What crawled up Stuart Varney’s craw yesterday that sent him badmouthing “the poor”? Nothing really, he’s always had it out for “the poor,” which some would call “Americans.” Ring of Fire host Mike Papantonio has gone toe-to-toe with Varney on multiple occasions to defend the working-class, and the story from Varney has remained the same: let the rich get richer and the poor, poorer.
Yesterday, on Fox and Friends, Varney admitted he’s been “mean to poor people” but not as an indictment of his past foibles. Instead, Varney exalts that his selfish philosophy is the philosophy that protects America. A fear that nothing good or prosperous comes from requiring the wealthy in America to carry their fair share of taxes pervaded Varney’s speech, and when he was called out for what Fox and Friends’s host Gretchen Wilson perceived as mean, Varney doubled-down.
“I am. I am being mean to poor people. Frankly, I am.”
The song and dance Varney displayed on Fox and Friends, while disappointing, is not surprising. Historically, Varney has espoused the ethic of “trickle-down” economics. If the past decade has taught us anything, it’s that the wealthy-right will fight to the bitter end to keep their money and to keep the people thinking that, their having money will one day lead to a brighter tomorrow.
They are wrong. That philosophy is broken as they let their economics invade their morality. The collateral damage of their vicious speech is that the same “poor” that believe what men like Varney have to say would ignore the suffering of their neighbor. Instead, following the billionaire example of “tough love,” which they would interpret as take what you can, “greed is good” – extending your hand to help someone put out by the system is simply providing a crutch and reinforcing this disenfranchised, “temporarily embarrassed millionaire’s,” bad behavior.
Sorry, Varney. We’ve run this “game” your way long enough and your ability to hide the cracks is faltering.
Joshua is a writer and researcher with Ring of Fire.
