All Guilt and No Sense Make Stephen King a Dull Boy

“Stephen King Demands to Know Why He’s Not Paying More in Taxes,” Doug Powers writes at Michelle Malkin’s blog:

In Florida recently, author Stephen King, out of concern for the well-being of the middle and lower classes, expressed a willingness to financially martyr himself when he said, “As a rich person, I pay 28 percent tax… what I want to ask you is, why am I not paying 50?” The crowd applauded in appreciation at King’s willingness to throw more of his income down the money hole never to be seen again without first asking themselves, “If he really wants to help the middle and lower classes, why doesn’t he start by giving his books away for free?”

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Ah, once again what Roger L. Simon described as the “Celebrity Mini-Me” persona raises its ugly head. Because no one is stopping King and other wealthy media figures from framing the argument this way:

“As a private entrepreneur who gained wealth because both individuals and Hollywood have enjoyed consuming the products I manufacturer, I have many ways of formulating my income taxes. There are many options open to me to reduce my taxes, such as tax free municipal bonds, annuities, tax shelters, etc. I eschew all of those; additionally, I instruct my accountant to take the least amount of deductions on my my tax returns so that I pay the most amount of income tax possible. And I urge all people as wealthy as I am — and wealthier — to do the same, to pay for the Roosevelt and Johnson-era social programs and government employees that I believe are indispensable to this nation in the 21st century.”

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But then, better to be  a hypocritical martyr than to walk the walk, I guess.

Incidentally, T-Shirts describing this phenomenon are available in the lobby.

(H/T: Smitty from The Other McCain.)

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