Rush Limbaugh Fantasizing

Rush Limbaugh continues his campaign of cut and slash against the middle class. On his program on December 12, he stated (and this is not being taken out of context, nor was it advanced tongue-in-cheek):

So, clearly, something needs to happen in order restore confidence here, to create economic growth, which will filter through to all levels of the economy. And it seems to me, folks, that the simplest, the fastest, and the most direct way to do this is to bail out the rich.... So if we are going to save our economy, the bailout of the wealthy cannot wait. The rich need a bailout. The rich need further tax cuts. This is what is necessary. I would be willing to personally present this plan to President-elect Obama, because it has worked. I am confident.... ladies and gentlemen, I would be willing to present this plan personally to the president-elect 'cause it works....

Rush always has argued that the wealthy are really the deprived class in this country, facing discrimination at every turn. It is palpably untrue, of course, as this on-line editorial from USA Today on October 9 demonstrates. Here are four of the ways "Washington coddles rich:"

- subsidizing million-dollar subsidies:

To quiet the anger over the bailout package, Congress tried to limit compensation for executives at participating companies. Most "golden parachutes" were banned and tax deductions for compensation of more than $500,000 were removed. Good. But why on earth are taxpayers subsidizing pay over $500,000 in the first place?.... Although a 1993 law restricts pay deductibility to $1 million, companies have taken full advantage of a huge loophole that exempts "performance pay" from the cap.

- giving billionaires a tax break:

In 2007, the top 50 managers of hedge funds and private equity firms earned an average of $558 million, according to Alpha magazine.... (but) many of them paid a lower tax rate than middle-class Americans.

How can this be? Through a complex sleight of hand known as "carried interest," they pay just 15% by masquerading their income as capital gains.... (Partly as a resuly)in 1982, the average CEO made 42 times the salary of the lowest paid person at his or her company. Last year, he or she made 411 times the salary of the lowest paid employee.

- helping to finance McMansions:

the deduction for mortgage interest is allowed for homes worth up to $1 million, whereas capping it at value up to approximately a half million dollars (possibly to vary among regions) would be a boon to the Treasury and disadvantage largely wealthy homeowners.

- paying for executives' skyboxes:

(there is) full deductibility of business-related entertainment expenses. While this might seem trivial, it is catalyzing a sea change in American sports — the surging price of tickets as teams build expensive stadiums designed to maximize revenue from luxury boxes and premium seating.

Around the USA, perfectly good stadiums with reasonable pricing and great sight lines are being replaced by billion-dollar-plus palaces geared toward capturing the upscale market and taxpayer-subsidized "client entertainment."

There you have it: subsidizing performance pay of executives up to $1 million; millionaire managers of equity funds and hedge funds enjoying a 15% tax rate by labeling their income as "capital gains"; deduction for mortgage interest paid for million-dollar homes; deduction of 100% of business-related entertainment expenses, resulting in middle-income taxpayers subsidizing stadia and arenas which then are geared toward entertaining the wealthy.

And still Rush Limbaugh mesmerizes his audience, claiming

the only group of people that's taking and taking and taking and never giving anything back -- and, of course, we kept hearing about the phrase "gotta give something back," that's what makes you a great person. Well, the poor, I suggested, need to be paying more taxes so they had some skin in the game.

No reason, according to Rush Limbaugh, to spread the benefits of American society to the poor and the middle class, those he finds unworthy.