{"id":9803,"date":"2014-03-24T18:10:26","date_gmt":"2014-03-24T18:10:26","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2014-03-24T18:10:26","modified_gmt":"2014-03-24T18:10:26","slug":"drudge_shines_light_on_ignorant_media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2014\/03\/24\/drudge_shines_light_on_ignorant_media\/","title":{"rendered":"Drudge Shines Light on Ignorant Media"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Listen<\/a><\/p>\n

RUSH: I think the mainstream media is pig-ignorant of practically every discipline except party discipline. Now, here\u2019s basically what happened. Matt Drudge is a self-employed small businessman. <\/p>\n

As a result, Matt Drudge pays himself. <\/p>\n

He does not have an employer. Therefore, he does not the get paychecks that contain all kinds of withholding for taxes and Medicare and FICA, Social Security, and whatever else. He has to pay all of his taxes separately and independently because they\u2019re not deducted. As such, as a small businessman, Matt Drudge and millions of others just like him — including your harmless, lovable little fuzzball host — pay our taxes every quarter. <\/p>\n

We have to pay what are called quarterly estimates. This is what Matt Drudge does, and it can get a little complicated. April 15th, the first payment is due. June the 15th, the second payment is due. September 15th, the third payment is due. And on January 15th of the next year, the fourth and final payment is due. Therefore, the first payment for the 2015 income tax year, Matt Drudge has to pay it on April the 15th, as does everybody else who files quarterly estimates. <\/line><\/p>\n

This simple fact is something that the smartest (by reputation) mainstream media reporters simply cannot understand and cannot get their arms around. Matt Drudge sent out a tweet<\/a> on Friday in which he said that his first quarterly estimate coming up in April he will be paying his Obamacare penalty for not having insurance. In his tweet, he called it “a liberty tax,” and the media jumped all over him! <\/p>\n

They called him a liar. They told him he didn\u2019t know what he was talking about. Mainstream media reporters! The White House jumped all over Drudge with their agents on Twitter, Facebook, and the rest of the mainstream media. They said that Drudge was lying to embarrass Obama, that Drudge didn\u2019t know what he was talking about, that Drudge was stupid and that you don\u2019t have to pay your Obamacare penalty until 2015 because it\u2019s been delayed for a year. <\/p>\n

Matt Drudge pointed out, “No, not for us. I have to pay my 2015 taxes starting in April of 2014,” and they can\u2019t understand this. It is amazing the degree of ignorance. He has talked to three or four of these people in person. The last one he talked to has admitted that he\u2019s probably not lying but that he still doesn\u2019t have to do what he\u2019s doing. The fact of the matter is, when you file your taxes next April for this year, in 2015 for 2014, everybody will have to pay the penalty.<\/p>\n

Except those of us who pay quarterly estimates have to pay our taxes during the year. As independent contractors, we have to pay everything that\u2019s due (estimated) as it goes. The estimates can be very complicated. You can\u2019t simply take what you earned last year and divide it by four and make those payments, because, if you underestimate how much you owe, you get socked with a huge penalty. So the safest thing to do is overpay a little bit. <\/p>\n

So Drudge went ahead and made a payment on his penalty for not having Obamacare insurance because he\u2019s not gonna buy it. He\u2019s gonna pay the penalty. At his income level, his penalty would be 1% of his annual income, \u2019cause the penalty formula is it\u2019s either 1% of your income or some other thing. It\u2019s the greater of the two, not the lesser of the two. Here\u2019s how Breitbart reports<\/a> the story. <\/p>\n

“A White House aide set off a stampede of liberal media criticism for Internet news pioneer Matt Drudge over Obamacare — but his critics don\u2019t seem to understand how small businesses pay taxes. The brouhaha started when Drudge tweeted, ‘Just paid the Obamacare penalty for not ‘getting covered\u2019… I\u2019M CALLING IT A LIBERTY TAX.\u2019 Jesse Lee, the Director of Progressive Media at Barack Obama\u2019s White House, responded that that was a ‘Flat lie, no fee for previous year,\u2019 adding, ‘Scary how much influence he once had.'”<\/line><\/p>\n

So Obama\u2019s own acolyte, Obama\u2019s own White House smear merchant, doesn\u2019t even understand. Matt Drudge is not paying last year\u2019s taxes in April, like you will be. He is paying the first payment the government is due this year, as is everybody else. When Matt Drudge files his return, if he waits \u2019til April 15th — or maybe he\u2019s already done it. Let\u2019s say he hasn\u2019t. If Matt Drudge files his April 15th payment, he\u2019s already paid his taxes in four statements. <\/p>\n

He\u2019s just filing the return. He\u2019s already paid the money. Matt Drudge paid the bulk of this year\u2019s taxes last year, and he\u2019s paying the bulk of next year\u2019s taxes this year, as is everybody, every small businessman who is an independent contractor and files quarterly. Yet here\u2019s this White House tweeting out, “Flat lie. No fee for previous year.” He\u2019s not paying the previous year. Drudge is paying this year\u2019s taxes. He\u2019s paying taxes on the year that the penalty will be imposed. <\/p>\n

