Al Explains Why We Need to Tax the Rich (and the very wealthy!) (June 25, 2021) 

I am with you. Then I raised my kids. Had a decent career as a therapist but not rich (lol). Became permanently disabled and I am living again. And thank goodness for family. The republicans have no idea.

Learned the hard way: I was raised upper class but sadly I'm disabled and collect SSI disability. Got a $14.97 raise this year on social security and home gas/electric went up $70, food went up and gasoline amongst other things. I now live in poverty and am kind of ashamed because I judged poor people. I saved for retirement all my life and within 5yrs it was gone on medical bills. Well, I gotta a leg up by my parents and never really knew what it was like to go without. I never knew poverty was a revolving door that never wants to quit spinning. I'm thankful for what I do have now instead of taking it for granted. Older people lose their nest egg by paying 20% to Doctor, hospital copays, office copay, prescription copays and deductibles. Their money gets drained because healthcare is not a human right in this country. In all other developed countries and some poorer countries they have healthcare for all. The government spreads propaganda so we think the NHS works very badly. We get the worst care and spend more than any other nation. Sadly, our health is for sale in these United States. I'm sorry you grew up in poverty. I wish no child had to go through those struggles. I hope as an adult things have gotten easier. ✌️💙

@@Cookie-ri9pz Any way you cut it, most of the people making the decisions can't fathom being in the situations of the poor, disabled or any lower income person or family. Even when I had a career I never made enough money to not worry about making sure my kids had clothes. Now, thankfully, all my kids are making it on their own and I live with my parents. I got that big raise this year too....woo hoo lol

I grew up poor to. We were homeless a couple of times. I hate that they say all you have do is hard work. What a job I have never worked harder then when I was poor. I am now comfortably upper middle class and i work less then i ever have. These rich politicians dont know what hard work is.

@@saliston Yes very true. I worked the least in my entire life when I was at the highest point of my career! These people really have no idea what hard work is. And when they say if you help with some extra money after a global pandemic "they will just decide not to work" they clearly have no idea the motivation and needs of the working class/

And ... the US had the strongest economy in the world (there were, of course, other factors, but ...). History ... Republicans really don't like it ... facts and the past don't really favor their arguments (notes an actual, trained academic historian!).

@@waynehanley72 I wanted to add more, starting with their hero Reagan and NTL Business Roundtable.

@@waynehanley72 we also were doing much better in education, Nobel prizes, technology and manufacturing

The super rich often contribute a lot or at least some to the wear and tear of the infrastructure. One middle class family with a couple cars is nothing like one large/huge corporation that has 10,000 tractor trailers driving millions of miles a year on our highways and over our bridges. Then there are the corporate airfreight companies that add wear and tear to the nation's airports. It's fine with me if the Super/Ultra-rich make commerce happen, but they also need to pay their fair share of taxes in order to keep our national infrastructure safe and sound!

We need to tax churches…

We need to tax churches.

But we should not be taxed so high we have to choose to eat or keep a roof over our heads.

@@generic3725 Taxing churches would hurt poor people more then anybody. It would mean less charity to poor people. The government needs to get out of the charity business and leave that to churches. Churches give charity for nothing in exchange. Government charity is NOT free.There is a price to pay for the poor.

@@JackSquat54 LMAO. Wow, you're so wrong. Organized religion does much, MUCH more damage to humanity than little soup kitchens give back. Seriously, you're so very wrong. Please learn something.

taxes are the cover charge paid to enter civilization.

The Senate...sadly lacking smart people who give a shit!

@@stormwatcher59 Just like people buying Swanson food to keep tucker carlson..... Now dO u give a mf

I cry because he couldn’t run for President!

yeah it's so sad, I feel that Mr Franken is an upright person and EFFECTIVE Senator. Demo's turned against him due to allegations and skeletons. Modern generations do not realize how it used to be in the past: it literally used to be that one Had to flirt with people at work because it was polite, and expected of you, and you would be considered weird or unfriendly if no mild flirting ever occurred. in a valid effort to keep repugnant power driven coercion from happening, recent generations have criminalized one of the most pleasant aspects of the work environment. As an older person, I wish younger people had more understanding of the difference between mild flirting---versus a repulsive power imbalance, causing a coercive sexual dynamic

@Robert Hunt Is that literally true? (Or kinda true, but exaggerated and poetically stated?)

