Boston activist says tax the rich, no apologies to Dad
BOSTON – Northeastern University undergraduate Keely Mullen, the social-justice activist who spearheaded a series of marches Wednesday as part of a movement demanding free public college education, cancellation of student debt and a $15 minimum wage for all campus workers, told Fox News in an interview that “America’s 1 percent” should fund the students’ demands.
The interview with host Neil Cavuto came as more than 200 students at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst rallied as part of Thursday’s “Million Student March” at the school’s Student Union, according to the Springfield-based news site MassLive.
Below, a video and transcript of Cavuto’s interview with Mullen:
MULLEN: Umm..well, so the Million Student March…um…is a movement for a more..umm…equitable and fair system of education as opposed to…umm…the really corporate model that we have right now. So the three core demands of the national day of action are free public college, a cancellation of student debt and a $15 an hour minimum wage..umm.. for people who work on campus.
CAVUTO: And how’s that going to be paid?
MULLEN: Umm…Great question…uh ..I mean, ya know so, I’m not sure if you’re talking about like on a national level or at particular schools, but I can sort of touch on both…
CAVUTO: Well, you want all that stuff. Someone has to pick up the tab. Who would that be?
MULLEN: Umm…The 1 percent of people in society that are hoarding…umm…the wealth and really sort of causing..umm..a catastrophe that students are facing, I mean we have a relationship right now where the 1 percent of the population owns more wealth than the 99 percent combined….
(I think she meant ‘situation‘)
CAVUTO: Alright, Keely, so if the 1 percent just had their taxes raised a few years ago back to almost 40 percent, then to pay for the healthcare law had them raised another few percentage points, then they had their deductions limited raised another couple points depending on the state or locality — they’re pushing about 50 percent in taxes — how much higher do you think, how much more do you think they should pay?
(Note: we’re talking about INCOME-taxes here. Pay attention to her words)
MULLEN: I think enough to where we have a system to where not one-in-two American families are not threatened with poverty.
CAVUTO: So where do they go? Let’s say if you tax these folks — they’re smart people, these 1 percent hoarders right? — so if they leave here, who’s going to pay for all this stuff that you want?
MULLEN: If they leave?
CAVUTO: The country.
MULLEN: Oh…umm…I mean there’s always going to be a 1 percent in the U.S. The U.S. is like the bastion of capitalism and success.
(Mullen has a point here, there WILL always be a 1 percent. Check it; let’s say the billionaires and millionaires in this country are paying the ideal percentage of taxes that she suggest and they leave. The only 1 percent that’s left to tax are the hard working middle-class-or what’s left of them-and now you’re looking at a family of four making around $100k a year as the 1 percent of the population. THEY are the leftover 1 percent. What would you do if you were in their shoes?)
CAVUTO: Do you think the 1 percent could pay for all of this?
MULLEN: Absolutely, uh…85 people in the world hold more wealth than half of the global population.
(Ohh this is getting juicy, how do she know this? Someone gave her some insider top secret info straight from the halls of the Bilderberg Group aye? Hehe)
CAVUTO: Now wait a minute are we talking about 85 billionaires, or you’re extending this to the 1 percent, or whomever we’re in the little bit north of $250 thousand dollar, at what level Keely do you start saying ‘you gotta pay a helluva lot more than you’re paying now in taxes?
MULLEN: I mean I think people earning–umm-certainly people earning over a million dollars a year-uhh-should be contributing…
CAVUTO: How much?
MULLEN: …wellness of society.
CAVUTO: Well it’s around 50 percent now in with taxes when you set the top rate at 90 percent, you think we should get back to that?
MULLEN: Umm-I mean I think that eventually we will get back to that…
CAVUTO: …ok, and you’re okay with that? Are some of your friends okay with that? Or some of them want to be a success themselves and be happy when they get to a level, maybe over $200 thousand, $250 thousand, they start paying 90 percent of taxes on that? They’d be happy with that?
