Bono’s Misguided Ways

Bono the frontman for the supergroup U2 urged President Bush to “tithe” an additional one percent of the federal budget to the poor. One percent is another 27 BILLION dollars to our already overbloated government. Of course this sounds great coming from someone who is not an American citizen but likes to butt into our problems. Bono and U2 earned a sizzling 255 MILLION dollars last year. Does Bono realize that this administration will have doubled the size of our National debt by 2011! Instead of asking the President to increase spending to aid the poor, what he should have done was write a check to the tune of one percent of what U2 made last year and make a contribution to the Hurricane Katrina relief or to UNICEF to feed starving children in Mali.

Until we as Americans get our act together and start electing people who will take care of America first, just butt out of our business, Bono and do what you do best- play the lousy music people come to hear you play. Throwing more money into a program and forcing taxpayers to flit the bill is not the solution. Bono and his leftist critics fail to realize that more government intrusion means more problems and less accountability.

posted Feb 14th, 2006 by chrisbennett
  • http://willtoexist.com Trevor

    It figures that the Dick Cheny non-story gets comments and this one, which has a point to make, is ignored. Meanwhile, libertarians continue to lose elections and Bono continues to have a platform to spout his ill-considered socialist drivel.

  • http://www.savesmallschools.org/jake/ Jake Porter

    Good post Chris.

    When government gives to the poor there is usually corruption and often times the money is taken from the middle class who often time employ the poor.

    These socialist programs actually keep the poor and minorities down to where they can’t make it out of poverty. It is almost impossible to start a small business with all the regulations and you are forced to pay in to social security a fixed amount each time.

    It is time this money goes back to the people where it belongs and so they can decide how to spend it. Or, we could just add to the 8+ trillion dollar national debt.

  • http://libertyfor.us Rance Muhamitz

    I hate Bono, and his music sucks too! I’m using the chicken to measure it!

  • http://blog.joseph-a-nagy-jr.us Joseph A Nagy Jr

    I always wondered why I only liked a few of their songs. Seems its the mindless drivel that makes up most of their lyrics (and public announcements) that keeps me away.

  • Rhonda McDowell

    The 255 million is not counting what Bono gets from other “investments.” He is also a co-founder of Elevation Partners (http://www.elevation.com/index.html), “a newly formed private equity firm that makes large-scale investments in market-leading media, entertainment, and consumer-related businesses.” EP’s portfolio companies include BioWare/Pandemic Studios and Homestore, and it’s rumored they are about to buy Take-Two Interactive. Plus there is his One Campaign (http://www.one.org/) which is partners with many other fund-raising organizations, as well as DATA (http://www.data.org/).

  • Sandra

    I love their music. He’s a smart guy. If he took an economics class using a textbook written by Milton Friedman, as I did, he’d change his approach to the problem.

    Some libertarians are Democrats who understand how money works; some are Republicans who understand how people feel. Libertarians understand that trying to control others’ money or feeling is doomed to fail and a bad idea.

    The rights of the poor need to be defended. A major cause of poverty in poor countries is a lack of any justice system or property rights for the people. They don’t need money, they need oportunity. It takes education and a plan.

    Companies going into a country should be asking for a county recorders office to administer some clear-cut property rights laws, and some fair system of law for their employees. If they started getting them, the benefit would spread to the other residents. Win-win-win.

  • http://thedefeatists.typepad.com/apoplectic/ rev. quitter

    you guys are assuming that the guy does not give a ton of money to charity.

    maybe he does.

    he still sucks.

  • artusregister

    A true altruist, filled with moral guilt over his success would give most of his money away to charity and relief and make sure it was reported as a demonstration to others.

  • artusregister

    This is an ongoing problem in the fight for liberty. There is no one on our side getting some quality camera time espousing what Sandra said. The poor need opportunity and protection of rights. But first, they need someone to say so.

  • Ian

    Y’know, there’s something in this thread that irks me a little from time to time.

    I’ll use some terms that people need to ignore Costa Rica for: “Pragmatist” v. “Idealist.” I consider myself a pragmatist libertarian. I see — maybe it’s just my eyes playing tricks, who can say? — a lot of people in the LP & Friends playing the “We need to do things this way” game. Yet the focus on action isn’t there.

    (I still love the STFU & Do Something button. I need one.)

    If we are ever to get people elected, we need to be doing things that show our point. Pro-active charity drives would help show our point of “private action over public enforcement”. This business with Eminent Domain is great.

    Let’s face it; we have a message. We have a platform. Yet we’re not being heard. I feel that it is time to shout loudly in terms the moderate populace can understand; to reach out. Maybe it’s being done already and I just haven’t seen it. I don’t know.

    I do know that I hope to see it soon.

  • Ian

    As a corrolary (I ran out of space):

    Nearly half of all those I’ve spoken to about libertarianism and the party itself have at least wanted information to decide if they’d like to join the party. Granted, I’m cherry-picking people somewhat. But aside from the one fellow I know whom is a former Communist Party member and the married couple whom are die-hard Republicans, most everyone I’ve spoken to has at least nodded in agreement with our ideals.

    If I had the raw funding to back my words I would be less of a hypocrite here. And I welcome any and all response to this statement.

    I just hope that maybe I can have an impact on someone higher in the LP who might take my little ball and run with it to make something useful. That would make my year.

  • msc

    It’s so true… all these idiots want the government to pay for this stuff, but god forbid they spend any of their own budget to help… it might affect their lavish lifestyles.

    So not only do they get to keep their money and feel like they’re helping, but they get fame (which means more money) and get on the cover of magazines or whatever. What a load of crap.

  • tmorgan

    neither a leftist or a rightist…Bono is one celebrity who is actually trying to get the American people to realize that Africans need our help and to look away is as if we all don’t care…are you an american or our you too busy writing negative posts about someone who is actually trying to make a difference?

  • http://chrisbennettfromillinois.blogspot.com/ Chris Bennett

    TMorgan,

    We as Americans have enough problems at hand. We have starving,homeless and malnourished here in the United States believe it or not. We also have a debt that will rise to 11 TRILLION by 2011. We need to take care of our own people before shelling out more money to other countries. If you care about Africa so much, why don’t YOU write a check to UNICEF instead of forcing me (through higher taxes) to do so? Bono in my opinion still is misguided.