both professional crazies for Faux News

    While we're at it, let's carve Rupert Murdoch's face on Mt. Rushmore, since he's saved so many people from the horrible distortions of the Liberal media, by serving up the only truly 'fair and balanced' reporting in America.  (And just so that no-one gets the wrong idea, that was sarcasm.)

     


    by MrSmith1 on Sat, 12/11/2010 - 1:27pm

    A Rupert Murdoch on Mt. Rushmore project is one federal government jobs program I am sure Fox News would love!


    by NCD on Sat, 12/11/2010 - 1:39pm