MULLEN: Ah..Abs…Absolutely! I mean I think that people…
CAVUTO: …Keely come on now you’re talking to me here, you’re friends are gonna be happy getting into the point of their career when they can look outside and say–‘FINALLY, I’m able to pay 90 percent in taxes'”?
MULLEN: Obviously–umm-ya know, people in-in your position–ya know, don’t want to pay $90, I mean 90 percent-umm…
CAVUTO: I dare say unless you’re high as a kite, you wouldn’t volunteer to pay 90 percent right? I mean unless you really did see a considerable benefit-a-buck and it was worth it right?
MULLEN? Yeah…
CAVUTO: But a lot of the times that you realized it’s not worth it and giving some of the track records we’ve seen with government, it doesn’t always work right?
MULLEN: Yeah! I mean, absolutely, but the reality is is we have to look at the injustice of the system as it exists right now…
CAVUTO: Do you think if maybe if everyone paid a little bit more for this would you pay a little bit more for this besides the rich that it’s a “pay for–that it’s worth it”, that you think these are good goals…
MULLEN: But people are already paying for this yeah…
CAVUTO: No no, no, I asked differently, I ask you would you Keely, and your friends, and your mom, and your dad, and your family, would they happily pay more to provide all these benefits you just outlined?
MULLEN: Of course and we already are! Umm…I mean, I’m glad…
CAVUTO: No..no, no, no…you just said to pay for some of the things you wanted, the rich should pay significantly more than they’re paying right now. Now you’re telling me…
MULLEN: Yeah that’s exactly what I’m saying, everyone’s already paying-
CAVUTO: no..well they’re not..now you’re saying with all these added benefit that you wanted, and they’re fine benefits don’t get me wrong, you think your friends, their parents, your parents, your family would be happy to pay a little bit more to provide these guarantees and benefits?
(Wait for it….)
MULLEN: I come from an incredible working class family–umm–and my family is already on numerous forms of government assistance and is basically scraping by, ya know in order to get me through college. Umm…I-I live in a world and I see a system around me where there’s a population that’s doing nothing to contribute–umm–to the progression of society, education is really the only way that we have innovation, that we have-umm–ya know–
CAVUTO: Keely I’m sure that, you sound very smart, you know what’s going on, you’ve met what’s going on in the world, you’ve probably aware of what’s going on in Greece, and these are the countries that provided all these benefits and then some, many of which you’ve outlined very nicely for us here today. And they’re going broke, and they’re out of money, and they’re..they don’t know what to do. And the people are rioting on the streets because they can’t believe the money’s gone. And all the benefits and the promises are gone.
MULLEN: Yeah…right…
CAVUTO: What do ya think?
MULLEN: Umm-I mean yeah there–there’s like a global catastrophe right now of umm…complete, like, defunding of social services…
CAVUTO: Because they ran out of money…you know what happened Keely is they just ran out of money. Right?
MULLEN: Yeah, I understand, but there is a 1 percent in Greece. There’s a 1 percent in the United States, there’s a 1 percent–a ruling class in absolutely every..umm
CAVUTO: I don’t doubt there is Keely, I don’t doubt there is but obviously they’ve been trying to get money from them and they realized either they don’t have the money or they hid from the money or they’re gone. They’re gone. And now these countries are going bust.
(Now we get to the financial WEAPON: It’s About To Get Serious…..)
MULLEN: Yeah! Yeah…and so those people need to be accountable
CAVUTO: Alright fine, but they’re smart, and they’re scouring all over the globe…
MULLEN: …those people who are holding all the capital…
CAVUTO: Now even if…
MULLEN: yeah…yeah they are and that’s a problem…
CAVUTO: Now they’ve done studies on this kid, I don’t wanna get boring here..but even if you take the 1 percent and take all of their money and tax it at 100 percent, did you know that couldn’t keep Medicare, just Medicare in this country going for three years did you know that?
