Rick Steves gives 'Bush tax cut' to Edmonds arts center

Quasimodo44 said on August 30, 2011 at 9:45 AM

Is Rick Steves making a Tea-Party argument? This is the type of quandary one gets into as a child of the “anti-rationalist movement”, with arguments based on drama and emotion, and mixed with a dose of slander rather than logic. Mr. Steves I suggest you brush the pot ashes off your keyboard and search keyword, “Civics”, and Constitutionality vs. trivial pursuit! Your Edmonds Theatre and Cascade Ochestra are not MY issue! I am from Montana, living in Dallas. I don’t want to support your theater and orchestra with my federal taxes. That is the job of you and your local government! Does Steves think the federal government would have called him to ask where his $million should be spent? Rick, how about a little donation to my favorite theater, Dallas’ Meyerson Theater? Perhaps some money for my local girl’s softball team? Steves was able to apply his “tax rip-off” where he wanted to because he kept his money! I suggest a little help in formulating opinionated logic the next time!

davesea said on August 28, 2011 at 8:09 PM

Rich people already have their money. Tell me how do you propose to tax money they already have? Keep drinking the democrat cool-aid. You could tax "rich" people at 100% and it wouldn't change the national debt. The democrats are spending money like drunken sailors...and that's an insult to sailors, because sailors stop spending money when they are broke.

humevo said on August 28, 2011 at 8:03 AM

spacedover, you are such a predictable right-wing tool. You seem to have the ability to misunderstand any piece of news. How do you take a story about Rick Steves' generosity and make it a comment on Obama? Amazing.

shimo said on August 27, 2011 at 5:51 PM

Good for Steves. And perhaps this is the whole idea isn't it that if you are rich you can give to what ever worthy cause you deam fit instead of having a bunch geniuses in city hall or Olymipia or Washington DC deciding how to best waste your money. So Steves before you make your politcal statement let me ask you what is more satisfying, giving some of your money to the Edmonds arts center or giving to some politician? It's amazing that most of these rich people that have tons of money and wants theirs taxes raise can't figure this out.

koolaiddrinker said on August 27, 2011 at 4:30 PM

Obummer extended the Bush tax cuts!

spacedover said on August 27, 2011 at 12:04 PM

Thank you Steve and President Bush for making it possible for the gift to Edmond Art Center. We will be waiting for Obama gift donation after the vacation is over.

bazwest said on August 27, 2011 at 9:26 AM

@think...you have your head buried in the sand. The Bush tax cuts benefited the middle class much more so than they benefited the rich. The Bush tax cuts were happily and quickly renewed by President Obama and a democrat dominated congress. The Federal government has a spending problem and in case you haven't noticed the republicans only control the house of representative. Democrats control the Senate which is the other half of Congress and the White House. I have bad news for you, Republicans are not preventing the changes that you are advocating the democrats are preventing it. If you really want to "Think" as you blog name suggests, then I suggest that you start thinking. No party can "lead" by blaming the other party for everything they dislike about the situation. I translate that to mean that there are no leaders in the democrat party only whiners, complainers, and followers.

awol50 said on August 27, 2011 at 7:37 AM

All you people who think your taxes are not high enough, just do the right thing and write a check out to the Feds and send it to Washington DC. Stop whining about those of us who actually think we can save/spend/invest our money more wisely. As for Steve's gift. Bully for him. But it just reinforces what he rails against. By his own admission he would rather give his surplus to the charity of his choosing instead of sending it to the black hole in DC to be redistributed by political whim. If Steves really thought his money would be better spent by the government he would have just sent his "contribution" there. So bottom line, bully for Steves. But the grandstanding cheapened his gift.

KING5Sukks said on August 27, 2011 at 7:18 AM

good for Steve!

lmdk2 said on August 27, 2011 at 6:25 AM

And he will write off the donation on his next tax return. But I do give him credit for trying to make a diff. There seems to be more and more people that are pretty well off steping up to the plate. good for them and for the rest of us too.

eklnd said on August 26, 2011 at 6:55 PM

Blaming FOX news isn't going to get you anywhere....Im on KING 5's blog.

