Opinion: Being 1 percenter is not something to be ashamed of
By Bill O’Reilly
Growing up in Levittown out on Long Island, I remember my father buying pants through the mail. This seemed strange to me. There was a Robert Hall clothing store nearby, and it had pants all over the place. But my dad said he could buy two pair for the price of one from some guy in South Dakota. One problem: The pants never fit.
My father didn’t much care. He saved some money, which he put in the bank, affording me an opportunity to go to private schools.
Bill O'Reilly
My parents never wanted to be rich and did not resent those who were, although my dad did not like Joseph Kennedy. He called JFK’s father a bootlegger. The truth is, we O’Reillys did not even know any rich people. They lived in Garden City, about five miles away.
Today, I am a rich guy, a 1 percenter. I can buy all the pants I want. My late father could not even fathom how much money I make. I have trouble processing it, as well.
But I never worked for cash. I always wanted to do something interesting and actually walked away from a high-paying TV job back in the 1990s to attend Harvard, where I secured a master’s degree in public administration. There were tons of rich folks at Harvard. I did not resent them.
Today, the Occupy Wall Street crew and many progressive Americans believe that I am a greed head, even though they have no idea what I do with my money. Just the fact that I have it gives them license to brand me a dreadful “1 percenter.”
The reason that I have prospered monetarily is that I put freedom to good use. I worked hard, got a great education, paid my dues in journalism and, finally, hit it big. America gave me the freedom to do all those things. In the past, my achievements might have been celebrated. Not today. Now, more than a few folks say I am not paying my fair share to ensure the security of my fellow citizens.
According to the IRS, the 1.4 million households that comprise the 1 percent (that is taking in about $350,000 a year) pay 37 percent of the nation’s income tax. That’s a big number, is it not? And the New York Times reports that the 1 percenters contributed about 30 percent of all charitable donations in 2007. Another big number.
So I’ve decided that those demanding more of my money for “social justice” are really attacking freedom. In this country, it is not wrong to prosper. You should not be demeaned for “having.”
President Obama will be doing the nation a huge disservice if he bases his upcoming campaign on class warfare, because that’s really an assault on individual freedom. Yes, we are all Americans, and we should all be in it together. But that doesn’t mean the government can guarantee individual outcomes. In a free society, it can’t.
Bill O’Reilly is host of the Fox News show “The O’Reilly Factor” and author of “Who’s Looking Out For You?” and “Pinheads and Patriots”.
The number of things that this man does not understand grows every day. First it was the moon and the tides, now this.
Bill, you do not work on Wall Street, aren’t a corrupt banker, etc. You are just a talking head for a propaganda machine. That is why they don’t like you, not because of how much money you earn. You could do your job for free and they would still not like you.
‘tide goes in, tide goes out, you can’t explain that’ -bill
Mr. Robot, are you serious? Are you actually going to argue that Occupyers hate ALL talking heads for propaganda machines? What about the left-wing talking heads and ministers of propaganda like the Keith Olbermann’s and Katie Couric’s of the world?
To your point, Occupyers do not like Mr. O’Reilly because they are left-wing partisans who are not able to compromise and don’t even bother understand the arguments coming from the other side.
You (and them) misunderstand Mr. O’Reilly. Question for you Mr. Robot: Which conservative commentator is more open-minded than Mr. O’Reilly? Which one has higher Neilsen ratings?
I’ll spare you the research. There isn’t one. For those of you leftists who find it difficult finding common ground with the other side, Mr. O’Reilly is your best bet at reaching out. You should try and get past your partisan biases, and give him a listen once in a while.
Oh thanks ever So much for that super-astute comeback to that mr. robot, you sounded just like Me!. Some people say he’s really a putrid, pompous, pontificating popinjay but people with some brains like Me and You know he can’t be wrong… just look at those fabulous Nielson’s!! And that nasty Katie Couric, now there’s a real socialiss tool with her “gotcha” questions for Sarah Palin…nobody knows what publications or books they read right off the top of their heads.. geez. Thank God fox news is like Me! and we get the Real stories.
O’Reilly
“The one percent, the wealthy pay 37 percent of the nation’s income tax. That’s a big number, is it not?”
No Mr. O’Rielly, the number used to be 91%. In the 60’s the tax rate for the wealthy was 91%. The wealthy said, “Give us a tax break and we will use the extra money to create jobs for the middle class”. In the 70’s the tax rate was cut almost in half and today it is 34%.
So where are the jobs Mr. O’Rielly?
What have the wealthy been doing with the extra money Mr. O’Rielly?
Have the wealthy been lying to us for the last 30 years Mr. O’Rielly?
Are the wealthy using the extra money to export jobs overseas Mr. O’Rielly?
We are getting kicked out of our homes. We are forced to choose between groceries and rent. We are suffering from environmental pollution. We are denied quality healthcare care. Our children are suffering from cuts to education. We are working long hours for little pay and no rights, if we’re working at all.
thimesnv, BillO the Clown is a condescending Talibublican creep… just what common ground does he offer to people that live in the real world?
Really Bill, I don’t dislike that you are rich. I dislike that your money making money pays fewer taxes than me making that same amount of money. That is what I resent.
I have always felt that people who are wealthy, made much of their money on the backs of poorly paid labor and/or corrupt and greedy practices. I haven’t changed my mind. Bill, you and all of your bretheran in that 1% should pay your fair share.
Billo 30 % of all charitable contributions are tax deductable. Bushie Boo Enron Halliburton and Cheney too.
BillO, we’re just not that into you. It isn’t that all 1% are disdained, some have used their money well to do good things – i.e. Warren Buffet and Bill Gates. You, sir, have not really done that, now have you? The rich can afford a cadre of lawyers and CPAs to find every loophole available to reduce their taxes, the poor cannot. You are just an empty suit, one of the many in the GOP.