From Boortz.com:
Las Vegas can be a bit exhausting, so all I wanted to do on the AirTran flight home yesterday was saw some logs. I cranked up the Kindle, though, and started reading the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. An AJC editorial presented some ways the Atlanta area might crawl out of the economic doldrums. Here was one suggestion:
“We believe, though, that Atlantans in the right tax brackets should shake off a bit of their investing conservatism and put more dollars behind our hometown startups and young companies.
“If the prospect of triple-digit investment returns aren’t enough, consider the civic good of helping the region grow high-paying jobs.
“Surely Atlanta investors can step up more, even during hard times, and seize potentially lucrative, if risky, opportunities.
Say what?
This jewel of an editorial was written by one Andre Jackson representing the AJC editorial board.
Well, Andre … have a seat. I have a few things to say to you. First … I haven’t seen your name before, so I have no idea how long you’ve been hanging around the AJC. You should know, though, that your paper has excelled in promoting wealth envy since I stepped off that Greyhound here 42 years ago. Your editorial board has never missed a chance to throw the word “greed” at high-achievers. In reading years worth of AJC editorials you would scarcely know that Atlantans with money to invest actually worked for their wealth. They earned it. To the editors of the AJC they were either “lucky” or they exploited some poor, downtrodden, pitiful poor people. AJC editorial word processors have a two-key macro for inserting the phrase “pay their fair share” into commentaries. I dare say that there is not one person on the editorial board that could come close to telling you (a) what percentage of total income is earned by the top 1% of income earners; and, (b) what percentage of total income taxes the disgusting top 1% pay.
So .. here you come suggesting that the very people your paper has made a cause out of vilifying for decades step forward and, if necessary, sacrifice a goodly portion of their wealth in Atlanta startups.
As it turns out, I have a bit of money I could invest, but I’m holding those funds very close. Let me tell you why, sport. I would bet five dollars to a donut hole that you voted for Obama. Good for you. Hope you’re enjoying all of this wonderful change while you’re telling me how you want me to invest my money. While you’re getting your jollies from the hopey-changy thing I am working overtime trying to figure out how to save as much of my future income and retirement nest egg from this guy as I possibly can; and I suspect I’m not alone.
Have you taken stock of how your man wants to raise our taxes? Or, I should say, have you seen his plan of attack on the very people whom you think ought to be pouring money into Atlanta startups? Let’s start with a guaranteed 4.6% tax increase in about 17 months. Then we have surtaxes ranging from 1% to 3% to cover his health care dreams, plus taxes on our health care plans. Charlie Rangel has an even higher surtax – this one over 5% — waiting for the super achievers, the ones with real money to invest. Then let’s add to all of this a reduction in allowable tax deductions (really another tax increase) and the removal of the Social Security earnings cap. You total these goodies up and the tax rate will be around 50% for the people you think have all this money to invest. And Andre … we’re just talking federal taxes. You might want to remember that our esteemed city council just raised property taxes by 45%, and then there’s the Georgia income tax on top of it all. To make things even worse, Obama thinks that Christine Kirchner, the President of Argentina, is one of the hottest things going in this hemisphere. She nationalized all pension plans in Argentina. Retired Argentineans will now get their checks from the government. Do you, Andre, want to convince me that your president isn’t thinking the same thoughts here?
Tell you what, Andre. When we get a president and a controlling party in Washington that exhibits even a faint affection for capitalism and economic liberty, you can drop us another note. When we have a governing — or “ruling,” as Obama likes to day — party that doesn’t see tax increases as the answer to every problem plaguing mankind; when the leaders of this nation respect private property … then you can talk to me about investing in your pet startup projects. While this menace is in the White House, and while the corrupt Charlie Rangel is writing our tax laws, I’m sitting tight.
http://boortz.com/nealz_nuze/2009/07/sorry-not-while-these-statist.html
Bravo, Neal! I bet the rest of the “greedy” 1%ers in Altlanta not only feel the same way, but they’re ready to ‘outsource’ their money, business, and residence to somewhere else.
The AJC and the democrats in Washington seem to think everyone who attained wealth did so by hook or by crook. Forget the fact that most of them worked their tails off to get where they are; from the bottom rung of the business ladder to the top. There’s only so much vilification and insult they will take before they say ‘screw it’ and move out. We’ve already witnessed a mass exodus of upper tax bracket folks moving out of the cities for friendlier climates, as pointed out by Boom2Bust.com:
……the rich (”Millionaire Next Door” rich, not the poseurs) probably feel like they’re getting a raw deal, instead of favorable tax treatment, from the U.S. government. To them, it would appear as if Uncle Sam is trying to pry away more of the fruits of their labor than he justly deserves. I’d be under that same impression too if I encountered data suggesting I was paying a disproportionate share of taxes, while at the same time subjected to increasingly-hostile statements from a presumptive Democratic nominee for president.
http://www.boom2bust.com/2008/06/13/are-rich-americans-leaving-the-country/
Aside from that, Obama’s socialist regime and batshit crazy tax/spend orgy isn’t making it any easier on working and retired Americans who are increasingly expected to prop up an able-bodied welfare class that refuses to work.