I still do not understand how a corporation can have person-hood if it has no soul and never dies.
Jon StewartRead
President Bush announced his new economic plan. The centerpiece was a proposed repeal of the dividend tax on stocks, a boon that could be worth millions of dollars to average Americans. Well, average stock-owning Americans. Technically, Americans who own a significant amount of shares in dividend-dealing companies. Well, rich people, that's what I'm trying to say. They're going to do really well with this.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote critiques a tax policy favoring the wealthy under the guise of benefiting average Americans.
Jon Stewart's quote highlights the disparity between political rhetoric and economic reality, suggesting that proposed tax benefits, such as the repeal of the dividend tax, primarily serve the interests of the wealthy rather than the average American citizen. The vivid distinction he draws between 'average Americans' and 'rich people' underscores the inequity in financial policies that often leave the majority behind while disproportionately enriching a small segment of the population who own substantial shares in dividend-paying companies.
Themes
TaxEconomyWealthInequalityPolitics
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate on economic reform, this quote could illustrate how policies may favor the wealthy.
More from Jon Stewart
All quotes →Wait a minute! Wait a minute! I figured this out. I know what's wrong with what we've done in Iraq. We've been following time as it goes forward. What a classic mistake. Linear time is so pre-9-11.
Jon StewartRead
You just have to keep trying to do good work, and hope that it leads to more good work. I want to look back on my career and be proud of the work, and be proud that I tried everything. Yes, I want to look back and know that I was terrible at a variety of things.
Jon StewartRead
If you don't stick to your values when they're being tested, they're not values: they're hobbies.
Jon StewartRead
Thomas Jefferson once said: 'Of course the people don't want war. But the people can be brought to the bidding of their leader. All you have to do is tell them they're being attacked and denounce the pacifists for somehow a lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.' I think that was Jefferson. Oh wait. That was Hermann Goering. Shoot." [Hosting the Peabody Awards for broadcasting excellence at the New York Waldorf-Astoria, June 6, 2006]
Jon StewartRead
A guy comes down to earth, takes your sins, dies, and comes back three days later. You believe in him and go to heaven forever. How do you get from that to Hide-The-Eggs? Did Jesus have a problem with eggs? Did he go, "When I come back, if I see any eggs, the whole salvation thing is off."
Jon StewartRead
Similar quotes
Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the 'hidden' confiscation of wealth. Gold stands in the way of this insidious process. It stands as a protector of property rights.
Alan GreenspanRead
Those who advocate devaluation are calling for a reduction in the wage levels and the real wage standards of every member of the working class.
James CallaghanRead
Capitalism is not an 'ism.' It is closer to being the opposite of an 'ism,' because it is simply the freedom of ordinary people to make whatever economic transactions they can mutually agree to.
Thomas SowellRead
Obama had to save the banks, sure, but he didn't have to save the bankers and the shareholders and the bondholders. We broke the rules of capitalism in order to save those at the top - as we always do.
Joseph StiglitzRead
If workers are more insecure, that's very 'healthy' for the society, because if workers are insecure, they won't ask for wages, they won't go on strike, they won't call for benefits; they'll serve the masters gladly and passively. And that's optimal for corporations' economic health.
Noam ChomskyRead
If you're totally illiterate and living on one dollar a day, the benefits of globalization never come to you.
Jimmy CarterRead