Tea Party Rep. John Fleming: Only $400,000 Left After 'I Feed My Family'
Tea party Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) used himself as an example Monday while arguing against President Barack Obama's plan to make sure millionaires pay about the same tax rate as the people that work for them.
"In my own case, I own LLCs," Fleming told MSNBC's Chris Jansing. "The income flows to my personal tax return and whatever is left over after taxes are paid, I feed my family on the one hand and on the other hand, I reinvest in my business."
"With all due respect, The Wall Street Journal estimated that your businesses, which I believe are Subway sandwich shops and UPS stores -- very successful -- brought you last year, over $6 million," Jansing noted.
"Yeah, that's before you pay 500 employees, you pay rent, you pay equipment and food," Fleming agreed. "Since my net income -- and again, that's the individual rate that I told you about -- the amount that I have to reinvest in my business and feed my family is more like $600,000 of that $6.3 million. And so by the time I feed my family, I have maybe $400,000 left over to invest in new locations, upgrade my locations, buy more equipment."
"You do understand, Congressman, the average person out there making 40, 50, $60,000 a year, when they hear that you have $400,000 left over, it's not exactly a sympathetic position?" Jansing asked.
"Again, class warfares never created a job," Fleming replied. "That's people that will not get jobs. This is all about creating jobs. It's not about attacking people who make certain incomes. You know, in this country, most people feel that being successful in their businesses is a virtue, not a vice. And once we begin to identify it as a vice, this country is going down."
It wasn't clear if the numbers cited by Fleming included his $174,000 congressional salary.
I guess I don't understand how Republicans can oppose the "elites" while championing the rich folks ("job creators").
and taking away support in the way of jobs, education, medical, food and housing from the poor is not.
What lying deceitful **********s.
me-oww!
Piss poor grammar aside, I would argue that there would be job opportunities created once his palace is looted and burned. Recyclers, pawnbrokers, other resellers would benefit from divying up his shit. Plus, construction workers, rebuilding his burned out home. And prison staff, assuming he survives the insurrection.
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
Love it -- thanks for a good laugh!
Rich and elite are not the same. The rich are those that God and society favors. Elites are dirty hippies who talk too much.
But as a (still) hippie at 61, f**k you. I'm no "elite". I may be better read than many people, and I take better care of myself than most, but I'm just another guy trying to stay sane and keep my head above water.
Wish we had a like button... I'd pound it a buncha times in your favor...
Mid-50's, old hippie, grand-dad, sadly better-read than so many with whom I come in contact (shouldn't be so, but such are the times in which we live), trying to keep it together and live a decent life with the love of my life in the manner that is right for us, without undue interference, and while trying to make as much of a positive difference in the world as as my meager store of ability will allow.
In the marketplace of ideas, too many people shop in the bargain basement.
-- Thunder BlueRose
Why, yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU
http://saxman.bravepages.com
Should we call the Waaaambulance for this cretin now?
"No one ever said these people were logically consistent."
- watchdog -
me of the last time the NBA was having a labor-management contract dispute. Retired NY Knick Patrick Ewing was interviewed by a sports reporter about the situation. Wearing a $2,000 dollar suit he dismissed a question about his $20 million dollar salary by saying "We have to feed our families." He could feed a whole country for $20 million. He was never as popular after that, but still more sympathetic than the ownership.
I think you're thinking of Latrell Sprewell, and not Patrick Ewing.
Baseball legend and free agency pioneer Curt Flood was always underpaid by his team, the St. Louis Cardinals during the 1960's even though he was the team's second best player for years(only Hall of fame pitcher Bob Gibson was better). Many not so talented White players received higher salaries than Flood who one year during an intense negotiation complained of the unfair salary descrepancy and the Cardinals GM actually told Flood that "White people needed more money to live than colored folk".
Pretty much the Calvinist dominionist mindset dominating the Republican party these days, yes?
In the marketplace of ideas, too many people shop in the bargain basement.
-- Thunder BlueRose
Why, yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU
http://saxman.bravepages.com
call these fake rich people "posers".
