President Barack Obama's “Buffett” tax on those who make more than a million has resurrected the worn-out class warfare rhetoric that so many Americans have simply had enough of.
But what about Hollywood's affluent executives and wealthy celebrities?
Bill Maher is on board with the president. The HBO “Real Time” host wondered aloud on a recent episode of his show about how middle-class Americans could vote against their supposed economic interests (translation: vote for Republicans).
Maher divulged that since he is a millionaire in favor of higher taxes, he would be voting against his own economic interests if he voted for Obama. He sarcastically announced that instead he was going to become a fundraiser for Mitt Romney.
He mockingly characterized himself as a “job creator,” but because of “uncertainty” he was going to be forced to lay off key employees, like his TiVo programmer.
Maher put up a picture of “The Situation” from the reality show “Jersey Shore” and claimed that the TV personality was an example of a “job creator.” He reasoned that since “The Situation” made five million dollars last year, even if “he has to pay a little more in taxes, it won’t mean he’s creating fewer jobs. It will mean a tiny fraction of his money actually pays for the government that works to keep him alive.”
Last week liberal billionaire sports and cable television mogul Mark Cuban wrote a post on Blogmaverick.com entitled "Bust your a** and get rich," equating the payment of taxes with patriotism.
“In these times of ‘The Great Recession’ we shouldn’t be trying to shift the benefits of wealth behind some curtain. We should be celebrating and encouraging people to make as much money as they can. Profits equal tax money. While some people might find it distasteful to pay taxes. I don’t. I find it patriotic,” Cuban wrote.
Director Ron Howard seems to think that high taxes on the rich will bring back “Happy Days.”
“I remember on 'The Andy Griffith Show' when income taxes for the upper level were as much as 90 percent, and that is the era we look back to with great nostalgia and it was a time of tremendous growth,” Howard told MSNBC. “So I am not adverse to paying some taxes to help the country grow and help the economy grow . . . I'm with Warren Buffett on this one.”
There is nothing in the law that prevents Buffet or his rich buddies from sending all the money they want to over to the U.S. Treasury.
Then the government can fritter it away for them on more solar panel boondoggles.
James Hirsen, J.D., M.A. in media psychology, is a New York Times best-selling author, media analyst, and law professor. He is admitted to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court and has made several appearances there on landmark decisions. Hirsen is the co-founder and chief legal counsel for InternationalEsq.com. Visit Newsmax TV Hollywood: www.youtube.com/user/NMHollywood.
© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.