MULLEN: If we’re to a point where the rich is paying a hundred percent on their taxes, then we’re on the road to socialism and we’re gonna have a completely different–umm type of public infrastructure…umm
CAVUTO: No no what I told you is that even if you took all the money from the rich you say getting away with murder…and you took it all away, it wouldn’t support one entitlement in this country for three years.
MULLEN: I don’t…yeah..I don’t believe that I…
CAVUTO: Okay.
MULLEN: Yeah…I’m sorry I just don’t, yeah that sounds completely ludicrous to me…
CAVUTO: Do you know how much it would cost to mandate a $15 minimum wage across the country, to have every student loan debt paid off for public college, for everyone?
MULLEN: How much?
CAVUTO: Do you have a rough idea in the cost on just the educational part, on the student loan part, and on the public college part?
MULLEN: Well yeah absolutely, $1.3 trillion dollars in student debt and that’s only just the beginning, and umm…and then billions…
CAVUTO: You know how much you’ll get fully taxing the 1 percent? A hundred percent?
MULLEN: Uhh…I dunno is it close to the number of a trillion…
CAVUTO: It’s about a trillion. A trillion.
MULLEN: …the $16 trillion that we spent to BAIL OUT THE BANKS..in 2008?
CAVUTO: Look at what I’m saying here because I just want this to be a math reminder.
MULLEN: Yeah!
CAVUTO: $1 trillion, which would barely keep Medicare going for 3 years, that’s one area, even if we re-position it to go into this area that you want, we don’t have enough to do it. So you gonna have to find other means to get money right?
MULLEN: Yeah..I mean, I think that, that’s a starting point, I mean I think that what you’re saying require a comprehensive program…umm
CAVUTO: No doubt, no doubt…I guess what I’m asking you, you’re passionate about this and I admire that passion and your involvement in this, but I think ya have to step back and look at the numbers that could be involved here, because they’re going to be huge.
MULLEN: Right…
CAVUTO: And all those colleges behind you and those institutions behind you, knowing that student debt is taken cared of, it’s forgiven and done, do you think any of those guys, any of those administrators, any of those schools aren’t gonna leap at the opportunity to gouge even more to raise tuition even more, to raise room and board even more?
MULLEN: Well I mean ideally if we have a big enough mass movement of people in the streets…umm..we can actually prevent things like that from happening, I mean that’s one of the perfect…(transmit terminated)
CAVUTO: Alright, we’ll see. We just lost our, apologize for that, however history suggests it always don’t work out that way.
That was the entire interview…
Students who may share Mullen’s views have a key supporter in Bernie Sanders, the Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. senator from Vermont. On Wednesday, Sanders took to Twitter to express his solidarity with Million Student March participants:
Mullen on Thursday participated in New York City march rather than events in Boston.
In an interview with MarketWatch, Mullen, who is in her fourth year at Northeastern, said she expects to owe about $150,000 on student loans when she graduates.
(Maybe it’s time to be that “bastion of capitalism and success” and start your own business so the market CAN pay it off for you don’t you think young lady?)
Mullen’s online profile at Shiftgig says she graduated from Francis W. Parker High School in Chicago. According to the Francis W. Parker School website, it offers kindergarten through 12th grade classes for which tuition tops out at $34,560.
Assessor records show that Mullen’s family has a home on West Wabansia Avenue in Chicago’s north side that carries a value of $989,990. According to BlockShopper, the student’s father, Steven Mullen, paid a little more than $1 million for the home in 2005.
Steve Mullen has posted numerous photos to his Facebook page showing his participation at Chicago’s Million Student March. In one post, Mullen notes that his daughter helped launch the Million Student March initiative:
“This is a movement that my daughter Keely has initiated along with one of her fellow student colleagues. They are gaining traction in what promises to be the next national crisis. We need to demand a serious discussion of what we plan to do re: the cost of education in order to give these young people entering life a fair shot. Please spread the word!”
