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The Spectacle Blog
In the tax debate that is ongoing, yesterday Sean Hannity took a call from a listener who was demanding to know how many jobs Hannity created. Hannity replied by reeling off the names of people connected directly to his radio and television shows… Elisha, Linda, Sweet Baby James etc.
But there’s something else at work here that seems to have escaped the listener’s attention. I listen to “The Sean Hannity Show” at 3 p.m. in the afternoon on WSBA Newsradio, which broadcasts from York, Pennsylvania, at 910 on the AM dial. Out of curiosity this morning, I called WSBA’s program director Jim Horn and asked an obvious question:
Does WSBA make money from airing “The Sean Hannity Show”?
Answer from Jim: Yes.
While giving me numbers is a violation of company policy, Jim explained what the caller to Hannity’s show seemed not to understand. WSBA — and presumably all other commercial stations — makes its money and hence pays the salaries of its employees by selling advertising. “The Sean Hannity Show” brings in money to WSBA as does every other program the station airs, not surprisingly including its local “York’s Morning News” program featuring Jim, Mark McKenzie, and longtime star Gary Sutton — a show I have been on. That money goes towards paying WSBA employees. And those employees have what are called … “jobs.”
Does Sean Hannity make money for WSBA? Is that true, I asked Jim? “Yes,” he replied, “it really is.”
On the same track, this equation is somehow just impossible for New York Congressman Anthony Weiner to understand. Weiner was on the Hannity TV show last night and the resulting exchange between Hannity and Weiner was illustrative. Hannity, himself a New Yorker, kept making the point that when you toted up the federal income tax, the state income tax, property tax and so on you could be paying as much as 55% of your income in taxes. Weiner kept dodging, saying this meant Hannity wanted no taxes paid (not only untrue but silly) and complaining that his (Weiner’s) “middle-class” constituents are under financial duress. He also attacked News Corporation Chairman Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch, again obviously, is one large employer in the New York area, his company supplying good private sector jobs at places like Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post.
As it happens, most of my extended family lives, as does Hannity, on Long Island. Weiner’s Brooklyn district is, of course, part of Long Island. The expense for middle class families living on Long Island is incredible, and in fact it has started to catch up to its overburdened residents with many fleeing for less expensive parts south like Florida or North Carolina. The reason it is so expensive for Weiner’s constituents — for anybody living on Long Island — is that Anthony Weiner and his fellow Democrats insist on greedily making government at all levels bigger and bigger and… yes… bigger again. Gutting the finances of his constituents to pay for all of this. Then looking the camera in the eye with a straight face to say he’s fighting for the middle class.
Weiner is not unlike the arsonist who sets the fire and then shows up dressed as a fireman to get credit for trying to put the fire out.
The perfect example of this right this second is the 1,924 page, earmark-stuffed “Omnibus Spending Bill” sponsored by Democrats that they are in haste to jam through the Congress — right now. Costing over $1 trillion. .
Does Weiner see any connection between all this money and the squeeze on Weiner’s middle-class constituents? A squeeze that he himself is responsible for? Of course not.
Meanwhile, WSBA radio, far from Hannity’s studio, will be able to meet its payroll in part thanks to local advertisers eager to sponsor Sean Hannity’s show.
Not a dime of government money involved.
Is it any wonder Americans are furious at “Greedy Government” Democrats like Anthony Weiner? He should be ashamed.
But, alas, he’s shameless. And he and his liberal allies will keep gutting the middle class until they are rendered a minority. Which, in the House, Weiner will soon be.
January can’t come fast enough.
View all comments (18) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Jeffrey Lord
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/12/15/the-hannity-jobs-program-weine
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Eric Cartman| 12.15.10 @ 2:01PM
Profit is an enigma to Liberals. They think rich people take it home, pile up in a big mound, oil up and roll in it - because that's what they would do. Putzes.
Artie| 12.15.10 @ 5:10PM
It's also anathema. A curse.
Occam's Tool| 12.15.10 @ 7:58PM
Eric,
Damn, I kept wondering why I wasn't getting a return on my money. It worked for Diabolik in Danger: Diabolik! ;)
(That's the movie all Liberals watch to "understand" Capitalists. 10th season, MST3K. John Phillip Law and some bimbo blond starred, along with the villain from Thunderball, Adolpho Celi.)
