Michael Steele: “After taxes, a million dollars is not a lot of money”
posted at 8:35 pm on February 5, 2010 by Allahpundit
I’m a tad alarmed that this is not only an AP headline, but that it’s considered newsworthy even in the conservative Boston Herald.
Remember what I was saying earlier about Obama’s gaffes playing into poisonous stereotypes about him or his party? Yeah.
The two often traded jokes, especially when Steele panned President Barack Obama’s long-stated plan to let income tax rates return to higher levels for families making more than $250,000 a year.
“Trust me, after taxes, a million dollars is not a lot of money,” Steele said.
Ford later asked the audience of mostly college students, “Who in here makes a million dollars a year?”
“How many of you want to make a million dollars a year?” Steele quickly responded when no hands were raised.
9.7 percent unemployment, roiling populist sentiment against giant Wall Street bonuses, and he’s scoffing at a cool mil before taxes? Dude?
Blowback
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It’s true, though. And I’m still working my arse off to get it.
John the Libertarian on February 5, 2010 at 8:36 PM
Nuance. Proportion-wise, he’s correct.
SouthernGent on February 5, 2010 at 8:38 PM
I think, after state and federal, I take home about 57%. $570,000 isn’t a lot of money to most Americans?
Allahpundit on February 5, 2010 at 8:38 PM
SIGH….
allah, calm down – once again, we are failing to play the “who wiil be converted” game:
+who will get angry/offended by this? [b]people that weren’t voting GOP anyway [/b]
tempest in a teapot.
battleoflepanto1571 on February 5, 2010 at 8:39 PM
Something tell me the POTUS who has more than that in his bank account is going to make a big deal about this statement. Not to mention all the millionaire Dems in the Congress.
hmfearny on February 5, 2010 at 8:39 PM
So he implies taxes are too high and you smack him for it?
Browncoatone on February 5, 2010 at 8:40 PM
No, it’s not true. Some people find it easier to spend a million (before or after taxes) than others, but for Steele to say it “is not a lot of money” shows he is as clueless and out of touch as the typical DC politician.
Splashman on February 5, 2010 at 8:40 PM
I leap for joy if I find a stray dollar on the ground.
tommer74 on February 5, 2010 at 8:41 PM
first off, the math is wrong for millionaires:
-39% fed margin highest bracket
5-7% avg state
7% FICA
7% for small business owners ‘matching’ fica
its well over 50% for most states.
but since you asked, sure, $570k is a lot of money. it’s NOT enough to retire on with 2 people and live well for 25-30 years. it’s NOT enough to quit your job
and last part: we’re talking about trillion dollar deficits. 4 TRILLION. IN ONE YEAR’S BUDGET.
you wanna get outraged over an amount which is less then most “deal or no deal” winners?
go for it.
=crying about spilling a quart of milk, when the entire town in waist deep in dairy.
battleoflepanto1571 on February 5, 2010 at 8:42 PM
p.s. – obama told us his land deal with rezko in chicago (what was it, 200k?) wasn’t a lot of money either.
so steele has an out.
battleoflepanto1571 on February 5, 2010 at 8:44 PM
Obama, Reid, and Pelosi are the gifts that keep on giving for Republicans…Steele is a net negative…We will win without him…John McCain showed his ass in similar fashion. When asked what he considered rich he said, “ten million”…Trust me. He lost a lot of people with that statement. Millions upon millions are making ten to twenty dollars an hour if they even have a job. That is 20-40K a year…A million bucks is more than they will make in a lifetime of work…Get a clue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Steele…
Nozzle on February 5, 2010 at 8:47 PM
I hear there is real money in politics…
Seven Percent Solution on February 5, 2010 at 8:47 PM
Mr. Steele
Stop talking. If if you have difficulty restraining the impulse to run your mouth, put a very large red sock in it.
