Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-KS) invented the quip about Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) that "The most dangerous place is between him and a camera."
As a resident of New York who has been represented by Schumer in the Senate for the past 17 years, I can attest to the fact there's never been an incident where Schumer's knocked over and hurt someone by barreling toward a camera. The NY Senator has hurt Americans in wallets though, by voting for tax increases and against tax reductions.
Now Sen. Schumer is looking to give a tax break, not to all hard working Americans, but to our Olympic athletes. He's requested non-partisan legislation to eliminate federal taxes on Olympic medals because,
"It is unfair to tax the winnings of these medalists who work hard year-round to represent their country on the world stage and achieve victory."
Allow me to suggest that while I can't toss a 16 lb. shot-put an Olympic distance of 75 feet (although in High School I tossed a 12 lb. shot put 52 feet), nor can I surpass 29 feet in the long jump (but I jumped over a big puddle on Friday), my year-round work is just as hard as that of the Olympic athletes. And my work, like that of most Americans is not for the glory of an Olympic victory, but to help feed a family and put two kids through college.
The hard work of most Americans is just as much of an important victory for America as the Olympic medals. And many Olympic winners get money from endorsement deals on top of their medals (my hard work doesn't rate endorsement deals, but it does rate hugs from my family and sloppy kisses from a 78 lb. dog who believes she's a lapdog).
Schumer adds:
According to a 2014 report by NBC News, the U.S. Olympic Committee awards cash prizes to medal winners when they place in Olympic events: $25,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze. However, because the money is considered “earned income abroad,” the monetary value of the Olympic medal is therefore subject to federal taxation.
Schumer said it is unfair to tax the winnings of these medalists who work hard year-round to represent their country on the world stage and achieve victory. Schumer argued that the U.S. tax system should recognize the sacrifices made by our Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Most countries subsidize their athletes, and Schumer said the very least the U.S. can do is make sure that our athletes don’t get hit with a victory penalty.
But other examples point to the fact that Schumer has tried to create victory penalties for other Americans:
Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) unveiled new legislation targeting Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, after the Brazilian-born billionaire renounced his U.S. citizenship ahead of Facebook’s public stock offering this Friday.
“Senator Casey and I have a status update for him [Saverin]: Pay your taxes in full, or don't ever try to visit the U.S. again,” Schumer said at a Capitol Hill press conference on Thursday.
Senator Schumer’s bill -- the Ex-PATRIOT (Expatriation Prevention by Abolishing Tax-Related Incentives for Offshore Tenancy) Act – would punish expatriates like Saverin who renounce their citizenship, if the government thinks they have done it to avoid taxation.
The NY Senator has also tried to reward hard work with his recent proposal to end the tax deduction corporations have used to write off bonuses paid to executives, which will also lower the amount of bonuses paid to hard-working executives.
Schumer also rewarded "hard work" by voting "no" on repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax, voting "no" on permanently reducing estate taxes, and voted "no" on a federal tax holiday.
Perhaps, Schumer doesn't want to reward all hard work, just the hard work of the Olympic athletes who are on TV these days and those tax breaks will bring him attention and TV camera time.
Perhaps, to get a tax break, I need to brush up on my shot put skills.