The Washington Free Beacon has made another terrific clip compilation – this time, on the MSNBC hosts who owe large chunks of tax money thumping a tub against tax avoidance and in favor of civic-minded taxpaying.
One precious clip is Melissa Harris-Perry proclaiming “I don’t get to opt out of paying taxes once we’ve kind of made a collective decision.” David Rutz offered a summary:
In one of MSNBC’s silly “Lean Forward” ads, Sharpton blasted Republicans for giving tax cuts and loopholes to the rich and acting “like it’s acceptable,” comparing their policies to Jim Crow laws. Sharpton also ripped Sen. Joni Ernst’s (R., Iowa) response after the 2015 State of the Union address for “defending the top 1 percent not having to pay taxes.”
When a guest of Harris-Perry on Feb. 21 spoke of his pride in paying taxes, she exclaimed, “It’s the public good! Yes!”
Harris-Perry opined in an April 15, 2012, edition of her eponymous show that “taxes are how we all do our part” and a “Democratic spirit, the belief that we’re all in together” carried her through the drudgery of tax season.
“We all want to believe that the tax math adds up to an equitable system, where everyone pays their due,” she said, criticizing corporations that avoid taxes. “But that’s part of the problem. Not everyone does seem to be paying their dues.”
In the same monologue, she expressed frustration with people who avoid their civil responsibility.
“When I am poring over my paperwork, it doesn’t make it any easier to know that my wealthy neighbor isn’t taking responsibility,” she said. “If they don’t pay, why should I, right?”
Discussing the Buffett Rule in a 2013 show, Harris-Perry said with dead seriousness, “If we want the rich to pay more money, getting them to give out of charity instead of federal obligation might be our only option.”
