Harry Reid vs. The Bimbos (and Reality)

Love them or hate them, Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton "create" plenty of jobs. Harry Reid? Not so much.

In a fit of frustration, the Senate majority leader recently remarked that "fabulously rich so-called small business owners like Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton could qualify for these wasteful giveaways." (By "giveaways," Reid means tax rates that are not yet instituted.)

By pointing out that these two stupendously wealthy airheads are supposedly beneficiaries of some undue "breaks," Reid might believes he's found the perfect tax villains. He's wrong. Because, as counterintuitive as it may seem, Kardashian and Hilton are effective job creators, the kind that Reid shouldn't be punishing.

In the same way that millions of Nevadans unfathomably vote for Reid, millions of Americans purchase goods bearing the names of young women who are famous merely for being famous.

Paris Hilton has reportedly generated more than $1 billion from her ventures — and, one expects, that most of that money isn't tucked under a diamond-studded duvet, but invested.

Her name graces the packaging of fragrances ("Tease" by Paris Hilton!), accessories, shoes and an array of other wholly overpriced merchandise. There are stores hawking her stuff and investors clamoring to get involved. As Hilton explained to FHM magazine: "They've produced more than $1.3 billion in revenue since 2005. I have 35 stores and 17 product lines and then there's my racing team, my 14 fragrances …"

That's a lot of jobs.

Reid believes that taxing producers to supplement incomes of consumers I a viable alternative to real market function. The problem is that idea creates inefficiencies in markets and actually drives production and revenues down. Too much burden and producers suffer or collapse, and the tax base dries up. Too bad career politician rarely understand the market system the attempt (and fail) to control. 

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Best of all, unlike Reid, Hilton and Kardashian, as far as I can tell, don't believe they're entitled to your money.

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Original Page: http://www.humanevents.com/2012/07/12/harry-reid-vs-the-bimbos/