Thank You
swede7 on February 5, 2010 at 8:48 PM
The average American makes much less than 1/10th of a million dollars after an entire year of work. Yes, it’s a lot of money.
jgapinoy on February 5, 2010 at 8:49 PM
Well, he already put his foot in it.
jgapinoy on February 5, 2010 at 8:49 PM
so why isn’t the average american burning down the capitol after 3+ years of a democratic congress spending money like drunken sailors? (and in fairness, 2 years of a gop congress spending before that)
battleoflepanto1571 on February 5, 2010 at 8:50 PM
A lot depends where you live and whether the $570K is recurring income. If it’s the New York area and you have to pay for private school for a couple of kids, the money can be spent w/o much wealth to show for it.
It was a Kinsley-style “gaff”. Steele was saying that it isn’t a lot of money among people who run for office, just for the people they ask to vote for them.
dedalus on February 5, 2010 at 8:51 PM
Well, I agree AP.
It’s tone deaf, but it’s not really impactful. It’s like Peter King writes about what the market will bear in the NFL and says “in this economy?” as if we all have that skill set. Just gotta roll the eyes and move on. Steele has a point about taxes, but not wisely delivered (or is that delivered stupidly?).
Spirit of 1776 on February 5, 2010 at 8:51 PM
Allah they could take 90 percent and you would still have 100k. Considering the median family income is 50k most would say that 100 k is a lot of money. Could you live with that?
CWforFreedom on February 5, 2010 at 8:51 PM
I hear the Clintons are doing pretty well…
… and Teddy’s estate was in a trust, so no ‘Death Tax’.
It helps if you write the laws so you know how to exempt yourself, or get around them.
Seven Percent Solution on February 5, 2010 at 8:52 PM
It is a ton of money when the person remembers how hard they had to work to earn that money.
sammypants on February 5, 2010 at 8:54 PM
That amount where I live would be lots of moola. I could easily buy most of the adjoining 38 acre spreads (6 of them) to buffer mine and still have money left to buy a F-350, a backhoe and maybe even a small road grader. On the other hand what can you get for that amount in NYC?
chemman on February 5, 2010 at 8:55 PM
lesson for allah: the above post is how socialism happened in europe.
battleoflepanto1571 on February 5, 2010 at 8:55 PM
His argument (I think) is simply that taxes are too high, especially on upper-income taxpayers. If I were a millionaire, I don’t think $570,000 would be a lot of money. I’d want to be a millionare, not a hundreds-of- thousands-aire. :-)
SouthernGent on February 5, 2010 at 8:56 PM
If you spend less than what you make, then you can invest and save for your family and future (when allowed by government)…
If you spend more than what you make, then a million dollars is not a lot of money.
Seven Percent Solution on February 5, 2010 at 8:56 PM
They probably didn’t work any harder than the guy or gal making $50K. Leveraging education, connections and calculated-risk are probably more of a difference between $50K and $500K.
dedalus on February 5, 2010 at 8:56 PM
If Michael Steele thinks even 400k isn’t a lot of money I’ll be more than happy to take it off his hands. for 400k I could buy an apartment, pay for a ridiculously expensive comprehensive video game production course I’ve been wanting to take for years and still have enough money left over to live for a few years and open up an online business (which admittedly doesn’t cost a lot, but will provide me with significant recurring income for the rest of my life).
Darth Executor on February 5, 2010 at 8:57 PM
10% of a mil is still more than 100% of 50k.
davidk on February 5, 2010 at 8:57 PM
Sure it is. In fact, it’s a whole $140k more than the $430,000 that the tax men would earn from you.
JCred on February 5, 2010 at 8:57 PM
500k per year is alot of money period. Sorry Michael you need to get in touch with middle class America.
ldbgcoleman on February 5, 2010 at 8:57 PM
You make how much!!!????
- The Cat
P.S. Living New York, I mean with that, you must have like a whole TWO bedroom apartment.
P.P.S. Yeah, I’m messing with you.
MirCat on February 5, 2010 at 8:59 PM
… who smacked him for implying taxes are too high?
DaveS on February 5, 2010 at 8:59 PM
If Steele’s attention span is so short that he cannot remember how poorly Obama’s whining about the cost of arugula was received, and connect the dots between that gaffe and this one, then he needs find another job. $570k may not be a lot of money, comparatively… but most people could pay off their mortgage (median home price is $215k), their credit cards and send a kid through college with it. That’s “real money” to the vast majority of people in this country.
