Cal Thomas: Obama "Seems Determined To Punish" Successful Americans
July 12, 2011 8:11 am ET by Media Matters staff
In a July 11 Washington Examiner column titled, "Obama, Democrats make war on the sucessful," conservative columnist Cal Thomas attacked President Obama and liberal Democrats for "class warfare," and wrote that Obama "seems determined to punish and discourage success and the hard work, risk-taking and values by which one must live in order to attain it." From the Examiner:
This president, more than any other in my lifetime, seems determined to punish and discourage success and the hard work, risk-taking and values by which one must live in order to attain it.
He blasts people who fly on private planes, though he flies on Air Force One, the ultimate private plane, which taxpayers pay for. He doesn't like yachts, or specifically the people who can afford to buy them. And yet the people who make the private planes and yachts have jobs precisely because others have achieved a level of success that enables them to afford such luxury.
Recall during the administration of President George H.W. Bush when congressional Democrats persuaded Bush to sign a bill increasing the luxury tax on yachts in exchange for a promise -- later broken -- to reduce spending.
The result was fewer people bought yachts, boat builders were laid off and Congress later repealed the tax hike. Don't liberal Democrats ever learn economic principles, or does their class warfare trump all else?
[...]
Wealth is a sign of achievement, a reward for risks taken. And being poor is not a crime, unless those in poverty refuse to strive to overcome it.
That's the message this president should be broadcasting, not one that trashes success and promotes class division and envy of the successful.
Previously:
Hannity: Obama's Press Conference Continued "His Favorite Theme, Which Is Class Warfare"
Crowley: "Obama Is Resorting Once Again To Class Warfare To Deceive And Divide"
Doocy: Obama Engaging In "Class Warfare" By "Talking About...Soaking The Rich"
I feel so dissed... <sob>
16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
16:20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
16:21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
Okay, so all that risk and all that hard work that has come from the folks in the top 2%, who don't break a sweat making something, and don't punch a clock, who make money by selling money are being made war on? It's not enough that their share of the GDP has increased dramatically in the last 30 years while average wages have been stagnant, having declined under Reagan, and never rising to the levels they were at under Richard Nixon? Most of the very rich people came from other rich people and they live off dividends, not their income. People like my husband and I have actually made something of our lives, the first to go to college, we bought our own home, we sent our children to college and they have no debt now that they have graduated. But we also know that our children will probably not be able to rise to our levels of success, the economy will not allow them to. Cal you're whoring for a class of people who have waged a very successful war on the rest of us, and they're winning. It's a classic case of the bully whining when told he has to give up one of his toys, even if it is the tiniest, he just has to have them all. Sorry, I have no pity for the 2%, they don't need it anyway, they provide enough of their own.
Very well said. The Plutocrats started this propaganda campaign back in the 80s, but it didn't seem to get any legs until they invented Rush Limbaugh. Then, they bought the Hate Radio Market, and the rest is history.
They have successfully used bogus, emotional wedge issues to convince about half of America's working class that we must coddle the wealthy, or they won't "give" us any jobs.
All that people like myself ask is that when it comes to matters of housing, food, and medical issues, that we just not be priced out of the game by those who believe that the only route to happiness is the accumulation of wealth.
It's been a uniform message that taxes are punishment and that the wealthy will be less likely to try to acquire wealth if taxes are higher, but it's never been borne out in reality. During the 1950's when taxes were much higher, the economy thrived and so did the wealthy. The high taxes didn't factor into that, it was the emergence of a strong middle class that led to widespread purchasing by the largest segment of the population that now had disposable income. Likewise, in the 1990's when taxes went up, the middle class was still strong and the wealthy still did very well.
We're talking about raising the taxes on the wealth back up to pre-Bush-tax-cut levels. Does anyone really believe that entrepreneurs and businessmen are going to curtail their own productivity and income because they're going to have to pay an additional 4.5% (on the portion of their income above 200k/250k)? Particularly when those taxes would be used to stabilize and stimulate the economy and bring the middle class back into the game.
Another talking point that just doesn't hold water is this idea that the wealthy "job creators" will be less likely to hire if taxes go up. Well, the wealthy are sitting on more wealth right now than ever before. If wealth equals job creation, then we should have more jobs now than ever but that's not happening. How much more do they need before they start hiring? Or is it that no one is hiring because the middle class is not buying and businesses and companies don't need employees to make products that no one can afford right now?
I just wish the bulk of the American people would stop and think about comments made by fools like Cal Thomas rather than just accepting their drivel as true.
It's likely because the Times charges more for syndication than other papers, but that doesn't mitigate the problem in my mind. Sometimes you've got to pay for quality.
A few thoughts...
Wealth often has little to do with acievement but, rather, fortuitous luck...such as through inheritance.
Often the only risk being taken in achieving wealth is the risk of jail time.