I would hope that the Mercedes is full of Republican politicians

Yes I agree

@@juliancrooks3811 me too

@Jay Bee Yes, you prefer to wait til they're born to kill them.

Mercedes and Hyundai are both imports. Maybe America would be in better shape if domestic brands could compete with the world on anything but loyalty.

@Jay Bee that was thoroughly inane

@Jay Bee so what you are saying is that Minnesota should have taxed the rich so that they could avoid taxing you so that you could avoid raising rents.

@Jay Bee I am not rich, and even I know that that is what will happen. Or move their businesses overseas, where they can pay employees 2 dollars an hour,if that...

@Jay Bee I doubt that you are "rich"

The word "trickle" says it all. Have you ever been in the middle of a drought and seen the rain trickle down for a few minutes at best? The rain dries up as soon as it falls.

There will always be stupid responses such as those from jota be. The truth is that we all pour ourselves into our jobs, our families, our interests and our needs. There should be returns but there are not. I have played my own songs, I've written my books, I've taught my students well - the system does not work. Why does this guy think I'm asking for a flood of money? He has to deal in extremes to make sensible people sound otherwise. We are asking for a steady flow - the same flow into which we pour our own resources.

@@clw4430 well Jay Bee is an idiot. So there is that.

@Jay Bee The arguments you make.. hiring billionaires.. I'd like to give you the benefit of the doubt: You don't argue such stupid positions because you're so stupid. You argue such stupid positions to virtue signal how little respect you have to truth or opponents.

It's suck up economics

Agree! SO - why not get the makeup department involved and do this whole post over again AS Mitch...? They might be slightly confused at first, but the GOP will bite on anything that Mitch is dishing out

Perfect better than Mitch’s

Yes, Al doing Mitch makes me think Mitch's public speaking is the result of a student who ignored what his speech teacher tried to teach him.

That's it and it's been that way my entire life. I dont have much hope that it's going to change while I'm living though. I should probably mention that I aas born in 1980

Thank you. That's the real Reaganomics, not the trickle-down smoke they blew up people's asses.

What's a "middle class?"

@@jvillanueva7707 After 2nd World war returning soldiers got the "GI Bill" under Eisenhower. They got free higher education and loans for houses. The US had jobs then before factories were outsourced and the economy was good. Middle class refers to peeps who have jobs, houses, autos ect. And $$ to live the so called American dream

@@willbarrow8271 My sincere apologies for failing to indicate my sarcasm. And honestly that is a clear, concise explanation for anyone who didn't know the history of the rise of the modern middle class in America.

That's a fabulous idea! Kudos!

Second that! Absolutely!

I'd def tune in to see that.

Motion Approved!👍

Perhaps he’s getting to more people than in the Senate. Go Al❤️🙂

Which Democratic Senator do you want So to defeat, Klobuchar or Smith?!

@@garyc875 I said that Al Frankenstein is getting to more people online than in the Senate, not that either of those people should lose.

Add Franken to Durkin and Whitehouse!!! WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP

Its funny that the people who say "third world living standard in the US" have never seen a third world living experience. Grow up. You have a computer and a phone, your not even close to third world.

@@gibblespascack1418 baiting for a reply ,HA!!!

@@gibblespascack1418 Some of us have.. actually.

@@gibblespascack1418 It's a metaphor for the relative crashing of living standards under monetary policy politics.

Same here over in the UK. Sad to see working people needing top up benefits to feed themselves. Some people can't pay rent but are in work. Yet the rich take it all and then tell the working classes they can't afford to pay them more. Shame on them.

do you work for an employer? the only people who can "lie" on taxes are business owners and uber-wealthy. employees who earn their living via wages cannot. yet they're *_NOW_* the only target of IRS. www.waynedupree.com/2019/10/irs-working-poor-rich-people-audit/ back in early '80s, IRS had a team (10-12 people) of auditors JUST for looking at IBM returns (bc IBM - back then - was SO big and SO complicated structure that you needed SME to figure it out)

Why can't "We the people" start over by abolishing senate entirely or by adding more senators for DC, Puerto Rico etc. which have no representation and reducing no. of senators for very small states such as North and South Dakota by combining them for senatorial representation. All readers please present your ideas about this. thank you.