Laura on February 5, 2010 at 9:00 PM
Not when you earned $1,000,000.
daesleeper on February 5, 2010 at 9:00 PM
It’s really not that much money…If you take AP’s numbers of 570K after takes, can you retire on that?
At 5% interest you’re talking 28,500 a year. Can you live off that? I can’t.
If I gave you a million dollars (570K) tomorrow and you bought a reasonable house and 2 modest cars, you’re pretty much done.
If you gave me a million dollars tomorrow I still can’t retire.
Still in a time where ‘optics’ was the word of the week, this ain’t good. I get that… but it ain’t THAT much money.
Diogenes of Sinope on February 5, 2010 at 9:02 PM
1 mill is a lot if you live in a 200k house, drive used cars, take modest vacations under 2k, shop at wal-mart and foodlion, and live in a state with no income tax, then yes 1 mill is a hell a lot of money.
If you live in a 600k house, drive brand new cars (bmw, etc), take several vacations 5k, shop at only mall name brand stores and have your groceries delivered to your door and live in a state with oppressive taxes, then yes 1 mill is a hell a lot of money.
when our people make comments they need to clarify not stick their foot in their mouths. Mr. Steele please remove foot and institute duck tape instead.
kara26 on February 5, 2010 at 9:03 PM
Im not sure that math is sound, given the fact that the first $7,000 or so is taxed at the lowest bracket, the next $x is taxed at 15, etc…just adding the highest bracket you fall under with the highest state and local isnt necessarily indicative of what you actually wind up paying
ernesto on February 5, 2010 at 9:04 PM
True enough. the blue-collar guy is NOT the one watching porn on his work computer.
Jeff2161 on February 5, 2010 at 9:04 PM
Please, someone put a net on this guy and get him the hell out of here!
He’s going to f up this whole revolution.
HornetSting on February 5, 2010 at 9:05 PM
You’re not going to be able to retire and live it up with a million dollars, taxes or not.
El_Terrible on February 5, 2010 at 9:08 PM
He’s not helpful.
And the person to tell him to go away would be Meghan’s daddy, who’s every bit as useless as Steele even when he’s not distracted by the horrifying thought that he very well might not die in office.
happyfeet on February 5, 2010 at 9:08 PM
This of course also depends where you live. In California, it will buy you an average house.
El_Terrible on February 5, 2010 at 9:09 PM
A good chunk of that could depend on where you live. (Both in stupidly high state taxes and cost of living)
clement on February 5, 2010 at 9:11 PM
1 mill is a lot of money to a lot of people and some it is not. I know 200k goes really really really fast. any one see where it went, LOL
kara26 on February 5, 2010 at 9:12 PM
it’s not alot of money….yea, it would make life “easier”. But it’s not gonna last me for the rest of my life.
Contempt and envy of what others have leads to Socialism….be very careful. Actually, don’t walk there at all.
kareyk on February 5, 2010 at 9:12 PM
This must mean that Steele is worth several million dollars. Where did he get it?
Buddahpundit on February 5, 2010 at 9:13 PM
Assuming you got to keep $500,000 of that $1,000,000 per year.
You could buy 2 median priced houses in America and a top of the line Lexus.
If you bought in Detroit you could buy 50 medium priced houses and a Ferrari.
MB4 on February 5, 2010 at 9:14 PM
I don’t know what was going on in the back of Steele’s mind. I do understand what you’re saying, Allah, because, objectively, what’s left is a large amount of money. But I agree with Steele 100%.
People who make $250k+ work their a$$e$ off for that and many make that only after putting in long years (and lots of sacrifices) to get to that point. Some others do it by working 80 hours a week. But because of a bunch of socialists who class-bait rent-seekers, they get to take some $100k+ of it via a tax law passed so the socialists in government can pass it out to people who voted for them and then take the credit for it.
If I were in the top income bracket(s) Obama wants to pillage, I’d be saying what they left me isn’t all that much either.