Another thought..Someone needs to investigate how much these low paying jobs add to the burden on states safety nets.
How many "Job Creators" are getting subsidized health insurance for employees through Welfare and food stamps?
I would love to see these cheap bastards explain on national TV why their employees qualify for food stamps.
First they ignore us..then they ridicule us..now they are feeding us chicken crap- sign my petition:
http://www.change.org/petitions/fda-stop-feed...
www.ickenittlepost.com
I'll never understand why these teabaggers think making ten times the average American family's income, after they've paid expenses and "fed their family" would garnger sympathy for them.
And then they have the nerve to whine about "class warfare"? They're the ones waging war on the rest of us!
$200,000 to feed his family? What do they eat? What middle/working class families have ANYTHING left after "feeding the family?"
Subway sammiches. He owns Subway sammich shops.
Like his 5-buck footlong... hate his 2-bit mentality.
In the marketplace of ideas, too many people shop in the bargain basement.
-- Thunder BlueRose
Why, yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU
http://saxman.bravepages.com
poor people, which are more expensive than you'd think. if we just got rid of that soylent green tax that would help out.
Mmmmmm ... high-protein ....
Oye! So many remarks, so little time. ; 0 )
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
This just proves that these idiots have NO clue about today's economy.
“by the time I feed my family, I have maybe $400,000 left over.”
Wow! Only $400,000 left over? How does he cope with that kind of poverty?
That's pretty good, but a fuller quote is even better:
"Since my net income -- and again, that's the individual rate that I told you about -- the amount that I have to reinvest in my business and feed my family is more like $600,000 of that $6.3 million. And so by the time I feed my family, I have maybe $400,000 left over to invest in new locations, upgrade my locations, buy more equipment."
In other words, it costs him $200,000 per year to feed his family.
Not to mention, investment costs are not part of net revenue. Any investments in a business are deducted from revenue BEFORE net taxable income is calculated.
This Republican fetish for anti-intellectualism is really beginning to hurt the quality of their recruits.
Simple and self-explanatory,
a little over 546 dollars a day.
for 'feeding' the family - yes i know thats simplistic and in reality covers a lot more but hell there would probably be a LOT of families whod be happy with that much per WEEK - a little over 28 grand a year. (comparing to the rate it appears hes paying his workers, at any rate)
hes got a hell pampered family if hes spending that much on their upkeep. unless hes done an ahnold and thats covering more than his legitimate family.... even then thats still a hell of a lot.
gotta grimly laugh at this class war winner lecturing others... theres a yawning gulf between reality and his as he sees it.
Or are they channeling Lewis Carroll?
($6,300,000.00 - $600,000.00)/500 = $11,400.00 is the average annual income of his employees, assuming he pays no benefits. What's wrong with this picture?
You forgot that $6.3M had to pay for rent and supplies as well the employees salaries. His average employee is making well under $5/hr.
But, but but...they own refrigerators!!
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
...the free market is failing him since he thinks $400K isn't enough to start any more sandwich shops. What a nozzle though, I wish I had enough money after I fed my family to fix my house, my truck or even dream of starting a new business let alone buy a luxury item like a new power washer or surfboard (American Built of course).
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
unless they're designed to maim or kill people.
Buy Chinese.
Humpty Dumpty was pushed.
if i only have $5 dollars to invest my finances after i feed myself than i should be given a huge tax cut as well right? hey let's just not have taxes since their stifling personal investments.
I know people do, but I'm always flabbergasted.
"Even if 50 million people say a stupid thing - it is still a stupid thing." - Anatole France
I have now officially run out of face to palm.
In the marketplace of ideas, too many people shop in the bargain basement.
-- Thunder BlueRose
Why, yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU
http://saxman.bravepages.com
.
Humpty Dumpty was pushed.
Maybe he should walk through trailer parks and ask anyone with a refrigerator to give him $5.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
El Paso's Lower Valley and parts of the south side, Chapparal and La Union, NM would suffice...