@@cpat6845 senate right now is 50-50. the R half represents 40million more people than the D half. your "we the people" isn't represented in the senate - and the senate isn't going to vote themselves out of existence. p.s. I know people talk about making DC a state. but there was an interesting article in Harvard Review that pointed out DC could become *_DOZENS_* of new states. (it was just an "in theory" compared to requirements of UP breaking off from Michigan LP to become a separate state, but still ... interesting premise.)

@@op3129 your statement, "the only people who can "lie" on taxes are business owners and uber-wealthy." points out an interesting thing about taxes. The federal government and most states do make employers collect taxes from their employees. What taxes would be collected if the people had to write the check and would people demand better spending of taxes if they had to write the check? The individual or an accountant does fills out the 1040 form. Human nature is what it is. One's wealth doesn't determine how honest people are on their tax returns. I believe Will Rogers's quote is spot on.

@@lesseelye4747 IRS is sent a copy of your earnings by the company you work for. your copy of 1099 is one of three. (banks do the same for interest paid on a savings account.)

Ask "Honest" Al about his OWN accountant and tax cheating.

Yep I made less, had 4 small children and had to pay alot of income tax. I was sure I made a mistake. No mistakes in my paperwork paid the f**king taxes.

@Jay Bee this is entirely a choice. We get it, you will only do whatever gives you personally the biggest profit margin you can receive. you literally only give a shit about yourself. Disgusting.

@Jay Bee troll get off! You only just set up your account 6 months ago and are hitting everywhere trashing people. Watch fox, etc.

@Jay Bee yea, you totally only give a shit about yourself. "my profits remain the same". This is a choice, and a selfish one. I hope they tax you out of business

Joe Mansions goes along with all of his Republican colleagues because he gets paid by the same right-wing donors!

He's been bought!

While we're at raising the top 2%'s taxes, let's put some serious huge fees on money kept in overseas banks. Banks and even most credit unions have been steadily raising ATM fees, overdraft fees, money order fees, etc. for decades. If a citizen of the U.S. doesn't want to change that citizenship to the country that shelters his/her money, there should be a huge price to pay to discourage that unpatriotic behavior. You non-paying freeloading draft-dodging (whenever possible) rich b*stards make us sick. "America...Love it or LEAVE it" isn't just a song lyric!! You go, Al!

Yes, if domestic banks and CU's can gouge us little people with fees, there is definitely a quick, easy way for huge long-overdue fees to be applied to money in tax shelters. The Orange Dope liked to call such fees "tariffs." Let's get this done in Biden's first term!

Congress won't raise taxes on the rich because it will effect them personally as most of them are very rich

I'd buy that one!

And the next question should be "Who actually runs the Govt." Answer that and everything becomes a lot more clear

@@art2736 Sorry I didn't notice this before. I know who actually runs our government. Big business. In all of its forms.

god bless AMERICA, and the Empire, and the MIC-- and the GOP-- and our ghettos and cop killers-- and our tax breaks for the rich!! And our 302 million wonderful truth telling citizens. BTW thats a big pool of potential candidates - only 543 honest people are wanted in Congress. Given this big pool of God Fearing HONEST Americans why do Americans support people like GUMP?

I have Republican relatives who think that same way. Phony bunch those Republicans, always holier-than-thou attitude

Take a look at Al's corporation that CHEATED on its taxes. Or do you just want to sweep that under the rug?!

@Jay Bee BS Putin

@Jay Bee it is an abomination to the democratic process. Get rid of it for all of our sakes

@Jay Bee you are wasting your time talking to a wall. Liberals and facts do not mix well. It's all about emotions and feelings for these teenaged girls.

@Jay Bee liar

@@barefoot191 liar

That's a story that needs to be told!!!

Or he’s being paid a shit load to keep those tax breaks. (including his wife’s family)

Just like ClosetQUEEN, lil Lindsay grammm

Let's ignore the obvious troll on this feed.

I've heard that trolls get paid every time you respond directly to them. They're easy to spot. They usually say ridiculous things and their accounts have been activated relatively recently.

gas tax too

Sadly it ain't gonna happen. He's already in his '70s, both Minnesota Senators are Democrats and neither looks to be stepping aside anytime soon. Real poetic justice would be if he moved back to my state of New York, primaries Kirsten Gillibrand and gets her opportunistic, low character ass out of office. Dare to dream.