Dusty on February 5, 2010 at 9:14 PM
Maybe not in that one year, but the many years before he made a million he probably worked very hard. Most people don’t just wake up one day and make a million dollars. Those connections and that education were probably not a piece of cake, or cheap. I understand your point after all I work hard and I make just above minimum wage.
sammypants on February 5, 2010 at 9:16 PM
He’s right in a sense, but the optics are horrible.
changer1701 on February 5, 2010 at 9:16 PM
You could say 250k after taxes is not a lot of money. But a million?! C’mon, Mike. Even in NYC, you can live quite comfortably on that after the government takes their slice. And unlike McCain during the campaign, Steele apparently wasn’t saying this tongue-in-cheek.
Now if Steele meant that a million bucks after taxes won’t be considered much once Obama’s hyperinflation kicks in, that’s another matter.
Doughboy on February 5, 2010 at 9:17 PM
500 square feet? ;)
NoLeftTurn on February 5, 2010 at 9:18 PM
Duct tape is less than $5 a roll.
Steel colored, usually.
Fits nicely over flapping yaps.
Seals stupidity in succinctly.
profitsbeard on February 5, 2010 at 9:19 PM
$570K won’t get you a house in Sydney.
Mine is worth around a mill, but I can’t live off it (unless I open a brothel).
Wealth is only of real value when you can spend it.
OldEnglish on February 5, 2010 at 9:20 PM
$1,000,000 per year is the income of 1,000 average Haitians.
MB4 on February 5, 2010 at 9:20 PM
After the fraud in the White House gets done taxing it, Steele will be quite right!
Makes me wonder just how many tax cheats will come out of the woodwork when O Bomber gets all of his tax increases in place….and that counts the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, which will ultimately INCREASE everyone’s taxes.
GoldenEagle4444 on February 5, 2010 at 9:21 PM
I am fuming.
Holey schnikies, I know this isn’t a word…but per Jeff Foxworthy, I love it. The word is “Ustacoulda.”
As in, “I usta coulda feel kind of comfortable because I put a little bit aside and it was supposedacould grow.”
OR, I ustacoulda figure that the scratch I was contributing to Social Security was actually gonna come back to me at some poin.
But, I also ustacoulda think that perhaps my gob’ment would reward responsible behaviour, and say,”Wow, Chewy, you have paid into the system, been responsible and given more than your fair share. You will get back what you paid into the system…..
(EXPLITIVE DELETED)Awe, gee, wrong! And I’m totally pizzed about it!
Sorry, time to get ugly. It’s our Country, damnnit! Let’s please, for real take it back.
Whatchasay?
Chewy the Lab on February 5, 2010 at 9:22 PM
I would have to rob 200 banks to make $1,000,000. And that would be gross! Once I payed for the dynamite and the cops and DA’s and politicians to look the other way I would only net about half that. I should really think very seriously about a career change. Maybe run for office.
Tuco on February 5, 2010 at 9:26 PM
With the massive hyperinflation we’re about to experience, we’ll all be millionaires!
Fallen Sparrow on February 5, 2010 at 9:26 PM
The point, I think, he’s trying to make (and I’m no Steele fan) is that to a small business 1 million dollars doesn’t mean much after payroll expenses, inventory, taxes and such. Plus, Steele was trying to say to make a million dollars, isn’t that a worthy goal? If that is your goal, why should you be besmirched and penalized.
Hobbes on February 5, 2010 at 9:26 PM
The problem is that it isn’t a huge sum of money to the people Steele aspires to hang with. Therein lies the problem with his chairmanship and motivation. He’s less concerned with getting his job done than climbing the social ladder.
Yes a couple of homes, yacht, country club dues and a NetJets card will eat up $1 MM pretty quick, but Steele is supposed to be thinking about winning congressional seats not joining the landed gentry.
dedalus on February 5, 2010 at 9:31 PM
Love your written command of spoken language. :)
OldEnglish on February 5, 2010 at 9:32 PM
Sorry gang. I read what I wrote and I ranted.
