O'REILLY: Not high on handouts

By | Tuesday, July 29, 2008

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COMMENTARY:

If Sen. Obama becomes President Obama, my taxes will go up, way up. But I know neither Argentina nor anyone else will cry for me, because I am the rich guy Al Gore warned you about, the one who got all those tax cuts from the evil Bush administration.

Yes, I am part of the 1 percent of Americans that paid an astounding 40 percent of all federal income tax in 2006. According to recently released Internal Revenue Service figures, about 50 percent of my fellow Americans paid no federal income tax at all that year. My fellow 1-percenters and I covered for them. But for some it is still not enough.

Mr. Obama believes in "income redistribution," a concept practiced by Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest. Mr. Obama also wants to take from the rich and give to the not-so-rich. He wants to raise taxes big time on those making $250,000 or more.

That means that if you live in New York and earn a quarter-million bucks, you could pay close to half of your income in taxes. Even Robin Hood might find that somewhat extreme.

And then there's the accountability factor. Without being forced by the federal government, I give plenty of cash to folks who need a hand. But I check out the charities before the check goes in the mail. I make sure my donations go directly to people who, through no fault of their own, are in difficult circumstances. Will Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid do that when the massive income-redistribution train gets ready to roll? No, they will not.

President Obama and a Democratic Congress will likely dole out entitlements like free health care, child care and cash payments to anyone who falls under a certain income level, no matter their circumstances. That means people who drink gin all day will get some of my hard-earned money. Folks who dropped out of school, who are too lazy to hold a job, who smoke reefers 24/7 all will get some goodies in the mail fromUncleBarack and Aunt Nancy, funded by me and other rich folks.

There will be no drug testing, no background checks, no accountability for those receiving the government's largess. If you're an American citizen (or even an illegal alien) who doesn't make much money, you'll get stuff.

There is something unsettling about that. Under the Republican Bush administration, tax money presently pays for abortions, Viagra, condoms, sugar-laden food, dangerous housing in blighted neighborhoods and prescription drugs that will send you to the land of Oz. But if you complain about any of this, you're an uncharitable greedhead.

Well, I am complaining. I don't want my money supporting some layabout who wants to get high all day long. Robin Hood wouldn't give those people money. The Feds shouldn't either.

Bill O'Reilly is a nationally syndicated columnist and host of the Fox News show "The O'Reilly Factor" and author of the book "Who's Looking Out For You?"

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