Some more non-rich members of Congress would be nice, but I'm not sure about making it a low-paying job. If they were, that might encourage either corruption, or only the ultra-rich to seek them out (or both).

@Jay Bee Doesn't work that way!

Preaching to the quire

@Jay Bee um, I'm sorry to break this to you, but a very large portion of drumfs' base are the evangelicals, extreme fundamentalists who, like pence are young earth creationists, and many are also, (and sadly, there are a lot in our government) Q-anon conspiracy freaks. Have you seen the many pastors with giant followings who still believe he's president, or will be 'reinstated? And the majority of the party love him because he gave them want they wanted. Mcturdle got some 578, barely qualified judges, besides the 3 in the supreme court, shoved into courts all over. Drumf cut regulations, so our air and water quality dropped to the worst it's been in 39 years. He gave huge tax cuts to the very wealthy and cut corporate taxes to the lowest they've been. He only gave small tax cuts to working class. The positions he filled were to loyalists who, mostly were against the departments they got, like dejoy with the post office. He wiped out the endangered species act, for money by lobbyists, setting back work there by 25 years or so. He did anything possible to reverse anything Obama did, out of sheer ego, and took, as he is now, credit for anything from the left. He was either ignorant or just uncaring enough to let them almost succeed in making this a theocracy since they would have let him be the fascist dictator. He used the office to enrich himself, family and cronies. His 'trade' deals with china moved them into position to take all the trade routes. Though we could get that back if the right would stop being only obstructionists. Again. Look at every one drumf admired, all fascist dictators. Now, he's desperate to keep power because he needs the protection from prosecution. Though I think he'll get away with most of the worst, others will go down, because he, like any good mob boss, did most through others. And he'll throw them under the bus, as usual. 🥰💖✌🌈

To correct something... the right wing doesn't just have a lack of knowledge.. like if they heard the right words it would click. No. The right wing argues against all this just to signal to each other how little respect they have for you. They have no truth, no selfless objectivity, no concern for the health of the nation... To them, power is a zero sum game, and any means are justified. Where many on the left and center will view problems like an engineer.. that difficult conclusions and solutions must be reached to improve integrity? They look at it like salesmen. Hell, like snake-oil salesmen. Their ideal for the nation is an ethno-nationalist pep rally in a bomb shelter.. and they will never, will NEVER see reason. They are nothing without enemies, competition, and the concept of supremacy. It has always been, since the time of kings, that nothing mattered like the joy of the throne. I met a traveller from an antique land, Who said-“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; And on the pedestal, these words appear: *My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains.* Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.” -'Ozymandias, by Percy Bysshe Shelley

@@nunyabidnis3815 I'm sure you're right for the leaders, but some of the base are just ignorant. 🥰✌🌈

@@laurajarrell6187 "Ignorant," kind of misses the point.. it's more willful than that. When right wingers make such boldly false arguments, it *doesn't matter* to them that it's wrong.. and, that actually helps them. How wrong they are is a Function of the argument. This is adaptive. It generates controversy, to signal to their base how little respect they have for anyone who disagrees. The controversy makes them relevant, and brings attention to people who disagree instead of follow.. and that fuels a narrative of persecution. That is the single closest thing the right will ever have to truth, and that suits them just fine. Three videos on the subject if you're interested. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xMabpBvtXr4.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CaPgDQkmqqM.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZEpLKRkVFwU.html When they tell a lie within the first sentence, and someone stops them to correct them.. then they get to say, "you won't even let me finish a single sentence!" That becomes a thought terminating cliche, and a rallying cry. "They're attacking us, we're being persecuted, we can't be ourselves, we can't even speak! Our way of life is in danger! We have to act!" Badda bing, badda boom, affective override... and they're in Orc mode. ...but they LIVE for Orc mode. Orc mode IS their truth. Anyone and anything that facilitates that 'feels true.' End of story.

"Job creators". I always wondered what that meant I am, a "Job Taker"? And was that supposed to mean I was bad because I worked a job?

you know...for a change

How appropriate for the Bloated, Orange, Gas Bag of a human being that is known as T-----. (He whose name shall not be spoken) His power will Wither and DIE, if the world will simply stop talking about Him!

😂😂