He knew it and his accountant knew it. <\/p>\n

He has to make the first payment on the penalty by April 15th. <\/p>\n

He went ahead and did it. He filed early just to be safe. <\/p>\n

“Scary how much influence he once had”? Was he talking about Obama? Moreover, why is there even a “director of progressive media” at the White House? Is there a director of conservative media there? (Just kidding.) Now, “Lee\u2019s response to Drudge set off a firestorm in the liberal media, with many mainstream media and left-wing reporters countering him on Twitter and in their own articles to claim he does not have to pay Obamacare\u2019s Individual Mandate tax until next year.<\/p>\n

The individual mandate went into effect Jan. 1 of this year, and most people paying their taxes right now are paying taxes for 2013. ‘Dude, there\u2019s no penalty until next yr,\u2019 Sahil Kapur of the left-wing Talking Points Memo tweeted. Kapur\u2019s colleague at TPM Dylan Scott wrote a full story with a headline alleging Drudge was ‘probably lying.\u2019 ‘Americans don\u2019t pay a penalty for not having health insurance until they file their 2014 taxes — in 2015,\u2019 Scott wrote.<\/p>\n

“‘So either Drudge is lying or he paid a huge penalty a year earlier than he needed to.\u2019 ‘Penalty isn\u2019t collected until 2015,\u2019 Sam Baker of National Journal tweeted at Drudge. The Huffington Post\u2019s Jeffrey Young wrote a full article in which he described Drudge\u2019s tweet as ‘weird\u2019 and a ‘little head-scratching\u2019 because the Obamacare tax does not kick in until the 2014 tax year.<\/p>\n

“Drudge indicated in his follow-up tweets that since he is self-employed as the proprietor of The Drudge Report, he files as a small business. According to the IRS\u2019s website for self-employed individuals, they are required to pay taxes quarterly. ‘As a self-employed individual, generally you are required to file an annual return and pay estimated tax quarterly,\u2019 the IRS website reads. So, when they file and pay those 2014 first quarter taxes, such individuals have to pay the Obamacare Individual Mandate tax if they opted to not have health insurance…”<\/p>\n

It\u2019s on the IRS website, and still the media is running around calling Drudge a liar. Drudge is abiding by the law. They are calling him a liar; they\u2019re accusing him of trying to damage Obama. He is now referring to them as “The Obama Media.” “Additionally,” ladies and gentlemen, “the IRS form (1040-ES) for estimating quarterly taxes…” The ES there is for “estimates,” for those of you in Rio Linda.<\/p>\n

“Additionally, the IRS form (1040-ES) for estimating quarterly taxes specifically recommends adding the mandate penalty to line 12 for ‘other taxes\u2019 — to pay before the first quarterly deadline of April 15. ‘It is true that thousands of small businesses will be forced to pay Obamacare taxes quarterly in 2014,\u2019 a Senate Budget Committee aide told Breitbart News on Friday afternoon.” <\/p>\n

Breitbart tracked all this down. You would think mainstream journalists would. Maybe they can\u2019t be bothered to chase down such minor details. “Drudge even indicated as much in follow-up tweets…” Hey, the law says it. Go look at the website. He\u2019s gotta make the first payment on this penalty before April 15th. “But the left-wing reporters — and the White House — have left their criticisms of him intact. ‘Dazed team Obama media reporters think Opt-Out tax ‘year away\u2019?\u2019 Drudge tweeted.<\/p>\n

“‘Not for small businesses that file Qtr estimates. We\u2019re there NOW, baby,'” and I can tell you, Drudge is right. I\u2019m in the same boat, folks. But the point here is that this is total, willful ignorance, on the part of people who are supposedly, as members of the media, experts on taxes and economics. They are at least supposed to know more than you do so that they can tell you what all this means when it\u2019s discussed in the news!<\/p>\n

But they are so in the tank for Obama that all they\u2019re attuned to is anything that might appear harmful or damaging to Obama. They then have to circle the wagons, and, as is always the case, rather than debate the merits of anything, the objective is to smear and destroy whoever they consider to be the enemy of Obama. So Obama and his people make haste and write all over the place that Drudge is a liar.<\/line><\/p>\n

They write that Drudge is “probably” lying, that Drudge is simply trying to hurt Obama, or that Drudge is stupid and is paying the tax a year before he has to. But, regardless, the simple truth is, they don\u2019t know the law. They do not know. They are our media guardians, and they do not know. They\u2019re not interested in knowing. Not one of them looked at the Drudge tweet and said, “I wonder what this is about,” and went and checked it out. <\/p>\n

Without exception, they all descended on Drudge with the effort to impugn and destroy him. I talked to Drudge about this. He said he\u2019s talked to four reporters, and only one of them has finally concluded that he\u2019s “probably not lying.” Probably not lying! But that he\u2019s still wrong. It\u2019s right there on the IRS website. It\u2019s right there on IRS Form 1040-ES. There is a line, “Other taxes.” <\/p>\n

