Fair and balanced Bill O’Reilly is the gift that keeps on giving. Every time I hear him use the phrase: “. . . pay my fair share.” I ask myself: Who decides fair share? Is it O’Reilly? If so, why is he more qualified than Hussein? This extract from a great piece by Charles C. Johnson shows the complete folly in O’Reilly’s thinking: “When President Obama demanded in September that "millionaires and billionaires" "pay their fair share," he laid a claim to justice, albeit justice wrongly understood. America's tax code is unjust, he argued--not because everyone doesn't pay the same rate, but because the "rich" don't pay enough in federal taxes. Dropping his g's, stomping his feet, seducing crowds, he was in full campaign mode. "If you love me, then you gotta help me pass this bill," he told a swooning crowd. The campaigner-in-chief was back, still wanting to "spread the wealth around," insisting that taxes must be raised. It was all about "living within our means." But if Obama is serious about living within our means, he would do well to study President Calvin Coolidge--the last Republican president to pay down the debt while simultaneously growing the economy. There's never been a better time than now for a return to the Coolidge perspective. Often wrongly dismissed as a "do-nothing" executive by New Deal activists, Coolidge showed what true conservatism could produce. He brought Washington's fiscal house into order. He balanced budgets, cut spending, slashed taxes, and helped expand the economy to produce prosperity. In other words, exactly what we need today. Unfortunately, Obama's philosophy of government couldn't be further from Coolidge's. "The wisest and soundest method of solving our tax problem is through economy [spending restraints]," Coolidge said in his inaugural address in 1925. His concept of our republic differed markedly from Obama's. "The collection of any taxes which are not absolutely required," he argued, "which do not beyond reasonable doubt contribute to the public welfare, is only a species of legalized larceny. Under this Republic the rewards of industry belong to those who earn them. Americans, he reminded us, "are politically free people and must be an economically free people." But with President Obama, America has become less economically free, falling in the indexes of economic freedom.” Lessons For Obama From Silent Cal By Charles C. Johnson from the November 2011 issue http://spectator.org/archives/2011/11/22/lessons-for-obama-from-silent If Hussein’s philosophy is wrong so is O’Reilly’s because both assume there is such a thing as a “fair share.” Even those who make the case for “fair share” must realize that so long as there is a tax on income there can be no fair share because physical labor will always be taxed at a higher rate than all other forms of taxation. As a former high school history and English teacher, 1971 to 1973, O’Reilly should know that throughout history physical labor has always been the foundation for all taxation; indeed, slavery itself is the prime mover for all taxation. I cannot give O’Reilly a passing grade on “fair share” simply because nobody else is calling for repealing the XVI Amendment. O’Reilly deserves a big fat goose egg because he talks to millions of people five nights a week. Not even Hussein gets to preach the “fair share” gospel so often to so many. In fact, Hussein’s sermon gets to people Hussein does not reach when talking heads like O’Reilly question the percentage rather than denounce the concept. This next statement from O’Reilly is an outright lie: “I've taken nothing from the government.” O’Reilly works for the Ministry of Propaganda, i.e., government-controlled broadcasting. Who the hell does he think pays those TV advertising costs? Not only are the incomes of working people taxed, they are taxed again when retail prices rise to pay for the advertising that gives O’Reilly his multimillion dollar yearly income. And did you ever hear anyone in television say eliminate the advertising deduction when they rail against the other deductions? I will apologize for calling O’Reilly a liar on the day the tax deduction for advertising is eliminated. Finally, I loved watching O’Reilly squirm when the pedophile priests were being outed; nevertheless, he is the worst kind of Catholic; he just cannot bring himself to criticize a priesthood when there is no overt criminal activity involved; even the fair share Socialist priesthood is spared. I assume O’Reilly’s Catholic mindset sees nothing wrong in “paying a fair share.” I’m sure he would say the same thing if the Roman Catholic Church was collecting the taxes. The Tax Man Cometh Bill O’Reilly Dec 10, 2011 This week Caesar came for me, demanding my tax obligation. As a 1 percenter, my burden was substantial, but I'm not whining. I love my country and understand it needs money to fulfill its obligations. So the check is in the mail. Thirty-five years ago, I was broke, having just graduated from Boston University with a master's degree in broadcast journalism. I was lucky enough to get hired as a reporter in Scranton, Pa., at $150 a week. One problem: I couldn't pay my rent on that. So I picked up an additional $80 a month writing dopey gag lines for "Uncle Ted's Ghoul School," a Saturday night monster fright fest. Stuff like: "Listen, Drac, here's what's at stake." Over the years, I worked hard, took chances, moved all over the country and finally attained affluence. Along the way, I always felt I was paying my fair share to the government. I still do, and I'm getting a bit teed off by President Obama implying I am not. Hey, Mr. President, the massive debt is partly your fault. I had nothing to do with it. This is not a give-take situation. I've taken nothing from the government. The problem for Obama and the big-spending liberal movement in America is accountability. The outgoing doctor in charge of Medicare, Donald Berwick, told the press that about 30 percent of all payments are wasteful, meaning either the health care money is stolen or used for unnecessary treatments. In New York State, Medicaid investigators are fed up with the "pay and chase" philosophy sanctioned by the pinheads in Albany. Pay the dubious claims and chase the perps later if enough proof is developed that they are cheating. Obama is big on using "income inequality" as a campaign slogan. And it does exist in America. Folks without a good education or a technical micro-skill are not likely to earn good money. Unions are on the decline, and the public sector is collapsing economically. No longer can the taxpayers afford lavish pensions and overtime payments. The working class is getting hammered all over the place. So, the Democratic Party wants more of my take-home pay diverted to them so they can give it to those not earning very much. But the Obama administration, like others before it, refuses to watch how the money is dispatched. Therefore, billions of dollars are abused every year. Medicare waste alone costs the country $168 billion per annum. There comes a time when the truth must be told. The federal government is not built to run massive entitlement programs or health care or even the U.S. Postal Service, which is now going bankrupt. Washington simply cannot administrate to 300 million people no matter how much money pours in. I work hard and want to pay my fair share. But I don't want my hard-earned dollars wasted by lazy, incompetent politicians pandering for votes. Call me crazy. http://townhall.com/columnists/billoreilly/2011/12/10/the_tax_man_cometh
