GOP Rep: More Taxes Would Kill My $600K a Year

(Newser) – Welcome to the tragic world of Rep. John Fleming: Sure, he pulled in $6.3 million last year from his Subway and UPS franchises, but "that's before you pay 500 employees, before you pay rent, you pay equipment, and food." After coughing... More »

(Newser) – Welcome to the tragic world of Rep. John Fleming: Sure, he pulled in $6.3 million last year from his Subway and UPS franchises, but "that's before you pay 500 employees, before you pay rent, you pay equipment, and food." After coughing up those expenses, the Louisiana Republican tells MSNBC's Chris Jansing that he's left with a paltry $600,000—which gets slashed to an even more austere $400,000 "after I feed my family." Which leads your Newser to wonder what exactly he's feeding his four grown children.

Fleming's larger point was that President Obama's deficit reduction plan would unfairly target businesses such as his, prompting Jansing to ask whether paying more taxes would force him to lay off employees, notes ThinkProgress. Fleming didn't exactly answer, but when Jansing suggested his $400,000 income “isn’t exactly sympathetic,” Fleming responded that “class warfare has never created a job.” Watch the video in the gallery. Less »