So we know Ben Stein lies about evolution. Now, Stein is lying about economics (italics mine):
During the June 11 edition of Fox News' Fox Friends, conservative commentator and actor Ben Stein misrepresented Sen. Barack Obama's tax plan to raise the capital gains tax rate on the wealthiest earners. Stein stated, "I'm very worried about increasing the capital gains tax, unless you want to just increase it on people that are terribly wealthy," whom he defined as "people that have an income of $5 million a year or more." He added, "But people that have incomes in the hundreds and the low hundreds of thousands, people that have incomes in the five digits, that's way -- that's crazy to increase their capital gains tax." But Stein's suggestion that Obama plans to raise the capital gains rate on "people that have incomes in the five digits" is false. In fact, Obama has said he would not raise the capital gains tax on individuals with income of less than $250,000. In a June 9 interview with CNBC's John Harwood, Obama said, "[K]eep in mind on all of these proposals, what I have said is, let's make sure that we define the well-off so that we're not hitting the middle class. I generally define well-off as people who are making $250,000 a year or more, and that means, for example, if we raise the capital gains tax, I would exempt people who are essentially small investors, and really capture the -- those who have done very, very well over the last two decades."
Stein isn't stupid in the sense that he can't perform basic mental functions. But his ability to ignore basic factual reality is pathological.
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A useful rule of thumb is that Ben Stein is never correct about anything. Whatever he says, do the opposite.
He was a speech write for Nixon. WRONG.
He predicted that the mortgage bubble wouldn't have much effect on the economy. WRONG.
He espouses the idea that Hitler had a clue about evolutionary biology. WRONG.
Ben Stein is always wrong. What's his claim to fame? Playing an idiot in a movie. That's what he did best. Hmmm, I wonder why...
I will give Stein credit for this much: He blames Bush for turning a surplus into a deficit. He also says we need "a very serious tax rise on the wealthy" (which claim might be inconsistent with his latest lies). Source is here.
So, apparently, an income of, say, $4 million a year is apparently not "terribly wealthy".
Who wants to bet Stein's yearly income is just a shade or two under $5 mil? It's a very interesting arbitrary choice...
I can't make heads or tails from the quote of Ben Stien you've provided.
"I'm very worried about increasing the capital gains tax, unless you want to just increase it on people that are terribly wealthy,"
---> Good so far
"But people that have incomes in the hundreds and the low hundreds of thousands, people that have incomes in the five digits, that's way -- that's crazy to increase their capital gains tax."
---> This is unclear, is he saying "their" as in incomes of {0-inf}usd or their as in {0-250,000}U{5digits+}usd?
I take it Obama is saying he will raise capital gains tax for incomes of {250,000+}usd.
Eh, I suppose either interpretation of what Ben Stien said is incorrect though, assuming Obama isn't also a pathological lier. Records, anyone!?
Ben Stein Lied Again!
In other news, dog bites man.
Stein was a Nixon speechwriter. Doesn't that tell you enough about his opinion and how correct it might be on anything?
Perhaps we could take up a collection to aid those poor people who only earn $249,000/year. I feel so sad for them, like I feel so sad for that poor candidate who gets $58,000/year disability (in addition to Senate paycheck and, presumably, an allowance from his wife).