In another post, Mullen responds to a friend who questions why his daughter attends such an expensive university:
“She includes her personal situation only as one illustration. The larger point has to do with the corporatizing of higher ed, the lack of a national commitment to help with education, and the ‘special projects’ that tuition money is going to fund. Much of their tuition goes into institutional spending that has nothing to do with teachers salaries or directly affects the learning that is going on.”
Steve Mullen lectures on art and technology at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He lists in his biography a musical background and notes he co-wrote classic rocker Eddie Money’s hit song “Endless Nights.” He lists a bevy of Fortune 500 clients, including American Airlines, Walt Disney Co., Exxon-Mobil, Reebok and McDonald’s.
Wait…I’m not here to judge nobody’s lifestyle but did I just hear Miss Mullen earlier saying…
“I come from an incredible working class family–umm–and my family is already on numerous forms of government assistance and is basically scraping by, ya know in order to get me through college…”
Her father’s clients should be ashamed of themselves for not paying him a fair wage, and having them to struggle in that million dollar home in Chicago’s north side. What has this world come to?
“Mullen identifies as trans-feminine and “gender-mobile,” prefers “they/them” pronouns, and works to be an ear and an advocate for the wide diversity of student identities at SAIC,” his bio states.
He didn’t immediately respond to a message left on his home answering machine.
I want to start off by saying on the record that I’m not here to attack Mullen or bash on anything her father’s doing as a career, on all honesty it’s their life not mine. I actually want to commend her for going on national TV to state her case and beliefs. However, I MUST point out a few things here, and you might’ve caught it also. Besides her body language, and a lot of “umms”, it’s the lack of understanding of basic economics and math.
But, believe it or not this article isn’t even about her. I’m using her as an example of the title itself which brings me to you…the reader. I want to ask you a question…
How do YOU feel about the IRS right now?
Do you love them as much as Keely does? It seems she does because she’s ready to put them to work (if they haven’t been working already) and I mean overtime. And talking about job creation, her proposal to dealing with those pesky 1 percenters will require the IRS to hire more people.In her own words…
MULLEN: “Yeah! Yeah…and so those people need to be held accountable”
So she’s technically creating more foot soldiers that could possibly operate outside of their United States jurisdiction because those wealthy 1 percenters need to be held accountable. The question is, how far will the IRS go on behalf of Keely and the rest of the Million Students…an Americans period?
Well, she’s not the only one that loves and adores the wonderful work of the IRS. The American citizen does too! Why not? Paying taxes is the good ole’ American patriotic way right? Besides, how can you run a government system without it…right?
Do YOU agree with that former IRS commissioner?
Do you agree with the late Aaron Russo?
Remember, there are no right or wrong answer.
And the IRS promises the (average American) financial goodies like tax breaks and incentives to put their children up for sale in the name of child credits, let Uncle Sam know they’re playing house with their spouse “legally” through marriage credits, and they’re willing to snitch on their tax cheat neighbors “anonymously” for a cookie. Oh what a great organization.
As a matter of fact, I personally have no problem with the IRS, because it’s like a Daycare full of kids that like to feel they have control, but the thing about it is they only have as much control as the people give them.
Check it; are you familiar with the saying ‘don’t tax him, don’t tax me, tax that man behind the tree‘?
It’s an old saying but it is a simple example of the mindset of a typical voter that screams out “protect the poor and middle-class by taxing the rich”. Then you have politicians like this that sells a product to the citizens that believes in that saying. Then every election, they vote for that product. That product comes with lots of benefits, however, funding those benefits has caused a lot of innocent families pain and financial turmoil separated through incarcerations, bankruptcies, and even job lost to some who happened to fall back on the “illegal” extortion of back taxes. A lot of federal prisons are doing the American people a lot of favors locking up those dangerous business owners, moms, dads, and countless other innocent Americans and veterans for missing one payment to Uncle Sam. Hey, it’s business right? You gotta pay your fair share!
Government, and corporations sell a product the people want, even if it’s leading to their own demise through instant gratification. But I’m not here to preach to you about taxes, I’m here to give you the opportunity to ask yourself if you REALLY agree with this student organizer? Is it that what she’s saying make sense to you? If so, there’s a presidential candidate right now that has that product for you to buy.
