Fail Quote: Rep. Fleming whines about only having $400K a year after expenses

Rep. John Fleming (R-LA)

From Rep. John Fleming (R-LA), appearing on MSNBC with Chris Jansing to talk about (ie. cluelessly attack) President Obama’s deficit reduction plan and denounce all the “class warfare” (ie. sensible criticism) being waged against the “job creators” (ie. obscenely rich folks):

Fleming is himself a businesses owner, so Jansing asked, “If you have to pay more in taxes, you would get rid of some of those employees?” Fleming responded by saying that while his businesses made $6.3 million last year, after you “pay 500 employees, you pay rent, you pay equipment, and food,” his profits “a mere fraction of that” — “by the time I feed my family, I have maybe $400,000 left over.” […]

Jansing pointed out that whining about tax increases while making $400,000 annually is “not exactly a sympathetic position.” Fleming could only respond by saying that “class warfare has never created a job” and that his success is a “virtue.”

Aww, poor guy. After all those soul-crushing expenses, all he’s got left to pay his taxes with are $400 grand a year. Which, of course, is almost 16 times less than what he originally earns … yet still about 8 times more than the average American household income. And God knows how they barely manage to pay their taxes.

The pity card: You’re doing it wrong.

Edit: 09/20/11 – Properly italicized “MSNBC”.

Tags: John Fleming • taxes • class warfare