MSNBC Host, Krystal Ball (make whatever joke you want – she saw it coming), is arguing that tax hikes are responsible for economic prosperity, that the rich greedily hoard the fruits of other people’s labor, and that George Orwell’s Animal Farm was actually a criticism of the Koch Brothers… Or something. Harnessing a second-grader’s comprehension of 20th Century American history, Ball lays out her case for confiscatory tax rates by hijacking Orwell’s stellar anti-Stalinist novella from 1945:
Yeah… America was the “pioneer” in progressive taxation. And as progressive legislators hiked up tax rates to confiscatory levels (Even Warren Buffet might have been a little uncomfortable with FDR’s tax rates) something pretty substantial occurred in the US economy: A depression. In fact, one might even refer to this depression (given its widespread impact and the unparalleled consequence on average Americans) as a “great” depression of sorts.
Oh yeah: And things weren’t going so swell before JFK (a Democrat) cut tax rates in the 1960’s… But I guess it’s just coincidence that economic growth increased each time anti-tax presidents took the reins from soon-to-be liberal icons. Of course, Ball continued on her rant by slamming Reaganomics:
Only during the Reagan era were these rates brought crashing down under the bizarre, and ultimately incorrect belief that it would encourage growth…
Right. Those crazy Republicans who argued for lower taxes in the 1980’s… What the heck were they thinking? I mean, sure, we saw the longest peacetime expansion in American history (with 1984 clocking in at 6.8 percent GDP growth), but that was most likely luck. (For comparison, just yesterday the GDP clocked in with a miserable one-tenth-of-one percent increase.)
Ball then bemoaned the fact that the National Review described Thomas Piketty’s new book, Capital (in the 21st century), as “soft Marxism”. Well… I mean, Piketty did pretty much rip-off Marx’s title. Besides, he essentially wrote a case study for socialism in the 21st century. Ball, unsurprisingly, wasn’t thrilled about a fellow progressive being called out for his obvious admiration for Karl:
Lord knows what they are saying over at less responsible outlets or, ugh, the comments section…
Wait… “Less responsible”? Say that to my face! (Oh, and she’s clearly talking about you crazy people that comment on silly anti-communist editorials.) The truth, Krystal, is that Piketty is pushing redistribution of wealth, through increased confiscatory taxes. So, yeah… Kinda “Marxist”. I’m not calling him Stalinist (yet), but I’ve read Marx’s Capital. And the gist of Piketty’s Capital isn’t really that distanced from the father of modern-day communism.
Then, there was Krystal’s closing argument… Her final attempt to win over the loyal liberals who tune in to MSNBC in great small numbers: She tried to sell Orwell’s Animal Farm as a novella-lengthed rant against capitalism:
Animal Farm, Ball explained, was a story about a “bunch of pigs” who “hog up all the economic resources”, and then “scare up the prospect of a phony bogyman anytime their greed is challenged”. See, apparently for the last 69 years, the world has been wildly inaccurate when it identified Animal Farm as an allegorical novella satirizing Stalinism. (Wait…Weren’t the pigs representative of a redistributive government that confiscated the fruits of the other animal’s labor for the “common good”? Or did I completely misread Orwell’s subtext?)
I am, however, glad she brought up the pig’s constant reference to some non-existent bogyman. After all, when Harry Reid rails against the Koch Brothers on the Senate floor, he’s obviously taking aim at real bogymen… And, unlike the pigs in the book, he’s not trying (at all) to get his greedy hoofs on other people’s wealth for the sake of the “common good”. (I will seriously dish out big bucks to anyone that develops an effective sarcasm font.)
Feeling that revisionist history and ignorant literary analysis wasn’t enough, she went for the jugular:
Hey Conservatives… It’s time to stop the childish Cold War name calling, and deal with facts [unless it’s regarding Regan or 20th Century economic history]… It’s that, or be relegated to the kids and crazy uncle table at holidays.
I will “stop the childish Cold War name calling” the very instant I no longer feel like I’m debating with communist children. And, in regards to sitting at the kids table with the crazy uncle: I don’t wanna sit with Uncle Biden!
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