eklnd said on August 26, 2011 at 6:53 PM

Actually scout. Your position would be the definition of a non-capitalistic society. In that case you are right, I do not believe as you do and most likely will not. As I continue to work hard to provide for my family and get nice things, I expect the government to treat me equally. Just because I have worked hard for what I have earned doesn't make me more responsible for the other's choices. I could have just as easily chosen different paths that would have put me in different circumstances. If you don't like your lot in life, change it. There are plenty of opportunities, even in this economy. It all about your intestinal fortitude, drive, and ambition. Not who can give me this or how come I can't keep up with the Jones. If I choose to donate to my favorite charities, just as Mr Steve's has it is my choice out of my decision. Not a governmental requirement to support every idea that someone else has.

invalid said on August 26, 2011 at 6:35 PM

Good of him to put his money where his mouth is. And @noskills, at the time the tax cuts were implemented, the economy was not doing well. We were in a recession at the time. An economic recovery followed the tax cuts, and tax revenue rose significantly as a result.

scoutz0rs said on August 26, 2011 at 6:30 PM

I can't believe how many people eat up Fox news talking points. Taxing the ultra rich is a good idea. Their money is never going to trickle down. Give up! If rich people say TAX ME MORE, then why not? What is the harm in that? Exactly, there isn't. I believe that patriotic people want to give money to their government to help sustain it. Money does not come out of nowhere. And the people who have the majority of the earnings in this country should pay more. If you think that's wrong, you need to reevaluate everything you believe.

eklnd said on August 26, 2011 at 6:25 PM

But on a lighter side, Im Mr Steves will not utilze the $100.000 per year write off in anyway to offset the interest on his other assets.

eklnd said on August 26, 2011 at 6:23 PM

Another interesting tidbit: If you raise taxes on the ultra rich, you only get to tax their income generated during the preceding fiscal year. Basically, their interest and new earnings. So the person that gets hurt the most are the really hard workers that are trying to make their way to that status. So the incentives to work harder and smarter start to deteriorate as you move up the socio-economic status until you break through the made-it line.

eklnd said on August 26, 2011 at 6:19 PM

It is interesting to note that the republicans controled congress under Clinton. They lost control under W Bush after 6 years. The Dems gained total control for 2 years. Our current leader has overseen the increase of our deficit in his short tenure to the tune of twice the presidential average in half the time. The moral of the story appears to be that no one group should control 66% of the government. A devisive congress makes minor corrective changes to an economy that generally fixes itself.

mr_conservative said on August 26, 2011 at 5:11 PM

The poor are not poor because the rich are rich.

think said on August 26, 2011 at 1:17 PM

This is a modern-day hero! The rest of the greedy SOB's who've benefited from this unneeded tax cut should step-up, then tell the Republican a-holes currenntly in -office, to put the tax code back to the way it was before Bush and his cronies gave away this Country's prosperity!

yeahguy said on August 26, 2011 at 1:16 PM

how about giving it to the school district Rick? The arts are great but hardly a priority right now.

smc42 said on August 26, 2011 at 1:02 PM

John, the top 10% of earner's also earn 70% of the Adjusted Gross Income of the United States....per the "Tax Foundation" in 2008. It was 50% in 1980....and the "Tax Foundation" is a VERY conservative group......

trudybird said on August 26, 2011 at 12:45 PM

Supporting the arts in any form is a wonderful thing. I know of a non-profit community theater group in Enumclaw that has been around for 18 years, performing for thousands, while educating and stretching the imaginations of adults and youths. It's heart breaking to see what the economy is doing to this wonderful organization. To purchase the rights to perform can be very pricey, not to mention renting a venue, advertising, etc. Grants are hard to find now days. Political or not... any help is always appreciated from large organizations and the small non-profits as well.

internetJen said on August 26, 2011 at 12:29 PM

jjohn, I wouldn't mind seeing a link that backs that up. But I'd like to wonder: what percentage of an individuals cash flow get's locked up in taxes. I bet for the rich it's a smaller proportion then for middle class or the poor. I think the tax bracket thing works, but maybe we need to break it up into more brackets. The higher taxes are only enacted upon the upper part of their wealth. Check out the wikipedia on tax brackets. Also, if a CEO makes bank cause he's at the top of a publicly educated workforce then he owes the public schools a big thank you.

jjohn said on August 26, 2011 at 11:38 AM

Currently, the top 10% of earners pay 70% of all income taxes. The bottom 50% pay 3% of all income taxes. Seems to me the "rich" are paying a big share. I'm curious to know what % people who say the rich aren't paying their fair share would like them to pay. By the way, I am not one of the top 10% earners.

