Bill Maher on California Income Taxes: 'Liberals - You Could Actually Lose Me'

[Leslie Valley]

Or, Rightwing website edits Maher to make him out a greedy whiny 1%er

I have never understood the almost worship some folks have for this guy.

[limpyhobbler]

1. wow what a jerk. He probably makes more money in 3 hours than most people do in a whole year.

I have no use for him.

[otohara]

2. his outrage on soda ban rant

Didnt jive with his many lectures on junk food ... He always reminds us of his superior diet.

[arcane1]

4. It was also spot-on

The soda ban was a stupid law.

[otohara]

16. No It Wasn't

The fat stupid people in Mississippi passed a stupid law about food, Bloomberg trying to prevent the ungodly amount of money it takes to treat soda addicted people. Rots the teeth, deteriorates the bones, sucks calcium from bones and creates kidney stones, reproductive problems, asthma, diabetes, heart disease, and it's addicting.

People won't take responsibility for their health, so the rest of us pay.

[markpkessinger]

19. It was well-intentioned, but . . .

. . . given the limited scope of the types of businesses to which the law would have applied, I have serious doubts as to whether it would have had much of an impact on public health at all.

And, speaking as a Type II diabetic (who did NOT get the disease as a result of poor diet or lack of exercise, mind you, but was born into a family where there is a strong genetic predisposition to develop the disease on BOTH my mother's and father's families), if you really want to prevent it as a matter of public health, you need to address much broader issues of diet, our extreme over-consumption of simple carbohydrates, our over-reliance on processed foods, and, with respect to poorer neighborhoods, the price of fresh, non-processed foods.

So while I applaud the motivations behind the ban, I don't think it had been clearly thought-through

[Dawson Leery]

3. The working rich pay alot of taxes.

The financial class (hedge fund managers/vulture capitalists/CEOs) do not.
If your income is derived through dividends and run through tax loopholes, you are NOT paying your fair share.

[marble falls]

5. He lost me when he actually apologized to W as we ramped up to war after Sept 11...

for comments made about the wars. By that time I knew Maher was right and W was was going to seriously mess up millions of lives all over the planet. Let alone Cheney was in the mix. He sold out to keep his career.

Even if this cut was swift-boat edited or not. Though I generally agree with him, I just wish he get off the "god" thing he's got going.

Gee, Bill, all right I get it You're an atheist, you don't like deists -good, now move on.

[mimi85]

6. There are at least 3+ things you

can count on when watching the show. The following subjects are bound to come up one way or another:

!. Religion
2. Pot smoking
3. Vaguely sexist remarks and/or
4. Vaguely homophobic remarks.
5. His diet

I have nothing against his religious beliefs (or lack thereof - in fact I agree with him but I sure as hell don't go around talking about it constantly) or the pot smoking or his diet. 3 and 4 are subtle but bug the shit out of me. And this was downright weird. I thought it was me, but apparently others noticed as well.

[marble falls]

7. Geez, you're right on the money. Maybe if he left it just to "New Rules".

[bitchkitty]

9. Wow, he sure is touchy-feely, isn't he? n/t

[SunSeeker]

17. He also can't stop sniffing him either, if you notice.

In fact, that's the first thing Maher does when Snoop comes on stage--takes a long deep sniff of the guy, apparently going for a contact high. He can't keep his hands off him cuz he smells like a righteous sticky bud ready to stuff in a bowl.

[CrawlingChaos]

21. If I may add one to your list

A reliable feature of nearly every show: a demeaning and dehumanizing attack on Arab Muslims. Here's Juan Cole on Maher's hatemongering:

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/muslims_are_no_different_or_why_bill_mahers_blood_libel_is_bigotry_20120924/

And I would argue that the sexist remarks are more flagrant than vague.

Too true about the pot-smoking -- enough already! I think he thinks it makes him seem young and hip, which is more than a little pathetic. Maybe that's why he won't stop pawing at Snoop...Lion?

[Spitfire of ATJ]

8. The full segment....

His biggest complaint is about defense spending.

[Leslie Valley]

10. How much does California spend on defense?

Because that's what he was griping about.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

12. I know. Someone needs to clue him in on the basics of income disparity....

Namely that the reason the rich are paying more is because they have been pocketing money earned and haven't been raising employee payroll.

Think of it like this.

Take $100 as a base amongst 100 people.

Now consider 15% of the 100 as needed in taxes.

Now take those 100 people and spread the $100 but do it so only 1 of them gets $99 and the rest get 1 penny.

Suddenly the one guy is paying way more than the rest.

Bottom line: If employees had more they would pay more.

I wont even get into the fact that the reason we need the 15% is to give that 1% guy the wars he wants but the 99% don't but are expected to fight.

Oh wait,...I just did.

[CrawlingChaos]

20. Praises Obama for "having the balls" to put Social Security on the chopping block

Fuck that asshole and his thinly-veiled Libertarian bullshit.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

22. Talk about inability to define....

People bought the whole "you are either with us or against us".

Doesn't work that way.

Look how many Liberals were claiming Ron Paul was "one of us" because he was against the war.

[cheapdate]

11. California state income tax rates aren't all that high.

It's a marginal tax structure that tops out at 10% and allows the normal family deductions.

I like Maher. He's an opinionated asshole, like myself and most of my good friends. I agree with him on some things and I disagree with him on others. I like that he encourages real discussion and exchange of ideas in a way that's both lighthearted and serious at the same time.

[iamthebandfanman]

13. i just wish people understood

what income taxes actually pay for..

most people don't understand taxes and where they go :p

[JDPriestly]

14. I would agree with Bill Maher

-- except that only the rich have any money in the US.

There is very little work that pays a living wage left in the US. There are no steelworkers. There are almost no computer factories that pay decently.

So many of my friends who are supposed to be teachers cannot even get jobs -- although classrooms overflow with students.

So, it does seem that the rich have to pay a lot in taxes, but the rest of us don't have much to tax. It's pitiful.

The wages of working people have been stagnant or have declined since NAFTA. The trade agreements don't affect people like Bill Maher, but they affect the people in the rest of the country drastically.

Californians did not raise taxes on the rich without thinking hard and long about the alternatives which were even grimmer.

Sorry, Bill. Just be thankful for what you have. Seriously. You are smart, and I love your shows. But nobody is that smart . . . . .

[ErikJ]

15. Call the Waaambulance. Lucky for him its not the 1950's.

He'd be paying 92% on any income he made over $3 million. It was a good idea. It evens out income disparity, reduces greed and corruption, prevents market bubbles and keeps the deficits lower. And much more.

[SunSeeker]

18. Geez Bill, you could actually lose ME.

Give me a fucking break, Bill. You are not hurting. You do pay more than other rich people--because we tax EARNED income at about twice the rate we tax capital gains. High EARNERS do pay a disproportionate share of taxes, but it still is nothing compared to European countries, i.e. places that have a high quality of life. Maybe your taxes would be lower if we taxed those rich assholes like Romney who get their money just sitting on their ass. Why don't you bitch about THAT, Bill?

[Jim.Rob58]

23. Actually, that's how Bill makes his money, isn't it? Sitting on his hind-quarters? n/t

[SunSeeker]

24. No, he doesn't just sit on his ass, he earns his money by telling jokes.

The oligarchy get their cash without having to earn it. If you think stand up comedy is just sitting on your ass, try it some time.

Whatsa matter Jim Rob, couldn't find a more current post to troll?