In the marketplace of ideas, too many people shop in the bargain basement.
-- Thunder BlueRose
Why, yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU
http://saxman.bravepages.com
a congressman, he doesn't even have to be there to run his business. He's probably paying his managers $25,000 a year to work 60 hours a week to run them for him.
how many jobs he plans to create with his leftover $400k. If the answer is more than Zero, keep tabs on him and ensure he does it. If the answer is Zero, how will raising his taxes hurt us?
Exactly.
he "only" has $400,000 to play with.
And he's claiming class warfare.
Stupid fuckers can't even tell when they've won!
"Better." It's what we should ask of ourselves and of our leaders.
how does a douche like this get elected. i know LA is a little backwards but last time i checked there's a lot of poor people there. hey vote for me and maybe, if my family get caviar every night, i might hook you up with a job at subway.
LIES.
That's how.
Religion will be the downfall of Humanity.
He pays himself as profit from an LLC. Basically, he's a corporation and pays one of the lowest effective tax rates in the industrialized world. Congressman, STFU!
How do I know? I account for my business income the same way. Not saying it's right but you don't hear me whining about it. And I don't reinvest or make hiring decisions based on tax rates... ever. And you know what? Neither does he b/c if his investment doesn't pan out he can use it as a write-down against the profit that's already rolling in. And if it is profitable he gets to keep a very, very substantial percentage AFTER taxes.
its just never enough with the uber rich is it. and a congress man that is suppose to do the will of the american people - i say we need to lay off a lot of them in 2012 and then go and ask them how it feels to be unemployed.
read the in the book of James chapter 5 verses 1 through 4 Mr. Congressman
roger allen
Soooo a $6.3 million dollar company with 500 employees...That means EVERY one of his employees lives below the poverty level...And this asshole complains about only having $400,000.00 left over. What a pompous ass jerk.
If Obama's special tax is on incomes of $1 million+, would this even apply to him? It sounds like his net income is $400,000 a year (+ the $175,000 Congressional salary which he leaves out.)
Unless he means he has $400,000 left in disposable income after paying his mortgage, etc. Maybe he thinks "feeds his family" sounds more folksy than pays for his daughter's riding lessons + stable fees.
Superdude, I could not agree with you more!
But you left out something...his daughter's private school, designer clothes, a new car for her every year, music lessons, braces, ski trips, hair appointments, flying to Palm Beach to party with her friends...please remember, kids cost money to raise!!
He did fail to mention his Congressional salary of $174,000 per year (for which he does practically NOTHING!) working only an average of 3 days per week! I guess that amount is just "gravy"! Money to play with!
THIS MAKES ME SO EFF-ING SICK TO MY STOMACH! While 22% of the kids in this country live below the poverty line, he has the unmitigated nerve to say something like this on national TV! This guy and all his buddies in Congress don't have a clue! Vote them OUT!!!
.
Humpty Dumpty was pushed.
Vitter could tell him about that. The DC Madam's stable was very expensive.
So is Koch... to the rest of us, that is...
In the marketplace of ideas, too many people shop in the bargain basement.
-- Thunder BlueRose
Why, yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU
http://saxman.bravepages.com
"Ken and I have just agreed the sale of two more homes so we're waiting to see if the buyers want the furnishings. If not, they will come here."
http://www.rense.com/general29/stunt.htm
Nothing ever changes. Just a bunch of classless, clueless nouveau rich mofos.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
To quote Lewis Black..."I never understood why the French cut off Marie Antoinette's head. Now I fucking GET IT!"
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
I saw Lewis last month. I haven't laughed so fucking hard since I was a teenager. Go see him, you won't regret it.
99%
I've seen him. Two years ago at the City Center here in NYC. The place he calls home.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
Silver Spring, Maryland.
But he prefers to say he's from Washington, DC, because if he says he's from Silver Spring, Maryland, he actually sounds like a p---y.
He actually said that at the concert I caught here in DC a couple of years ago. LOL
.... "[T]he amount that I have to reinvest in my business and feed my family is more like $600,000 of that $6.3 million. And so by the time I feed my family, I have maybe $400,000 left over."
