Alana Goodman September 28, 2011 Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis, one of President Obama’s major supporters, summed up the hypocrisy of the president’s class warfare rhetoric in a blog post the other day: Economic success has somehow become the new boogie man; some in the Democratic party are now casting about for enemies and business leaders, and anyone who has achieved success in terms of rank or fiscal success is being cast as a bad guy in a black hat. É So for fun: I take the Acela train to Philly and NYC all of the time. Alone – no traveling companions to prep me. I have never seen our president on the train, have you? I own 50 hours on NetJets for the rare occasion I do travel by private plane. Does Air Force One charter out? Stop making private planes an issue. This is a tiny issue for us to deal with for our country. I do have a nice home with a housekeeper. I have only one home. I bet there is more staff at the White House though? And Camp David. What kind of real estate tax is the White House paying? Nice jewelry here. Click away. Stop it. Upgrade the discourse. It would be hypocritical enough if the Leonsis’ of the world were the only ones who would get hit by Obama’s proposed tax hikes. But families making $250,000-a-year and up would also get soaked. Same with small business owners. These people don’t want to hear the president and his ultra-rich friends like Warren Buffett demonize them for success, and act as if it isn’t a burden for them to hand over even more of their money to the federal government. It’s also interesting Leonsis mentions Obama’s denunciations of private jets, something the president doesn’t seem to carry over to his own use of Air Force One. Notably, there has been a lot of criticism of Obama’s proposed tax on private planes – and not just from wealthy Americans who fly them. The Alliance for Aviation Across America – a group that represents small and mid-sized aviation businesses – slammed the president’s plan in a statement last week, arguing it could cost the industry jobs. “On behalf of over 5,700 small businesses, farms, elected officials, Chambers of Commerce and aircraft operators in all 50 states, we are deeply concerned about the inclusion of a user fee tax in the president’s recently released plan to create jobs,” wrote the organization. “It is astounding that the president would include user fees – which would add to the daunting challenges already confronting businesses in this climate – in a plan that purports to create jobs and stimulate the economy.” http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/09/28/obama-class-warfare-leonsis/
Source: COMMENTARY MAGAZINE
Date: 2011-09-28