Appearing on MSNBC's "Countdown" to discuss Republican plans to stimulate the economy and curb the exploding budget deficits, Huffington was sarcastically asked by Keith Olbermann, "Does Huffington Post hire more people when your personal tax rate changes?"
Realizing the host was mocking the GOP's desire to extend the Bush tax cuts to all wage earners including those making over $250,000 a year, Huffington replied, "Huffington Post operates like most American businesses which is that our hiring practices have nothing to do with the income or the tax rate of the people who are running the business."
Ironically, the liberal publisher contradicted herself in the very next breath (video follows with transcript and commentary):
KEITH OLBERMANN, HOST: Now let's bring in Arianna Huffington, editor in chief, co-founder of the Huffington Post. Arianna, good evening.
ARIANNA HUFFINGTON: Good evening, Keith.
OLBERMANN: So, the GOP says renew the tax cuts for the richest two percent of Americans. That will free the richest two percent of Americans to start hiring everybody else, and the economy will be stimulated overnight and we'll all have ice cream in the morning. Does Huffington Post hire more people when your personal tax rate changes?
HUFFINGTON: Well, actually, Huffington Post operates like most American businesses which is that our hiring practices have nothing to do with the income or the tax rate of the people who are running the business. And it's the same everywhere. Whether we hire or not depends on demand. It depends on whether we're getting enough advertising dollars.
So, her organization's hiring decisions have nothing to do with the income of the people running the business. Instead, they depend on whether the publication is getting enough advertising dollars.
Paging Ms. Huffington: isn't the income of the people running this business directly tied to the website's advertising dollars? After all, that is the publication's only source of revenue.
To suggest that a business owner's decision to hire has nothing to do with his or her income is either the height of stupidity or dishonesty.
Beyond this, as net income is indeed tied to taxes, to claim business owners hire irrespective of their income tax rate is equally preposterous.
If this weren't the case, maybe we should tax the highest wage earners including Ms. Huffington at 100 percent and see how that impacts their hiring practices.
Care to test this premise, Arianna?