$200,000 to feed his family? How many people are in this guy's family, anyway? And just what the hell are they all eating?
This is supposed to be the party of fiscal responsibility?
He could save a huge amount of money feeding his family Subway sandwiches. Unless he admits they're shit, that is.
for advertising that eating subway sandwiches are a healthy way to lose weight, don'tcha know?
to pay for child support?
400K plus 174K as rep. = 574K a year
not bad seeing your employees would only be bring home maybe 11k or less.
"I own LLCs. The income flows to my personal tax return..."
I thought these guys knew about "personal choice". There are plenty of other corporate structures that would prevent all that money from flowing in to his personal tax return. He chose to set up his business structure like that.
So call a wambulance and let's all boo-hoo-hoo for his terrible corporate savvy and the fact that $200,000 to feed his family--of, what 25 or 30 people?--leaves him with only ten times the average family's wages.
{;( I feel so sorry for him.
If I had $1 for every time these imbecile, small minded, snobs of republican and tea party representatives opened their mouths to complain about how hard pressed they are to have money left over even though, he did not exactly look like he was starving, probably paid several hundred dollars for that tie, and maybe $1000 for the suit. If I had $1 for every time these people open their mouths, I'd be a millionaire. If the government came and took 35% of that, I'd still feel like I won the lottery; considering that right now we live from pay check to pay check. He has a lot of nerve opening his mouth.
BTW how come he gets to keep his subway and ups franchises and be a government representative. I thought you had to give that stuff up once you became a congressman or senator. Isn't that conflict of interest?
Well, bless his heart.
(If you are a southern man or woman, you know what I just said)
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
.
"Better." It's what we should ask of ourselves and of our leaders.
Have heard some of the most catty comments that were attempted to be mitigated by those words... lol
In the marketplace of ideas, too many people shop in the bargain basement.
-- Thunder BlueRose
Why, yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU
http://saxman.bravepages.com
And yet, we're bad people if we wish ill to clueless lowlifes like this.
He has no excuse. He's educated and is supposed to know better. Our politics is a joke. An asshole like this should be laughed right off camera making comments like this.
And he is an ASSHOLE.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
"You know, in this country, most people feel that being successful in their businesses is a virtue, not a vice. And once we begin to identify it as a vice, this country is going down."
If you are making yourself successful in your business on the backs of the middle class by keeping them down with low wages, no benefits, no way to negotiate better conditions, firing at will so you can keep even more of your money, turning the middle class into the working poor or even just poor, not providing health care, doing everything possible to look for workers in other countries where you will pay them even less because you can get away with it, then that kind of success is not a VIRTUE, it is definitely a VICE and absolutely nothing to be proud of.
Yeah, I guess he can't hire a good accountant or financial adviser in Louisiana.
Someone should do some pro bono work for the poor man.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
Oh, and by the way. This douchenozzle also neglected to mention the approximately $180,000 salary he earns as a representative.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
As an llc all money earned by his businesses he reports. What he actually pays income tax on is the amount left over after expenses or losses. In his case that is 600k. He is not getting any breaks like a corporation would get. I would bet he would not find his tax burden any higher under Obama's proposal. He makes for a good GOP mouthpiece because he is a small businessman who had 6 million in sales, but only 600k of income. He is not a millionaire, just a defender of them.
YET. Give him time. He's a Congressman now.
Humpty Dumpty was pushed.
i'm in the process of filing an llc...i can choose to be taxed like a corporation and get most of the tax perks a corporation gets...
I'm sure the people of Louisiana are sooo proud.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
That's what these clowns expect the rest of us to gobble down with glee.. It's truly time to run these carpetbagging jerks out of our collective lives....
"And so by the time I feed my family, I have maybe $400,000 left over to invest in new locations, upgrade my locations, buy more equipment."
