And if it were raised to the 92 percent level, as it was under Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower [6], our Mr. Jones would have paid an additional $3.2 billion in taxes.
Taxpayers Are Subsidizing "Robin Hood"
Of course, Paul Tudor Jones doesn't want to pay more taxes. That's undoubtedly one reason why he donated to the McCain and Romney campaigns. It's much more gratifying to give whatever you feel like giving, whenever you feel like it. And it must be way more fun to dictate terms to women running soup kitchens (as portrayed in 60 Minutes), give pseudo-evangelical speeches to adoring crowds, and be lionized on television under the adoring gaze of Scott Pelley.
Can't blame him for that, I suppose. But why should the rest of us subsidize it?
That's right. If the "Robin Hood Foundation" has collected $1.2 billion in tax-deductible contributions, that means the US government has given up nearly $200 million in tax income (perhaps much more) as a result. [7] The rest of us are picking up the slack -- either with our taxes, or in the loss of needed services. We're subsidizing the generosity of billionaires.
That's no reason to end deductions for charitable giving, but here's a thought: If we're paying 15 to 40 percent of the pricetag, shouldn't taxpayers have a voice in how this massive foundation is run?
Robin Hood, My A**
Most Wall Street billionaires are Robin Hoods in reverse. The work of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, the Levin Senate Subcommittee, and other investigative bodies have shown that they earned much of their wealth through the duplicitous treatment of bank customers, homeowners, union pension funds, and the plundering of other middle-class financial resources. And over the past several decades leaders in both parties (although the Republicans are far more extreme) have presided over the most extreme upward transfer of wealth in modern history.
"Robin Hood Foundation"? We admire his philanthropic instincts, but Jones should be ashamed of that name. It's a gesture of supreme arrogance. Robin Hood, as we all know, stole from the rich and gave to the poor. Far too many of his foundation's benefactors have done precisely the opposite.
Jones says he wants to be "at the forefront of actually finding a way to kick poverty's ass." Gotta love that attitude. But that particular ass-kicking will require systemic change - and genuine sacrifice from the likes of Paul Tudor Jones.
Nobody wants to steal from the ultra-wealthy class, a group which 60 Minutes shows celebrating itself at a Jones fundraiser. But we do want them to pay their fair share. It would be nice if they stopped stealing from others, too.
Handout Nation
The Jones/60 Minutes vision of America is of that of a nation in which the majority must tolerate the slow siphoning off of its wealth, while hoping against hope that some of the siphoners will then deign to rescue them from poverty. Is that the kind of society we want to become? A "Handout Nation"? A people who must rely on the kindness of strangers?
We'll close with a few words about the third and final story on last Sunday's 60 Minutes, entitled "The Invisible Wounds of War." The producers couldn't even cover that story without ladling out a thick gravy of anti-government ideology. Instead of covering the Veterans Administration, for example (it's done some impressive things), the story focuses on yet another private donor. Says host David Martin:
"Head of one of New York's most successful construction firms, (Art) Fisher offered to build a state of the art brain injury center. His foundation would raise the money. All he asked of the government was to stay out of his way." (Emphasis ours)
The story never asks why our government doesn't have the money or resources to treat brain-injured veterans, especially since we supposedly honor and respect their sacrifice. Again: One of the reasons is because people like Art Fisher don't pay enough in taxes.
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