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In reply to the discussion: George Will On How Trumpism Became Republican Dogma - The 11th Hour - MSNBC [View all]JohnSJ
(91,965 posts)on this near the end of the interview with 90 seconds left:
Williams: You said to Andrea Mitchell today, and I am paraphrasing, if one man can change public life for the worse, I don't think we need to name names, that also means that one man can change change it for the better. I heard that, and I was briefly filled with hope, how about a couple of nominations, anyone come to mind?
Will: Sure, there is Ben Sasse, there are a number of Governors, I think Tom Cotton is someone who could step forward, and say what needs to be said to a nation which is weary of being weary.
When George will put Tom Cotton in the list of people he though couldt lead the republican party out of trumpism, that told me no amount of insufferable intellectual embellishment that George Will may try to paint as "reasonableness", in the end he is quite extreme.
I have that recorded so I was able to verbatim transcribe that.
During that interview, he was also throwing out the "both sides do it" argument, and Brian Williams was also playing up with that also.
That false equivalency isn't even close.
Bill Maher was spewing the same "both sides do it" nonesense. What was humorous on Maher's show was when he was arguing how the rich pay more than their fair share of taxes. When someone on the panel commented on Jeff Bezos not paying his fair share, Maher in his usual ignorant self proclaimed that was Amazon not Jeff Bezos.
All Maher had to do was look up in Forbes, not a liberal publication:
"Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos paid a true tax rate of 0.98% as his wealth grew by a staggering $99 billion between 2014 and 2018; he reported just $4.22 billion in reported income during the same period."
In addition:
Bezos paid no federal income tax in 2007, ProPublica found, even though he added $3.8 billion to his fortune that year. Thats because he was able to offset the $46 million in income he reported with losses from investments and deductions on debts and other expenses, according to ProPublicas analysis. ProPublica also found that Musk paid no income tax in 2018.
........
"$175 billion per year. Thats how much the top 1% of taxpayers contribute to the tax gapthe difference between federal taxes legally owed and those actually collectedeach year, according to a March study. The study estimated that the top 1% of taxpayers dont pay taxes on 20% of their income. Significantly, however, ProPublicas report does not suggest those billionaires broke the law and calculates the true tax not on income, but on wealth, which for the very rich is a much bigger number, since unrealized gains arent taxed."
https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2021/06/08/richest-americans-including-bezos-musk-and-buffett-paid-federal-income-taxes-equaling-just-34-of-401-billion-in-new-wealth-bombshell-report-shows/?sh=76bedc57fe1b
Usually the Maher's or George Will's are never called out on their inconsistencies, or downright incorrect information.