So what about those of you who don’t like the IRS, want it to just go away. I mean you just had enough…ENOUGH…of the IRS!
Well there’s a good way to get rid of them. But here’s the thing, like I said before, the IRS is NOT the problem. It gets lots of support every single federal election from the Congress to the Senate. And for those who think the citizens vote for the President of the United States need to look up the Electoral College a little more.
The problem is not even the next door neighbor that has a different political philosophy or party than you. The problem with that is both parties vote for the same damn thing because it doesn’t matter what party, or what I like to call (gang) you “rep” at the polls, it all derives from one sick internal illness–divide and conquer. The tax code is the instrument of that division, and the IRS plays the symphony of economic and moral destruction on behalf of the people’s tax returns.
The problem is NOT on the politician or the President, not even the agencies the tax dollars fund. The problem is not even outside your home. It all starts in one place and one place only.
This young lady in the interview represents a mindset fixated on something extremely powerful. And she’s representing millions of students that’s very uneducated on basic economics and understanding capitalism. However most American citizens aren’t either, and history has shown us that since 1913.
And finally, the problem is NOT corporations or rich people that dodge taxes legally. With a 70 thousand page tax code, you’re going to have LOTS of loopholes, that’s an automatic given. And of course every working citizen plays the tax game and use loopholes to cut their tax bill a little bit, or to even get some money back. The more certain approved expenses you write-off, that’s less money to the government, and you’re no longer paying your “fair share”.
So who’s the REAL problem? The problem is the person who believes that education is expensive period. I guess Benjamin Franklin’s idea of “free education for an informed society” through the library system wasn’t enough for the Million Student March. So they bought a product the Universities sold them; in this day and age where you can get the same information you’ll get online for free, except you get room, board, professors, frat parties and at the end a square hat with a string to throw in the air representing how high your student loans are—that you volunteered to also buy.
The real problem is believing that the rich that “hording” all the money is causing the minimum wage problem and the increasing student debt. It’s always the rich’s fault. So they express their hatred towards the rich by social media, cellphones, the Internet, and materials all built and created by the–well–the rich.
The real problem is actually wanting to sick a government organization on someone who strives to be successful and desires to give back to their country VOLUNTARILY. It’s kind of like love you know? It feels better when the person CHOOSE to love you instead of forced. Which got me wondering when a person really say they love their country when they’re forced “via income tax” to support it. Just sayin’…
What’s the SOLUTION?
Well, you have to ask yourself. When it comes to taxes what is it that you believe in? Do you believe you should pay your fair share? Of what? I always ask the person to give me a number.
Do you believe your labor is a right and so are the fruits of your labor? If so how much?
When it comes to taxes this isn’t just an American issue, I feel like this is more like a human issue. When ANY government put a tariff on your labor and the fruits of it, then it’s not yours in the first place, and it never were. But to put more salt in the wound and more insult to injury is the person’s illusion that they were, and are free all along.
Your labor (regardless of income) is your prized talent, and a right to express it, while it being your birthright to enjoy the fruits it bared for you and your family. And I believe, when the American people give ANY government permission to forcefully take first, then give them crumbs after, it’s a disrespect to the self, and therefore they deserve an organization like the IRS to use force to collect taxes without putting up an intellectual fight.
What if the IRS could end tonight?
It could. And the great news, there’s a legislation right now in the House and Ways committee that will automatically end the IRS as we know it now. It will repeal the 16th Amendment (federal income tax), which by the way I highly recommend you to research the way it was brought about, and the reason behind it, greater details is in G. Edward Griffin’s book “The Creature From Jekyll Island”.
It would eliminate the entire U.S. tax code that has crippled our economy for over 100 years, and implement an equal leveled single percentage federal consumption tax on retail goods and services.