I am just so tired, so mad, and so tired of being broke when I planned to be comfy (not rolling in it–just comfy).
Instead, I am scared out of my freakin’ mind, wondering what retired hubby and I are going to do in our home which has a market value (as of today) of less than $200,000 from over $300,000 a year ago. We have great equity, but it’s still a hard pill to swallow to think we could (if we’re lucky) get $180,000 for a home we paid $160,000 for 10 years ago, have updated and maintained to the nines, and we AREN’T going to make a significant return on this investment??”?
We live modestly and also own several rental properties.
Thank the Lord for these, but we are not even breaking even on the income they are generating.
Chit, sorry to sound so whiny!
Peace, Love and all that chit!
Chewy the Lab on February 5, 2010 at 9:36 PM
Michael Steele just went into Latrelle Spreewell territory…
Dumb… VERY dumb…
Khun Joe on February 5, 2010 at 9:37 PM
Um, meaning?
Chewy the Lab on February 5, 2010 at 9:43 PM
I was at the talk, it was a forum at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Mr. Steele was trying to rebuke Ford’s false claim that some people are rich enough that the extra taxes he wants, won’t make a difference. Mr. Steele was conveying the concept of incentives to the audience and he shut both Ford up and received a big round of applause.
Mr. Steele spoke very well yesterday and gave a much better case for the GOP than Ford did for Democrats.
Zombiehero on February 5, 2010 at 9:45 PM
That you have the knack of being able to transpose the spoken word to a written page. I always enjoy reading your posts.
OldEnglish on February 5, 2010 at 9:47 PM
Wouldja just chill out? Piece of cake…you can go rogue and steal, or just report the income and pay the taxes.
Question: if a crook really reported income (self-employment sans 1099), paid taxes on it, which the gob’ment collected…awe, gee, I know I’m dreaming…but it’s kinda fun!
Chewy the Lab on February 5, 2010 at 9:48 PM
Thanks! You made my night! I’m humbled!
Chewy the Lab on February 5, 2010 at 9:50 PM
This. If you pay 6 figure taxes then you feel this differently.
It was perhaps an inartful comment at most.
di butler on February 5, 2010 at 9:54 PM
Steele’s right.
A million after taxes ain’t a million no mo’.
Still…….microphone……audience……..Steele……..disaster.
I’m just glad he didn’t try to break out that new GOP rap song he’s been rehearsing. ;-)
David2.0 on February 5, 2010 at 9:55 PM
If he was trying to make the point that taxes were too high… he maybe should have said that.
Suggesting that anyone making a million dollars is someone we should feel sympathy for in this economy was just plain stupid.
sharrukin on February 5, 2010 at 10:00 PM
this guy has to go. yes, after taxes, lots of people’s salaries are not as much, probably half less, but this guy needs to know better.
immigrantchick on February 5, 2010 at 10:18 PM
Hmm…..let’s do some quick math here…..
My wife and I make $265,000/yr
39.5% tax….$104,675
6.76% state income tax….$17,887
Social Security Tax….12.4%……$32,860
Medicare/Medicaid…..2.9%…..$7,685
State surcharge 4% tax over 225,000…$10,600
Now….Student loan repayment…..$4,500/month (based off income based repayment mind you)…..$36,000
Income after all that is…..$55,293/year…..
That does not include house payment, insurance, other bills, etc….
Thanks a lot Obama….
nazo311 on February 5, 2010 at 10:32 PM
Dolly Parton’s New Jolene Lyrics
.
Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama!
Im begging of you please don’t take my money
Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama!
Please don’t take them just because you can
Your beauty is beyond compare
With flaming locks of auburn hair
With ebony skin and eyes of emerald green
Your smile is like a breath of spring
Your voice is soft like summer rain
And I cannot compete with you, Obama!
.
You talk about taxes and I weep
There’s nothing I can do to keep
From crying when I hear your name, Obama!
.
And I can easily understand
How you could easily take my money
But you don’t know what they mean to me, Obama!
.
Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama!
Im begging of you please don’t take my money
Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama!
Please don’t take them just because you can
.
