Left-wing Disney-Marvel star Mark Ruffalo has taken a beating on social media after he issued a call to tax billionaires at 90 percent. In a Twitter post on Saturday, Ruffalo, best known for his role as Hulk/Bruce Banner in the Avengers series, shared an article from the far-left outlet Daily Kos that called to tax billionaires at 90 percent.
“When you tax billionaires at 90 percent, they’re still fabulously rich and you have the resources to rebuild a healthy and happy middle class across the nation,” Ruffalo quoted the article in his post.
“When you tax billionaires at 90 percent, they’re still fabulously rich and you have the resources to rebuild a healthy and happy middle class across the nation.” https://t.co/QrtfMa8M8G
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) June 4, 2023
The article essentially argued that America became a dystopia ever since the Republican-led “roaring 20s” when the tax rates fell.
“The last time we saw the consequences of such inequality was during the Republican ‘Roaring ‘20s’ 100 years ago, when Warren Harding dropped the top income tax rate from 91 percent to 25 percent, the morbidly rich openly bought our politicians, and gangs whose names are still known today roamed the country robbing and killing with impunity,” the article argued.
“Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal put an end to all that, and we need to repeat his example today,” it added. “FDR raised the top income tax bracket from 25 to 90 percent. Wealthy people in America screamed and yelled, claiming it would crash the economy, but instead that top tax rate kicked off the first middle class to encompass more than half a nation’s population in world history.”
Questions over FDR’s New Deal policies and whether or not they prolonged or solved the Great Depression has been a subject of intense debate for years, with Republicans often charging that FDRs policies not only did nothing to solve the Depression but actually made it worse.
Nonetheless, since Mark Ruffalo boasts a net worth of roughly $35 million, his critics on Twitter quickly pointed out that he should be the first to jump down the 90 percent tax hole.
Be the change you want to see
— George Alexopoulos (@GPrime85) June 4, 2023
It’s always the same refrain with these multi-millionaires: “You know who needs higher taxes? Me? No. Wtf. The guy slightly RICHER THAN ME!”
— Syd Steyerhart (@SydSteyerhart) June 4, 2023
Are you giving 90% off your money to the IRS? You are a multi multi millionaire. You could easily live off of the 10% you have left. The IRS will gladly take extra money you send in to them. Please do prove your sincerity by leading by example.
— Justin Peters (@JustinPetersMin) June 4, 2023
Wouldn’t 100% be even fairer? @MarkRuffalo https://t.co/P4AOhdte7q
— Nick Searcy, INSURRECTIONAL FILM & TELEVISION STAR (@yesnicksearcy) June 4, 2023
Sweet. So, there’s a part on the 1040 where you can give 90% of what you make to uncle Sam.
But you’re not going to do that. https://t.co/l1c4Ourrhf
— Goldcorp Gun Bunny (@secretbnuy762) June 4, 2023
People seem to forget that if the top tax bracket was 90%, billionaires would pay the same taxes as the rest of us on the first #15K of taxable income, and on the next $40K of taxable income, & so on.
They’d only be paying 90% on everything over $539K, as it stands now! https://t.co/1xznEiFL8q— Bob Weil (@liewbob) June 4, 2023
Taxing a productive billionaire 90% leaves them too little to be productive. What if your church asked you to tithe 90%? Be realistic. Sweden loses billions in taxes because they tax billionaires ~36%, so they move to other countries, such as Ireland. https://t.co/3S3A6jXsKe pic.twitter.com/15HFeu3jDU
— Judyth Vary Baker (@Judyth) June 4, 2023
He is a socialist worth 35 million dollars so why isn’t he giving it all away? https://t.co/muny6NChTC
— Ultra MAGA Joyce Day (@Daytobehappy) June 4, 2023
Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed on Tubi, Google Play, YouTube Movies, or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.