According to former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, the poor in America should be thankful for what capitalism has provided for them because by and large they “live very well.”
During an appearance on Sean Hannity’s radio show Wednesday afternoon, according to HuffPost, O’Reilly said it was clear to him from watching the Democratic presidential debates that Democrats want to “destroy” capitalism.
Hannity eagerly agreed with O’Reilly, claiming that only in the United States can a person ever hope to enjoy material wealth, and that’s all because the U.S. is a capitalist nation. Such things, Hannity asserted, are “achievable, but only in America, but only because this system of capitalism has created the greatest advancement of the human condition, because we’re free.”
That prompted O’Reilly to declare:
“Most people in America, even people in poverty, live very well. You know the studies, that poor people in America have air conditioning, have cars, have big-screen TVs. They live pretty well compared to the rest of the world.
“Why do you want to destroy a system that provides opportunity to rise and improve your circumstance as my parents did, your parents did?”
It should be noted that as of 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the poverty level for a family of four in the United States was $25,750. Does that sound like the sort of income that would allow one to live “very well”?
According to Forbes, Sean Hannity makes $36 million a year. O’Reilly has a net worth of at least $85 million. With that kind of money, a person can indeed live “very well.”
Even more galling is how Hannity and O’Reilly made their millions: By spinning bogus conspiracy theories and sucking up to every right-wing politician in the country. How long do you suppose they’d manage to last if suddenly they had to try and make ends meet on $25,000 a year?
Featured Image Via Fox News