You could have your choice of policies
But I could never get rich again
The last chance for me, Obama!
.
I had to have this talk with you
My happiness depends on you
And whatever you decide to do, Obama!
.
Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama!
Im begging of you please don’t take my money
Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama!
Please don’t take them even though you can
JC Silverberg on February 5, 2010 at 10:34 PM
In the grand scheme of things….
I agree with Steele and think it is about time someone said it. However he could have phrased it differently.
F15Mech on February 5, 2010 at 10:43 PM
You do realize that you are screwed since total income= greater then 250k.
You/wife need to take time off and drop your income down a bit.
F15Mech on February 5, 2010 at 10:49 PM
Maybe he’s comparing it to the number of stars in the universe. See? A million bucks isn’t that much.
Dongemaharu on February 5, 2010 at 11:15 PM
Hey it’s a great opening line. Not a lot? Not anymore…what would you do, put the half the government leaves you into a CD at 2%, and live off $1O,OOO a year–before taxes?
Want a laugh? Day of the Jackal. Monsiuer le Chacal carefully considers how much to demand for killing deGaulle and vanishing into a life of luxury for the rest of his days…$500,000.
Chris_Balsz on February 5, 2010 at 11:26 PM
skewed for sure.
I guess we now access our level of success on sell outs on reality tv. Be real people.
seesalrun on February 5, 2010 at 11:34 PM
–Just to make you feel better: the 39.6% tax probably won’t affect you. And if it does, it will only apply to the marginal income over about $250,000.
Jimbo3 on February 6, 2010 at 12:09 AM
AP, if you want to constrain yourself to the perma-poverty frame of Democrats and socialists, be my guest.
The GOP is the party of those who wish to be wealthy, or it will be the party of those that want to protect what little wealth they have. One or the other.
Personally, I see it as the latter, but it only wins when it is the former.
spmat on February 6, 2010 at 12:46 AM
It doesn’t make me feel any better. Sooner or later, the government will come to take more. That’s what 39.6% is doing — the Government is taking back what Reagan fought to pry from its clutches and give back to us.
I think I can find much better shovel-ready uses for that money right around my home. I could buy a lawnmower, for example, and save 50 jobs….
unclesmrgol on February 6, 2010 at 12:55 AM
About every 20 years or so what you thought was a million becomes worth half that due to inflation. So while you are working your butt off to get it, set it aside, and keep it safe, what you can buy with it at the end is a lot less. It used to be that with some common sense you could make savings grow enough to match or beat inflation along the way, but after the last decade I’m not so sure about that anymore.
AnotherOpinion on February 6, 2010 at 1:07 AM
I’ve been enjoying the dems circus show these past few months; especially how they have been showing themselves so out of touch with the mood of the country and even delusional about their goals. In fact, I encourage them to continue because it is killing them.
I hope those that are blowing Steele’s comments off are correct and that it is no big deal. However, perception is everything in this game and the more I read about Steele the less I am liking him. He may or may not hurt the cause, but I cannot see how he has helped it.
yubley on February 6, 2010 at 1:23 AM
Just a reminder. Read, folks, read!
I have long been a supporter of Michael Steele. He has displayed wit and a growing sense of conservatism. He has raised money and has plans for 2012 and 2010 at least per fund raising letters (heh). Yeah, he ain’t perfect but I like his work well enough to contribute to RNC as well as others even though I don’t come close to $250K. Not a virtue: it’s just the best way I can fight Obocrats.
Caststeel on February 6, 2010 at 1:43 AM
Not good wording, maybe, but it’s bad logic from the opposite perspective: “a million dollars is a lot of money, so there’s no harm in slapping a 99.9% tax on a person earning a billion.”
theperfecteconomist on February 6, 2010 at 2:11 AM
Thanks for putting Steele’s remarks in context. I’m not a fan, but context is important.
Read what, exactly? A comment in a blog that puts the quote in context, as opposed to media coverage? Well, OK, but the soundbite is what rules the day, and it’s where Steele gets himself in the most trouble. GOP chairmen have traditionally taken a lower profile, and Steele would do well to take it down several notches — but his ego appears to be getting in the way of the greater good.
