PULL UP THE LADDER NOW THAT I'VE CLIMBED UP
I imagine you already know what GOP congressman John Fleming said this morning:
Multi-Millionaire Rep. Says He Can’t Afford A Tax Hike Because He Only Has $400K A Year After Feeding Family
Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) appeared on MSNBC with Chris Jansing this morning to attack President Obama's new deficit reduction plan, which includes some tax increases on the wealthy. Taking up the typical GOP talking point, Fleming said raising taxes on wealthy "job creators" is a terrible idea that kills jobs because many of these people are small business owners who pay taxes through personal income rates.
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."
Will it surprise you if I tell you that Fleming -- an M.D. -- got his secondary and professional education at government-run institutions?
Fleming attended the University of Mississippi and was admitted to their medical school in Jackson after his junior year.
... the military got him ... when sudden family difficulties made it necessary to recruit the funding to finish medical school.
"I accepted one of the first scholarships back in 1972," said Fleming. "I was knocking on the recruiter's door the next day."
He completed medical school and his residency with the Navy at Camp Pendleton Navy Hospital....
More:
He also trained at the drug and alcohol treatment unit at the Navy Regional Medical Center in Long Beach. Serving in the Navy after his residency, Fleming practiced military family medicine on the island of Guam. There from 1979 to 1981, he was the director of drug and alcohol treatment and chairman of the Navy's Family Advocacy Committee. Thereafter, he performed similar duties in Charleston, South Carolina.
Oh, and he wrote a book based on -- surprise! -- government research:
Fleming also is a published author, having recently released the book "Preventing Addiction: What Parents Must Know to Immunize Their Kids Against Drug and Alcohol Addiction."
"This book is based on research conducted recently by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which says that children who drink alcohol before age 15 have a five-fold risk of addiction greater than kids who begin drinking after age 15," he said.
At a certain point in his life he was ready to start making money, as a physician in private practice and as a franchiser (Subway sandwich shops, UPS Stores) -- until, of course, he went back on the government payroll after being elected to Congress in 2008. Oh, and I'm forgetting the four years he spent as Webster Parish coroner (1996-2000).
But now he doesn't actually need what government offers, so he heaps scorn on any effort to collect more money to keep government running. Of course.
