Rand Paul on the Rich, the Poor, and Jobs

Jillian Bandes | November 05, 2010 1:01 PM

Senator-elect Rand Paul was interviewed by CNN host Wolf Blitzer, who asked this question about the extension of the Bush tax cuts:

What if they just raised taxes on the richest, those making more than 250,000 dollars a year?

Paul responded:

The thing is, we're all interconnected. There are no rich. There are no middle class. There are no poor...You remember a few years ago, when they tried to tax the yachts, that didn’t work. You know who lost their jobs? The people making the boats, the guys making 50,000 and 60,000 dollars a year lost their jobs. We all either work for rich people or we sell stuff to rich people. So just punishing rich people is as bad for the economy as punishing anyone. Let’s not punish anyone. Let’s keep taxes low and let’s cut spending.

The mainstream media has seized upon this quote as Paul thinking there are no poor people in America. What a horrible misinterpretation of his remarks.