Nichevo on February 6, 2010 at 2:24 AM
1 Gubmint is insatiable.
2 It eats cash.
Geochelone on February 6, 2010 at 3:38 AM
Hmmmm.
Michael Steele + foot = ?
Assembly required.
memomachine on February 6, 2010 at 8:10 AM
What’s more alarming is that NONE raised their hands Steele asked “How many of you want to make a million dollars a year?” Bunch of losers!
A million dollars is poison on a tax return. We were audited by the IRS the first time we earned that amount in a single year. It’s even more fun when the IRS audits you because you didn’t report as much as the previous year.
There should be a straight across the board tax no matter what excuse one uses for under achievement. And it should be payable by the individual, not deducted from ones payroll check.
kregg on February 6, 2010 at 8:33 AM
This is one thing I’m not going to criticize Steele for. He was speaking to college students. Hopefully at least a few of them have an entrepreneurial spirit and want to build businesses that generate several million dollars per year. (If not, the country is in trouble). When you start thinking of your financial goals in millions instead of thousands, it really gets your brain working.
I don’t have a problem with Steele’s comment… but then again I’m a Libertarian. State-controlled media types and lefty trolls everywhere will make a big deal out the comment to fit their class warfare narrative.
bigbeas on February 6, 2010 at 8:34 AM
What’s more alarming is that NONE raised their hands when Steele asked “How many of you want to make a million dollars a year?” Bunch of losers!
A million dollars is poison on a tax return. We were audited by the IRS the first time we earned that amount in a single year. It’s even more fun when the IRS audits you because you didn’t report as much as the previous year.
There should be a straight across the board tax no matter what excuse one uses for under achievement. And it should be payable by the individual, not deducted from ones payroll check.
kregg on February 6, 2010 at 8:34 AM
I wonder what will get more attention in the state-controlled media… Steele’s comment or Obama’s “corpse-man” comment?
bigbeas on February 6, 2010 at 8:39 AM
Thanks for that, Zombie. Context is a beatiful thing.
Least of These on February 6, 2010 at 9:30 AM
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!! *whew*!
Oh man, that was funny. You really had me going for a moment there…
What? Wait… You were SERIOUS? WTF?
Look, while I don’t personally make that kind of money, I have known and had the chance to speak with and “pick the brain” of people who DO make that kind of money and MORE. Let me tell you the truth: Private citizens who make that kind of money are different than the rest of us. They are more driven, work longer hours, take significantly greater risk, are almost universally nearly superhuman “people persons” in that they seem to have a preternatural ability to remember faces, names, and the intimate details of people’s lives that have been related to them through conversation.
Most of the really wealthy people I have known regularly work 12 hour days, 6 days a week, all year long, even AFTER they have achieved wealth. Often they worked even longer and harder on the way up. For most of us working a 40 hour week we cannot even conceive of working that long, it just seems unnatural. It’s normal for the truly wealthy.
So please, don’t give me the “I work harder than the boss” argument. While it is occasionally true, it is mostly false and just makes you look like a class envying leftist ignoramus. I know you are better than that. You must be. You hang out here.
wearyman on February 6, 2010 at 9:30 AM
57% eh. With your job is there any overriding reason that you must stay in New York? Couldn’t you just as easily do it in, say, Texas or Tennessee?
Oldnuke on February 6, 2010 at 9:51 AM
Michael Steele….go away.
Can anybody tell me anything good this guy’s done since he got the position? And it’s all about his stupid book nobody is going to read.
TheAudacityofNOPE on February 6, 2010 at 10:20 AM
We agree that risk-taking and networking skills are key components of wealth creation. Hard work is part of it too, though plenty of people work far beyond 40-hours a week and make less than $100K. Hard work is just part of the equation.
America is an ownership society. If you are in a position to sacrifice income for equity (many people can’t), and you can pick the right market at the right time, you’ll do better than someone who works very hard for a salary at a business owned by someone else.
dedalus on February 6, 2010 at 10:30 AM
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