So you get about a 10% pretax net return off these businesses, pay yourself 200 grand a year and you feel impoverished? No shit, Sherlock? The only pity I have for you is the methodology you use in your business, get yourself a more competent advisor to guide you to more cost effective solutions instead of implying that your minimum wage employees, taxes, and cost structure are your problem. What the hell do you want, the government and society to underwrite your incompetence at their expense? Your ignorance and inappropriate blaming are your real problem.
"We will find fulfillment not in the goods that we have, but in the good we can do for each other."
Robert F. Kennedy
Do the math people. By his numbers, he's paying his employees an average of $11,000 a year.
I guess they supplement their incomes by dumpster diving.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
At that rate his employees qualify for food stamps.
Bet he is against food stamps.
First they ignore us..then they ridicule us..now they are feeding us chicken crap- sign my petition:
http://www.change.org/petitions/fda-stop-feed...
www.ickenittlepost.com
Must be rough being this guy.
far left loon >.<
Don't tell me, let me guess. His wife doesn't work.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
Paying incrementally more in taxes is not punishment. It is patriotic for people doing well to help this country in it's need. That is how you thank the country that allows you to live comfortably. Besides, no one is being asked to pay it all, just a little bit more if you make more.
Now I can put a face on the motherfuckers who pay 10 cents over minimum wage and keep employees' hours under 32/week so they don't have to provide any benefits. I still give her money every month to help pay for the room she rents from another couple. She really wants more hours, but it's cheaper to hire more part timers than to pay benefits.
The rest of my comment is self deleted to save the site monitor (and the FBI) some time.
"Someday somebody related to some of these sufferers, these victims, these collaterally damaged souls, may try to kill you. And I have to tell you, I think you’ll have it coming." - Christopher Cooper
all you need to be rich is work had, just like John Fleming and the rest of the tea party shithawks.
CTHULHU 2012 "Why vote for a lesser evil?"
Mr. flemming....
If you have 500 employees and $6, 000,000. PROFIT...If you did not feed your family...you would be paying an average salary of $12,000 annually to each of your employees and have nothing left over !
Saw this and Jansing suckered this elitist fool into revealing his hubris and disconnect from real Americans!
Good luck selling this distortion!
by the hard work of Mr. Fleming, who barely gets to see his family in between $200 TV dinners.
Those slackers don't deserve the graces of this saintly job creator...
CTHULHU 2012 "Why vote for a lesser evil?"
All you need to be a gazillionaire is to inherit gobs more than that amount and bankrupt your businesses... a la the gazillionaire with the growth-hormoned gerbil on his head...
In the marketplace of ideas, too many people shop in the bargain basement.
-- Thunder BlueRose
Why, yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU
http://saxman.bravepages.com
it's the hardest job of them all.
CTHULHU 2012 "Why vote for a lesser evil?"
After seeing this unsympathetic character whining about living on $600,000 and the "Let him die" clip from the Teabag debate, I think I've got a new slogan for Repubs in 2012:
"Eat cake and die!"
Like it?
$200,000 to feed his family? What the heck do they eat.
Plus I wonder - does the WSJ usually report a person's gross income? This guy is saying he has $600,000 left out of that $6.3 million. I just wonder.
These people act like they won't be able to feed their family or get medical care or get the car fixed in their taxes go up.
It just might be in the way they eat it.
That's called having "food on your family".
Aha! John Fleming's thoughts here lay bare the hypocrisy behind similar wealthy conservative Republicans. Anyone who wears the "virtue of their success" on their sleeve is a braggart. They haven't been paying enough attention in the Sunday morning sermons to what happens in the afterlife to the Pharisee. True virtue is found in those who are humble, who give away what they have, who help others, who put others before themselves. This is a man who says "hey, I made $600,000 this year, I think I'll buy a new yacht." Excuse me, but this is not virtue.
this mofo is what is wrong with Washington RIGHT NOW.
But, as Steve Benen said, "you get the government you voted iin" and there are a lot of stupids with the right to vote that continuously rewards buffoonery by virtue of voting.
Elections do have consequences.
And a Calvinist and dominionist, whether admitted and recognized as such or not.
