A visit from the Chimp
George Bush finally agrees to speak to the NAACP, and what is he selling? Repeal of the estate tax and privatizing Social Security:
You know, one of my friends is Bob Johnson, founder of BET. He's an interesting man. He believes strongly in ownership. He has been a successful owner. He believes strongly, for example, that the death tax will prevent future African American entrepreneurs from being able to pass their assets from one generation to the next. He and I also understand that the investor class shouldn't be just confined to the old definition of the investor class.Just what Americans of African descent are most concerned about these days.You know, an amazing experience, when I went to Canton, Mississippi, I asked the workers there, who were mainly African American workers, I said, how many of you have your own 401(k)? Nearly all the hands went up. That means they own their own assets. It's their money. They manage their own money. It's a system that says, we want you to have assets that you can leave from one generation to the next. Asset accumulation is an important part of removing the barriers for opportunity. I think it's really important, and I want to work with Bruce, if possible. The federal government should encourage ownership in the government pension program, to give people a chance to own an asset, something they can call their own.
Uniter, decider, he's so many things...
| Posted at 2:29 PM | Permalink |
|
Comments (1)
Funny clip about the speech on the Colbert Report:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCv9tGSvw5o
More good stuff on the speech from the Daily Show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfuPewS5XGM
Posted by: TKrueg at July 24, 2006 02:47 PMSometimes you need to laugh at it all...
I'm kinda laughed out with these people.
Posted by: Jack Bog at July 24, 2006 02:58 PMNot exactly a uniter. (Audio link, or listen to OPB-FM tonight at 7:00.)
See also George Will.
Posted by: Alan DeWitt at July 24, 2006 03:05 PMIf all of the issues we face were not so deadly serious, the antics of monkey and friends would be hilarious. Bill Maher is dead-on when he states the citizens of our country suffer from some serious f-up fatigue.
Posted by: jimbo at July 24, 2006 03:26 PMAre you saying African Americans are NOT concerned about financial security the the legacy they leave there children? Yeah....yur right. Those concerns are only for us white folks.
Posted by: tscrib at July 24, 2006 04:34 PMI think there were something like 59 African-Americans who paid (or whose estates paid) the estate tax last year. 59. And this year that number is going to shrink down to something in the 30s. Obviously a pressing matter of concern for the NAACP.
Posted by: Dave J. at July 24, 2006 04:52 PMNext time, he will be talking about asset aquisition strategies-like the one he worked out with the City of Austin when he had the Texas Ranger franchise: overcondemnation, then rake in the increase in property value. That one is big in Oregon, as is misusing fiduciary responsibility and getting a friendly judge or pro tem to "validate" the abuse. Get the big O or some other such rag to do a "Monday profile", or your name in the "Portland Monthly" and you got it made in the shade. We need a lot more people of color participating in these shenanigans. Heck, it's only fair. You teach em, Chimp.
Posted by: Cynthia at July 24, 2006 05:14 PMHe's not John Kerry, thank God.
Posted by: Cousin Jim at July 24, 2006 05:43 PMAre you saying African Americans are NOT concerned about financial security the the legacy they leave there children?
No, that's a distortion of what I said. Which is why I banned you and shouldn't have unbanned you. Go troll somewhere else.
He's not John Kerry, thank God.
Thank God for all the innocent blood that the Chimp has spilled, all the while making us less secure than we've been in our entire lifetimes? I'm not sure God's the one to thank.
Posted by: Jack Bog at July 24, 2006 06:28 PMYes, we should all be so glad we didn't get some brainy stiff in the white house. What with all that book readin'/learnin', military duty, law degree, budgetary experience, and history for political perspective.
Oh yes, clearly the best man for the job is a guy who has failed and stumbled, all through life. That's fine if you're a regular schmoe like you or I, not if you have a nation on your shoulders.
Wake up! This isn't a movie...
Posted by: TKrueg at July 24, 2006 10:01 PMIt's really incredible when you think about issues that actually DO interest African American groups like the NAACP: education, economic revitalization in inner cities, health care, improved wages, crime, police brutality...I could go on and on, and perhaps might hit repeal of the estate tax and privatizing Social Security at about #128. Unbelievable that Bush just can't get off his pet subjects long enough to even appear interested in other people. What a sorry embarassment he is.
Posted by: Dave J. at July 24, 2006 10:19 PMSometimes I wonder if Jon Stewart is writing George W's speeches. The line about being in Canton, Mississippi and discussing the 401 k plans of a group of African-American workers is pure comic gold. "I wish I had your 401 k Mr. President."
Posted by: tom at July 25, 2006 09:16 AMMaybe the president watched The West Wing? Because they had an episode where a black Democractic congressman refused to vote against repeal of the estate tax because so many of his black constituents believed (perhaps falsely) that it would apply to them. He said something about "the first generation of black millionaires."
Posted by: Kai Jones at July 25, 2006 10:52 AMIs it any wonder that Bush and the conservatives would try make repealing the estate tax a populist issue? In 2002, only 3% of deceased adults' estates were affected by the tax, according to the nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center and figures from the IRS. Apparently, many estates that weren't above that threshold paid a higher % in taxes, ironically.
If you have the 'juice', you can find plenty of ways to subvert the IRS and dodge your tax obligations. Yeah, let someone ELSE pay their fair share.
It comes down to framing the debate to the lowest common denominator. 'Death Tax', 'No Child Left Behind', 'Clear Skies Initiative', 'Fiscal Responsibility', 'War of Terror', 'cut-n-run'... they're all just words that wash over us now, and the public has become numb to it. But hey, even though America feels disenfranchised, I'm sure we're a stronger democracy for it.
Posted by: TKrueg at July 25, 2006 12:18 PM[Posted as indicated; restored later.]
Posted by Blog restoration | August 13, 2007 6:52 PM