That\u2019s where you are required to make your first installment on your penalty for not having Obamacare. If you don\u2019t make the payment as you file your quarterlies, you don\u2019t have until April of 2015 to pay it; you\u2019ve got to pay it now. People who are paying and filing… See, if you don\u2019t do quarterly estimates, your taxes are withheld, but you don\u2019t report anything until beginning in January of the next year. <\/p>\n

So most people will not start filing their returns for this year until next January, February, and March. Quarterly filers are paying and filing four times a year. They\u2019re not having any withheld. They have to do that themselves and estimate what they owe — and they\u2019ve got to be close. If they underestimate, then there\u2019s hell to pay for doing that. That\u2019s why you have to have an accountant figure it out for you. <\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: Drudge even linked to the IRS form, the 1040-ES that shows quarterly estimate filers are required to pay their Obamacare tax penalty this year, and the media still claims he\u2019s “probably lying.” He did that legwork for them. So the whole point of this, folks, is, it\u2019s not just that they\u2019re in the tank for the Democrats and the left… They\u2019re genuine…<\/p>\n

They just don\u2019t know anywhere near as much as people assigned to them. You know, we talk about low-information voters. We\u2019ve got low-information media, and they are not aware of what they don\u2019t know. They are so arrogant about their all-knowingness that they can\u2019t conceive that they don\u2019t know anything — and, when they encounter it, they\u2019re just flummoxed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RUSH: I think the mainstream media is pig-ignorant of practically every discipline except party discipline. Now, here\u2019s basically what happened. Matt Drudge is a self-employed small businessman. As a result, Matt Drudge pays himself. He does not have an employer. Therefore, he does not the get paychecks that contain all kinds of withholding for taxes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nDrudge Shines Light on Ignorant Media - The Rush Limbaugh Show<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2014\/03\/24\/drudge_shines_light_on_ignorant_media\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Drudge Shines Light on Ignorant Media - The Rush Limbaugh Show\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"RUSH: I think the mainstream media is pig-ignorant of practically every discipline except party discipline. Now, here\u2019s basically what happened. Matt Drudge is a self-employed small businessman. As a result, Matt Drudge pays himself. He does not have an employer. Therefore, he does not the get paychecks that contain all kinds of withholding for taxes […]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"GeorgePrayias\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/\",\"name\":\"The Rush Limbaugh Show\",\"description\":\"Excellence In Broadcasting\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2014\/03\/24\/drudge_shines_light_on_ignorant_media\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2014\/03\/24\/drudge_shines_light_on_ignorant_media\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2014\/03\/24\/drudge_shines_light_on_ignorant_media\/\",\"name\":\"Drudge Shines Light on Ignorant Media - The Rush Limbaugh Show\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2014\/03\/24\/drudge_shines_light_on_ignorant_media\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-03-24T18:10:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-03-24T18:10:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9a33276eb9dc5b6d3f8218957f30e6b4\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2014\/03\/24\/drudge_shines_light_on_ignorant_media\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2014\/03\/24\/drudge_shines_light_on_ignorant_media\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2014\/03\/24\/drudge_shines_light_on_ignorant_media\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Drudge Shines Light on Ignorant Media\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9a33276eb9dc5b6d3f8218957f30e6b4\",\"name\":\"GeorgePrayias\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d290ab65e2eaca3719268528f83b85bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d290ab65e2eaca3719268528f83b85bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"GeorgePrayias\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/author\/GeorgePrayias\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Drudge Shines Light on Ignorant Media - The Rush Limbaugh Show","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2014\/03\/24\/drudge_shines_light_on_ignorant_media\/","twitter_card":"summary","twitter_title":"Drudge Shines Light on Ignorant Media - The Rush Limbaugh Show","twitter_description":"RUSH: I think the mainstream media is pig-ignorant of practically every discipline except party discipline. Now, here\u2019s basically what happened. Matt Drudge is a self-employed small businessman. As a result, Matt Drudge pays himself. He does not have an employer. Therefore, he does not the get paychecks that contain all kinds of withholding for taxes […]","twitter_image":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"GeorgePrayias","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/","name":"The Rush Limbaugh Show","description":"Excellence In Broadcasting","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2014\/03\/24\/drudge_shines_light_on_ignorant_media\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2014\/03\/24\/drudge_shines_light_on_ignorant_media\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2014\/03\/24\/drudge_shines_light_on_ignorant_media\/","name":"Drudge Shines Light on Ignorant Media - The Rush Limbaugh Show","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2014\/03\/24\/drudge_shines_light_on_ignorant_media\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2014-03-24T18:10:26+00:00","dateModified":"2014-03-24T18:10:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9a33276eb9dc5b6d3f8218957f30e6b4"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2014\/03\/24\/drudge_shines_light_on_ignorant_media\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2014\/03\/24\/drudge_shines_light_on_ignorant_media\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2014\/03\/24\/drudge_shines_light_on_ignorant_media\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Drudge Shines Light on Ignorant Media"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9a33276eb9dc5b6d3f8218957f30e6b4","name":"GeorgePrayias","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d290ab65e2eaca3719268528f83b85bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d290ab65e2eaca3719268528f83b85bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"GeorgePrayias"},"url":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/author\/GeorgePrayias\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9803"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9803\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}