RUSH: Molly in Traverse City, Michigan. Hi. Welcome to the program.
CALLER: Hi, Rush. Thanks for having me on.
RUSH: You bet.
CALLER: I just can’t believe I’ve come to the part in my life where both my husband and I, we’re in sales, we worked really hard every day, we want to succeed and now we literally have to look at our statement when our paycheck comes in and we’re like, “Okay, are we gonna make too much money this year and put ourselves into that new unbelievable tax bracket?” I consider myself, I do wonderful, but I am not this wealthy that the government claims. And I just never thought I would see this time in my life happen.
RUSH: You didn’t? My God, I don’t know how old you are, but back in 1984 the number that got you in trouble as $250,000 does today was 60. Walter Mondale and the Democrats said you were rich, you were part of the evil rich, weren’t paying your fair share if you made $60,000 a year in 1984. This is a time-honored technique. It never works for them, though. It’s quite telling. You’re actually asking yourself and your husband whether you should stop earning money once you get to 250, because you don’t want the higher tax bracket?
CALLER: Yes. It’s crazy. It’s not my nature to not work hard, but —
RUSH: I understand it, but it ticks me off. That is not the way you’re supposed to be thinking. This is exactly the wrong way for people to be approaching. But I don’t blame you. Don’t misunderstand. You don’t want to be launched into Obama’s punitive tax bracket and it’s totally understandable. This is what happens in far too many cases. You’re just one example, but this is the way people started thinking in Europe, and look at what happened to their productivity. Down the tubes. Fourteen percent unemployment. It’s a crying shame.