Mark Naff| 12.17.10 @ 2:47PM
The rich have always piled it up where I live. "I worked for Stanley Furniture for 20 years. The rich bosses drove beat up cars unless the company bought them one and it was a Lexus. They laid off half their staff because business was bad and amazingly the top three dogs got a 75000 bonus.
nobama2010| 12.15.10 @ 2:10PM
Weiner is a country club punk. He is the A-Hole who always thinks he smarter than everyone in the room and thinks talking over people makes him smarter. He is the guy everyone wants to punch in the face.
WB| 12.15.10 @ 2:18PM
In fact, by the looks of him, they probably have ...
Bruce Berger| 12.15.10 @ 2:21PM
I think that large government, in general, screws the middle class. The government creates hundreds of programs and tax provisions to favor certain groups and/or corporations (rent-seekers). Looking at an average middle class family, some of those programs and provisions benefit that family but the others don't.
Those other programs must still be paid for, of course. Who helps pay for those? That same middle class family, of course. So it wins some and loses some. But who wins all the time? Like in Vegas, it is the house, which in this case is the government bureaucrat who shuffles the paper around so that family can take money in in one pocket while paying it out of the other. The bureaucrat collects the vig and the family gets less. The middle class would be better off keeping more of their own money to begin with.
james marshall| 12.15.10 @ 6:54PM
Big Government DOES screw the middle class try living in Canada and you will see and know the truth of this first hand.
Elisha| 12.15.10 @ 3:42PM
It's Lynda... but thanks for spelling my name right!
Jeffrey Lord| 12.15.10 @ 7:28PM
Give Shawn my best! :)
And tell Lynda she spells her name just like Lyndon Johnson's daughter Lynda Bird Johnson Robb. Is she a Democrat? I liked the song!
mark| 12.15.10 @ 3:56PM
Interesting comments and article. It seems that the caller was one of those types when talking about the need to cut spending, would say "which programs?" This was in response to the outrage directed at gov't by "Tea Party" types. What they were doing was redirecting the ire of the taxpayers at all of the Stimulus, Tarp, Healthykids, and the like wasteful spending. I think most of us were aware gov't is wasteful; however, it seemed that in the wake of the financial collapse(caused by lack of effective oversight by the same gov't) they wanted to spend tons of money. Here the caller tried to say that Hannity isn't "creating jobs." It was a trick to say that Hannity was being hypocritical in some way.
BARBRA| 12.15.10 @ 4:55PM
The Republicans have just as much earmarks on the bill as Democrats' . Hannity does not create jobs. maintain maybe but does not create.
Barbra| 12.15.10 @ 7:33PM
Barbra...
Hello? Those who work directly for him lose their jobs if he does and are unemployed. The positions simply didn't exist before Hannity had his show for the obvious reason he had not created his show.
Republicans do NOT have as many earmarks...but you are right, they have had some. This should stop. Period. YOU need the money!
Steve| 12.15.10 @ 7:42PM
Barbra you are grossly mistaken. The dems have 99% of the earmarks in the bill.
To quote Ben Franklin,"It is better to keep one's mouth shut and be thought a fool, than to open it and remove all doubts."
Occam's Tool| 12.15.10 @ 7:52PM
Dear BARBRA:
Hannity has a successful radio show. It makes a profit. That profit partly goes to expanding the advertising clout of the show (thus allowing the radio stations to hire people to do marketing), pays taxes (thus paying for government workers), and allows him to advertise his successful road shows, which also make money and hire people.
BARBRA: you have never run a business, or met a payroll. Many of the people blogging here have. I have. People like you are why Americans are out of work.
Rich Fisher| 12.15.10 @ 9:30PM
Barbra, would you like to cite some proof for that statement about earmarks. I think you will find that dollar wise, over 90% of the earmarks are sponsored by Democrats. You might want to check your facts before your engage what is left (no pun intended) of your Liberal so called brain and type drivel that only makes you look stupid. But, then, you are a Liberal, so what's the dif.
Negro X| 12.15.10 @ 8:30PM
Barbara,
You are shithead.
Rich Fisher| 12.15.10 @ 9:32PM
Negro, there isn't any reason to stoop to the level of the Liberals on this site. We can tell Barbra how stupid she is without commenting on her choice of hair style.