internetJen said on August 26, 2011 at 11:14 AM

I think this sort of thing is great. I'd like to see a kickstarter of sorts for classrooms. This is the 21st century, every school should have a simple automated website where people can direct deposit into 'classroom supply' bank account, and the statements could be published online too. Smart phones and iPads are great, but lets scrape together an informatics corps to eliminate/automate red tape. Let's have the pentagon use mint.com and let us analyze it's spending. [only sort of kidding]

noskills said on August 26, 2011 at 9:43 AM

I dont fault Bush for the tax cuts. At the time the economy was doing really really well and revenue coming in was able to support the cuts. However, this is not the same economy and extending those cuts makes no sense now. Now as for they are Obama's tax cuts now because he extended them, I will agree with you slightly but he was pretty much forced to extend them otherwise millions of people would of lost their unemployment benefits. The Republicans tied an extension of those tax cuts to unemployment extension.

ApolloUSA927 said on August 26, 2011 at 9:36 AM

Good. It's his money. Had it gone to taxes, even if the money would end up going to this center, it would have been about 400k...after the fedgov took it's processing fees...and that 400k would come with strings attached. By the way...How much of Mr. Steeves' income comes from Public Broadcasting?...supported by--taxpayers.

collegeguy said on August 26, 2011 at 8:34 AM

Kenjo, you post show how out of touch with reality you are. Do you think the rich actually are the ones who drive the economy by spending their disposible income? Heck no, they do not. The middle class drives much of the economy with their spending. We spend far more because there are far more of us. He donated money, that only does enough to support a very small portion of the economy. What he did do was allow a group to stay open when they might have closed down and to allow them to actually provide services that they otherwise would not be able to. @punkin_bozo, exactly. Economics 101 says exactly that when you reduce your income and increase spending to such a massive level like W. Bush did, you will eventually go bankrupt, and that was the economic model that W. Bush followed and most republicans want to follow.

3porte8742496002 said on August 26, 2011 at 8:31 AM

Who cares. Like I've always said. If all this liberals like Warren Buffet want to be taxed more, open up your check books and write away. Oh, the "Bush Tax Cuts" became the "Obama Tax Cuts" when he extended them in January.

lmariec said on August 26, 2011 at 8:25 AM

This is very generous of the Steves family, who give back to the community in many other ways as well. I don't see how it supports the idea of giving tax cuts to the wealthy. Can we expect donations to be made to all schools, libraries, and other institutions suffering from cuts due to our economic downturn?

poedoldman said on August 26, 2011 at 8:09 AM

The government didn't give him his money, he made if off of all the people that did and do business with him. How is that a Republican or Democratic issue? He didn't become wealthy due to tax cuts. He may get a break on taxes, but do you really think that wealthy Dems don't claim those cuts too? If a person has the knowledge and makes the effort to grow their personal wealth, good for them, tax break or not. If you are too lazy to get off of the couch and do the same, don't blame it on the government - find a mirror to see who's fault that is.

punkin_bozo said on August 26, 2011 at 7:57 AM

What a great country we live in for the rich. First, the Republicans give them tax cuts so the rich pays just a small fraction of their disposable income while the rest of us struggle. The results, the rich get richer and the middle class starts to disappear. While at the same time, the Republicans did not account for these cuts and drove our country from a tax surplus (and paying off our national debt) to tax shortages. Now with millions worried about how to put food on the table and how to pay rent, the rich has the means to donate to what is important to them, such as art centers. And don't forget, the donation is tax deductible.

jerrythecarguy31 said on August 26, 2011 at 7:31 AM

What ever, who cares? can't afford to go anywhere so I don't give a s$%^ about how much anyone gives.

kenjo70033071559 said on August 26, 2011 at 7:19 AM

Reducing taxes gives people the option of spending their money they way they want, instead of giving it to the government to waste. Excellent example of how reducing taxes stimulates the economy. Steves, of course, isn't smart enough to realize his "political statement" supports cutting taxes.

chuckstr76 said on August 26, 2011 at 7:16 AM

Yep, the rich get richer and the poor are still poor... but thanks anyway

mrcrowley said on August 26, 2011 at 7:02 AM

thank you