kirkydu (95.47)

Biggest ... of the Week

January 07, 2010 – Comments (7) | RELATED TICKERS: GE , BAC , GS

Something I think deserves a little cyberink.  I'm nominate Terry Holt for biggest ... of the Week. 

Holt is a PR mouthpiece and republican spokesperson who clings to the idea that the rich should get richer, not by their skill sets or contributions to making the economic pie bigger, but by rule.  If you are a top 1%er, you have reached the point of complete entitlement and from that point on, you should be rich just because you are rich, AND, the rules of the system ought to be changed to support that end.  

Today, Holt once again argued (CNBC) that Hedge Fund manager compensation ought to be taxed at capital gains rates instead of income tax rates.  He resorted to old (and clearly effective on some morons) rhetoric that we shouldn't "punish" the successful.  What the heck does he mean!  We should punish the less successful???

Capital gains tax rates are meant for people who invest money and put it at risk.  This was never meant to apply to earned income.  NEVER.  While we can argue for lower taxes, I'll start with the family down the street's taxes who are struggling to stay in their house, not the hedge fund manager who can't buy a 4th vacation property because he might have to pay the same marginal tax rates as the rest of us.

Here are some of Holt's CNBC hits (I really do hate to send you to that site, so feel free to youtube), and while Holt is somewhat right - like every other paid for rube in the world- about a few things, he is clearly a rhetorical mouthpiece.  Until we get rid of guys like this, there is little hope for effective discourse in fixing what is clearly a republic that has been deeply fractured the past decade and is not getting better nearly fast enough.

Now, I don't care if what Holt spews he believes, the fact that he'll take a buck to toss around the gargabe he does is byond bad form, it's heretical what he does.  There are plenty of worthwhile ideas on the conservative plank, but guys like Holt make it nearly impossible for centrists (about 60-70% of us in the U.S.) to even give those ideas any thought because it is so gross to have guys like this in your camp, if even on one idea. 

If I had to sum this guy up, I'd go with: Holt is a bought and paid for mouthpiece with no soul.  I hope he enjoys this life, because if there is a next one as this Catholic boy suspects, I can't imagine he'll enjoy that one. If ever there was a pure jagbag, Terry Holt is it.

A little Terry Holt Zen.