Chuck Schumer went on The View, apparently in search of friendly interlocutors. He preached the Democrats’ old-time religion:
“We are united in going after Trump, and showing the American people that he is making the middle class pay for the tax cuts on the rich. …
“He wants to use that money for tax cuts for the billionaires. The Republican Party is a different kettle of fish than it used to be, and that’s why we’re fighting them so hard,” Schumer continued. “They are controlled by a small group of wealthy, greedy people, and you know what their attitude is? ‘I made my money all by myself. How dare your government take my money from me? I don’t want to pay taxes.’”
Never mind that most billionaires (most who are active in politics, anyway) are Democrats. The Democratic Party is rolling in dough, mostly because they are the party of the rich. And, billionaires aside, the Democrats’ best demographic is voters who earn more than $200,000.
Nevertheless, to hear Schumer and other Democrats talk, you would think that Joe Hill is going to be their next presidential candidate. It is remarkable that after all these years, the Dems, unlike the Republicans, have not been able to come with a new way of seeing themselves. They are stuck in the same old rut.
The anti-plutocrat shtick is particularly rich coming from Schumer. In general, upper-income taxpayers pay far more than their fair share. But there is one exception to that rule: the carried interest treatment of income earned by hedge fund managers. I believe it may have been watered down somewhat, but hedge fund managers have long enjoyed a tax break that allows them to treat ordinary income as a capital gain. A friend of mine who got rich running a hedge fund told me that this carried interest tax treatment is “completely unjustifiable.”
So who has battled for years to preserve this “completely unjustifiable” tax break for the rich? Chuck Schumer, who represents Wall Street and has kept Wall Street dollars flowing into Democratic coffers.
It’s quite a combination: stale class warfare and boundless hypocrisy. That’s Chuck Schumer.
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