In the marketplace of ideas, too many people shop in the bargain basement.
-- Thunder BlueRose
Why, yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU
http://saxman.bravepages.com
I will say it again...
($6,300,000.00 - $600,000.00)/500 = $11,400.00 is the average annual income of his employees, assuming he pays no benefits. What's wrong with this picture?
I hope he gets a Four Hundred thousand dollar pitchfork impaled in his fucking skull.
How about some music?
It's because of assholes like this that my BEST year, my VERY BEST YEAR was under 17 thousand dollars!! Has anyone ever SEEN a $5.00 "footlong"?, they're as thin as bread sticks, and have less meat on them than a can of cat food, which by the way, is probably more NUTRITIOUS for you!! Of COURSE you'll lose weight eating subway, they wouldn't fill up a guppy fish!!! I for one, never having earned a minimum wage of $7.25 and hour, (when I had work, Min. wage was MUCH less than that) couldn't possibly FATHOM working an entire hour in a sweatshop, and after taxes on that hour's wages, not actually HAVE 5 dollars to spend on "Just A Sammich", add a drink for another $1.75, and chips for dessert, and you're at almost 9 bucks, hell, at the wages HE'S paying, that's 2 hours work, just to go hungry!! FUCK THIS GUY, AND THE BANKER HE RODE IN ON!!
I hope Fleming is the first asshole to get tarred and feathered.
NOBODY 2012
He is talking about the 600k he clears from his businesses, after spending 200k "feeding his family" he only has 400k of play money. Of course he isn't including his $174k congressional salary, plus housing allowance etc. His income is at least $800k, more than 25 times the $31,085 median household income in his district.
Whenever we point out this sort of overprivileged whining, we are accused of "Class Warfare", which in fact is exactly what the congressman did immediately after whining about his tight budget.
“There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.” ~ Warren Buffett
So after he spends as much money on himself as humanly possible, er, I mean, after he "feeds his family" he only has 400,000 left to put in the bank? Boo fucking hoo.
This fucker should be so lucky! It must be rough living off of $400,000 AFTER feeding the family...
of seeing how these stupid repukes make so much money.This guy owns dozens of businesses.6 million in income last year.Makes me wish I hadnt majored in peace studies.
There is a difference. I don't begrudge him his money. I don't know if he is being totally honest about the 400k left over. Is he really rolling it back into his businesses? I suspect he isn't because he is already including business expenses when he fills out the form c (I think it is form c llcs use).
I also don't believe he has 500 employees. Salaries are probably half his expenses.
I am AR/AP for my company, which relies entirely on cash flow.
Representative Flemming does not pay $5,700,000.00 (which we will call overhead) in wages. Wages are merely part of his overhead. He pays for utilities, product (food), shipping to get the product to him, and wages. He also pays taxes and insurance, but we will leave that out for the sake of convenience. If he pays 50% of his overhead to employee wages, his 500 employees receive $5,700.00 per year. This is assuming that management and hourly employees are equal in pay and hours.
I don't begrudge him the right to make money. I begrudge him the right to bitch and moan about the advantages he is receiving on the backs of his wage slaves.
You're right - I worked it out under the false pretense that 100% of cash flow goes to payroll and even in that impossible scenario, the average employee is getting the shaft.
see articles like this and start bellowing about Nancy Pelosi's 35 million net worth or that John Kerry and his wife are almost billionaires.And then I have to point out to them it's different:progressives like Kerry and Pelosi work tirelessly for social justice.
Jonathan Swift's time has arrived.... again.
Maybe he's eating too many $16 muffins...
Wait, so is this $6.3 million figure his rough sales? Subtract the $600,000 he takes before taxes, that's $5.7M. If all he covered was wages for his 500 employees, that's $11,400/year. Roughly $219 (pre-tax) per week, and with Fed. minimum wage of $7.25/hr, that means the average employee is working 30 hrs./wk (aka part-time) and probably receives no benefits. And this guy has the nerve to cry about ONLY having $400,000/year when it's all said and done?
What a jerk.
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