No more income tax season where the government usually disrespect your labor by refunding you pennies on the dollar the amount you actually paid in taxes throughout the year. Instead, with this new law proposal, it will give you a tax return up to the poverty level EVERY SINGLE MONTH!
No more income to declare or claim regardless of how you get paid or compensated (cash, check, stocks, dividends, gifts).
No more having to fill out or even figure out which form is right (and legal) for you to fill out. Instead your retail shopping receipt IS your tax bill every time you shop. (including monthly service payments).
No more federal prisons or indictments on tax related charges and convicts!
No more “tax decisions” on companies, instead can focus on “productivity decisions”, thus creating more jobs in bringing back the middle-class…on steroids.
And many many more….
I believe what keeps our current system going now is the “divide and conquer from within” mindset in this country. It is sick, but that kind of mindset is business. BIG business. Fights and finger pointing has spawn from this demonic tax regime. It has pitted citizen against citizen, and has discouraged innovation in fear of getting taxed on it. Is the current tax code what America REALLY is?
Is the current tax code define who YOU ARE?
So we understand what the current tax code represents. If a person who, deep down inside believe they are divided, that their current situation is someone else fault, and developing enemies based on their income represents their character, then I believe they have every right to defend this current tax code, because they’re only defending their identity.
The list and benefits of the legislation I listed eliminates the wondering of who made what and how much. Can you imagine? Our kids one day asking ‘what’s an income tax?’
To put it all into perspective, I believe in introducing numbers. I look at it as a simple one plus one equals two formula. A tax system that should be explained as simple as possible. This is an example of those numbers breakdown…
Now, this law may sound too far-fetched or unrealistic. Or is it? I personally see it already happening. So I hear a lot of supporters of the FairTax defend this legislation against what they call “naysayers”, and “pundits”, or “critics” of the FairTax. Some supporters even ask me how do I respond to them. Easy, I don’t. I actually agree with them. Whatever they think the law would do, they’re right…it will. Fpr example;
Corporations will not raise the wages of their employees
People will still find a way to avoid the tax by buying “used”
Illegal immigrants will find a way to avoid paying the tax
And it goes on and on….
Those who say this is absolutely correct. That will happened, because they’re the ones that will be doing that. They’re only telling you what THEY would do if the FairTax was passed. Besides, most who talk about how corporations will not give their employees wage increases usually never, or aren’t running a business of their own and doesn’t have a clue on how companies see how the FairTax will enable them to financially reward their employees more, apart from dealing with tax lawyers because they know that those savings invested in their employees will increase job morale, and more productivity.
So when someone’s coming at you with a negative opinion regarding the FairTax, even after they were exposed to the numbers and the formula of economic supply and demand, remember it’s only their opinion, let them be, and understand that the FairTax only exposes those who don’t realize what freedom truly is.
It’s not that they’re a bad person, or that they’re “stupid” or “ignorant”. Remember, once you know, you can’t “unknow”, therefore, you are aware of what’s going on. The only thing you can do is respond to the information, or react. Once you understand that America has the opportunity to stray away from a regime that has choked a society, into a system that unleashes its true economic and entrepreneurial power, it can get really scary…yet exciting!
So to recap;
The beloved IRS exist for a reason
This student, and millions of Americans like her is the reason the IRS exist
The REAL business of the IRS from its former commissioner
If you, or if you do not agree with the IRS’s tactics, or the current tax code
There is a sokution
Which one defines you and your charector; current tax code, or the FairTax?
In closing, no one is to blame for America’s current economic situation except for ourselves for failing to understand our own country, its Constitution, and really understand who we are as a person. We have only ourselves, the person in the mirror to look at ourselves and make a stand on what we believe in, not what “they say” we are, but what your heart says you are. Regardless of which system defines you, it is your right to believe in it, and it’s your right to defend it. I just recommend that which ever you resonate with, to use your own judgement and intelligence to make a formal decision (after hearing and/or seeing both sides of the coin) on where you believe this country should be heading.
Now I leave you with this final video as a freedom loving American…God bless
Source: newbostonpost.com
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