I’m not sure which is worse, arrogant politicians or arrogant entertainers. It’s easy to make a case for both. But after reading about singer Lauryn Hill’s comments while in federal court for not paying about a million dollars in taxes, I think today, the entertainers have it.
While you’ll never find me supporting a tax system that is both unfair and unjust, I have no sympathy for delusional entertainers who believe their millions shouldn’t be taxed while middle class folks all over the country struggle to put food on the table.
But to further illustrate Hill’s disassociation with reality, she took it one step further this week after she stood before a judge and compared the music industry to what her ancestors endured during slave times. Call me crazy, but I suspect a slave would’ve happily traded picking cotton for the grueling and tortuous life of making records, appearing in music videos and feasting on the adoration of drooling fans.
According to an AP article, Hill explained that she didn’t pay her taxes during a period when she had left the music business to protect herself and her her six children.
And in the background you can hear crickets from the millions of hard-working Americans, including single mothers, who work two and three jobs every day in order to protect their families.
Hill said that she is child of former slaves who had a system imposed on them, and that she had an economic system imposed on her.
Look, I’m the last guy to support an inequitable system of taxation that tends to penalize those who work the hardest and are the backbone of our economic growth. Income tax is, as Ron Paul once said, involuntary servitude. And I agree with Paul that there should be absolutely no income tax.
But if Hill was so concerned about an unfair tax system, how come she never spoke out about it before now? Why has she not worked with other groups seeking tax reform? Certainly there are plenty of organizations out there that could’ve used her star power to help spread the message.
Just something to consider, as the rest of us, who haven’t made millions in the music industry continue to press for real tax reform.
