Bill Maher New Rules: Middle-Class Economics

by Catherine Giordano

All the commentators are saying that Romney leave the race because of concerns about donors or because of concerns about losing?   

How humiliating it must have been to run for president and lose. But how much more humiliating to run for president and lose and then next time around you lose the race for the nomination from your own party. Maybe he decided not to tarnish his reputation even further.  

I was sorry to see him go.  I recently saw a blooper reel of Romney’s 2012 campaign.  The man was funny—inadvertently funny, but funny none the less.  This year was shaping up to be a great one for the blooper reel. Romney was talking about “income inequality.” The words are so funny when they come out of his mouth.  

Now that the Republicans can’t run their mouths about how bad the economy is—because the economy is pretty good-- they have to run their mouths about something.  They chose income inequality –and of course—they blame Obama for it.  It is the latest of the ju-jitsu moves from the Karl Rove school of dirty tricks: Attack your opponent on his strengths.  

Whatever good news there is on the economy was accomplished by Obama despite the obstructionism of the Republicans. Obama has a plan to reduce income inequality—raise the minimum wage, two years of college free, numerous jobs bills that include upgrading our country’s infrastructure and more.   

When a Republican talks about income inequality, he usually doesn’t bother to mention any plan to do something about it.  And if he does offer a plan it is to lower taxes on the rich—a plan thoroughly discredited.   

This picture should be on every lamppost in America.  It is not from Bill Maher, but it makes the point so well I’m including it.

Maher devoted the last segment of Nixed Economics to income inequality and the shrinking middle class. His proposal is to return to the socialism of the 1950’s and 60’s.  “Yes,” Maher opines “For a brief period of time, the United States was Finland.” 

Here’s a video of the segment.

 

 

Read the full recap and review of the show: “The Big Game”

 

Bill Maher’s Guests:  #341 January 30, 2015

Katty Kay. Journalist, lead anchor of BBC World News America, author. Her most recent book is The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance---What Women Should Know

Monica Mehta;  Financial writer and commentator, author of The Entrepreneurial Instinct: How Everyone Has the Innate Ability to Start a Successful Small Business, ambassador for Operation Hope, a non-profit financial literacy organization. 

Laura Poitras: Documentary film director and producer. Her films include My Country, My Country. Her latest documentary, Citizenfour (about Eric Snowden), is nominated for a 2015 Oscar. 

Mel Brooks: Film director, screenwriter, comedian, actor, producer, composer, songwriter. He is best known as the producer of comic farces and parodies.  Nine of his best movies are included in The Mel Brooks Collection  

Joaquin Castro: Representative to Congress (D, TX)