Similar to her previous statement on the issue, Goldberg said "I just feel like...I’ve worked very hard...this is something I want to give to my kid and she should be able to accept it." After Whoopi called it a "double tax" Sara Evans exclaimed "I totally agree with you!"
Joy Behar, in using the typical left wing class warfare propaganda claimed that "the very, very rich, not only don’t have to pay it, but get tax cuts." As she has done before, Behar gets her facts wrong. In 2005, the top one percent (those making $364,657 or more) paid 39.4 percent, but earned only 21.2 percent of the wealth.
Whoopi Goldberg did call out Joy Behar exclaiming that the wealthiest Americans are "pay ing 50 percent of their income. It’s not like they’re not paying."
Video (50 secs): Windows Media (1.55 MB) or MP3 audio (384 kB).
The entire transcript is below.
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: So maybe I shouldn’t bring up the fact that people are very annoyed with me.
JOY BEHAR: Why are they annoyed with you?
GOLDBERG: Well, they’re annoyed with me because I said that I thought it was really awful that if I left my daughter and my grand kids my stuff when I died, that I was annoyed that they would have to pay taxes on something I’ve already paid taxes on. Well, tell! People lost their minds!
BEHAR: Money!
SHERRI SHEPHERD: I agree with you!
GOLDBERG: Yeah, you know, I just feel like, you know, I’ve worked really hard, my, this is something I want to give to my kid, and she should be able to accept it.
SHEPHERD: You pay tax on everything.
SARA EVANS: You paid taxes on it already!
GOLDBERG: See, I just feel like that’s double taxing. People keep saying to me it’s not. But it is! It is!
EVANS: I totally agree with you!
GOLDBERG: No one can explain it.
[applause]
EVANS: I totally agree with you.
GOLDBERG: But Joy says, Joy said-
EVANS: Because I wanted to go back to what you said about how-
BEHAR: What did I say?
EVANS: Well, you said "I mean, what about Bill Gates, should he just be able to give his children all of that money?" And I say yes, absolutely!
BEHAR: Well, I don’t think that- I think you should have a cap. You know, it’s like when I sell a piece of property, if I make more than $250,000 on it, I have to pay 20 percent capital gains on my profits. Well, a lot of the money that we make over our lives have been profits, and those are capital gains again.
GOLDBERG: They tax it!
BEHAR: Well, but, but the other thing about it, first of all, let me just tell you that in the year 2010, this law will be repealed for just that one year. So everybody who’s planning to die, that’s the year to do it. [laughter] 2010 because in 2011 it goes back to the death tax as you call it. Isn’t that strange?
GOLDBERG: It’s very strange to me.
BEHAR: So 2010 is the year.
GOLDBERG: But I know why people do it, because they know that people are always going to die. They know people are going to continue to die. They are never going to be able to stop that no matter how many pills they take. It will never happen.
BEHAR: Your point is very well taken. I mean, you know, you’re the first person in your family to even have an inheritance to give. And I am too in my family. I never inherited any money. So everything I have, I made myself. But there are people who have family money for generation after generation and they maintain generous power in this country. Those people have to cough it up. Why do middle class people have to pay all of this tax and the very, very rich, not only don’t have to pay it, but get tax cuts?
GOLDBERG: They do have to pay it!
[applause]
BEHAR: It’s outrageous. See, now they’re clapping for that point.
GOLDBERG: Which, which people are you talking about?
BEHAR: I’m talking about the very rich and wealthy people in the country. People who own- five percent of the people in this country own 98 percent of the wealth!
GOLDBERG: Wait a minute! Wait a minute! They paid the most amount of tax.
BEHAR: Listen to my points here.
GOLDBERG: I did!
BEHAR: Five percent-
GOLDBERG: Yeah?
BEHAR: -of the wealthiest people own 90 perce- eight percent of the wealth in this country.
GOLDBERG: But that’s different from what you’re talking about. You’re saying that they should not get the tax breaks, but I’m saying they’re paying 50 percent of their income. It’s not like they’re not paying.
BEHAR: There should be a cap. There should be a cap on it. That’s all, a cap.
GOLDBERG: On the-
BEHAR: Look, if you make a- right now. If you die and you’re worth $2 million, you’re exempt.
GOLDBERG: Right, I got you.
BEHAR: Then, the inheritor is exempt. Above $2 million than you have to pay 45 percent I believe is what-
EVANS: How depressing!
BEHAR: Except in 2010, then you pay nothing.
GOLDBERG: It’s, it’s too much.
EVANS: It’s too much. It’s too much.
GOLDBERG: But do you know what else is too much?
BEHAR: But if you’re worth billions and billions of dollars, why should you just pass that along?
GOLDBERG: Because you made!
EVANS: You made it and you paid taxes on it already.
BEHAR: A lot of what you made, you made yourself.
GOLDBERG: But wait a minute. What about Bill Gates? Bill Gates earned his money!
BEHAR: Bill Gates gives a lot of his money away.
GOLDBERG: Okay, so why should he be penalized for the people don’t?
BEHAR: He gets tax breaks on all of the money he gives away. Ask Barbara, she told you that yesterday.
GOLDBERG: 50 percent, he is taxed 50 percent of his income! Every, every couple of quarters he is taxed 50 percent!
SHEPHERD: But do you think he gets a lot of tax breaks?
GOLDBERG: It’s not enough! It’s not enough!
BEHAR: Enough is enough!
GOLDBERG: It’s not enough!
