Andy Rooney: I'm Not Negative

(CBS)  People have often accused me of being negative. They say I complain too much, and if I don't like it here why don't I go someplace else?

Well, I want to correct the impression I may have given that I'm too critical. I should talk more about some of the things that are good in America.

First, taxes. Our taxes for instance are all just great. They're among the highest in the world. Now you can't beat that. The more you make, the more you pay. Taxes provide thousands of jobs for Internal Revenue workers, too.

Television commercials - there aren't enough of them, as far as I'm concerned. Half the time the commercials are the best part of a show. A lot of people fast forward through a program just to watch the commercials.

Everyone complains about oil company profits. Right on, I say that's the American way. More power to the oil companies. If people don't here don't like paying $2.55 a gallon for gas, why don't they can go to another country. They can take their car to Venezuela. If they have two cars, they can take them both there.

I love what you can do with a computer, now too. You can bank, pay bills, write e-mails, send pictures to friends, waste time. I mean computers have made wasting time easy. You can do everything on your computer.

Aren't those multi-million dollar bonuses paid to Wall Street executives great? They've got it coming. That's what I say. They've not only got it coming, they've got it coming and going.

They say that drug companies charge too much for medications. Not me. I don't say that. I say if you don't like it, don't buy any medicines. Make your own pills, or just stay sick.

And you say I'm negative about everything.


Written by Andy Rooney

[milo55]

Andy, you've had enough life on this planet.. time to go to the next world.. don't worry they will have a nice funeral for you...


good bye.. and good riddance...

[parisdakar]

Andy, you should be dancing and singing to have a job like you do. How much do you make for coming up with a 1 minute grouch session a couple of times a week. Zip it, you old codger.

[baileyccc]

I thought he was dead.

[steveallen64]

Thank you Fred for setting the record straight. You are absolutely correct, we have one of the lowest tax rates in the world for developed nations.

Unfortunately, the conservative propaganda machine would have us believing something entirely differant. Moreover, given that we have been fighting two "wars" for the past seven years, w/o a significant tax increase to pay for it, i would say our taxes are extraordinarily low. We all want security, wonderfully paved roads, the best public schools, but we don't want to pay for it.

[sedean1]

I used to be a devoted Sixty minutes viewer and certainly enjoyed Andy Rooney's remarks....that said it isn't enjoyable any longer. Maybe I have become jaded but listening to Rooney go on and on reminds me of a grouchy old man with not enough to keep him busy. I do not watch Sixty minutes any longer and Rooney isn't there to sour my mood!

[RegVoter]

Now you are negative and sarcastic; but very entertaining.

FRED:
Mellow out here, guy. The topic of this article was positivity/negativity. You have blown this whole thread out of proportion to stick in your one fact. Mr. Rooney may have been off in statistics, but that was not his point. Let me guess: you are right winger? They have a habit of overlooking the forest because of the individual trees. Satire and dry wit are often lost on them.

[FredScaglione]

Sorry, I didn't realize there was a point.

[remant]

Certainly no more so than beloved comedienne Gracie Allen, who running to become the first woman president in 1940 encouraged the American people to take pride in the national debt, boasting that "it's the biggest in the world." Of course, every candidate for office is "Proud to be an American." But she was a savvy economist too, for she proposed depositing the $43 billion owed by the government in a "safe" bank at two percent. And she thought positively in a time when the Depression still lingered. "This used to be a government of checks and balances," she complained, "Now it's all checks and no balances. But I have a cure for that. I'll sign all checks with invisible ink. To take care of emergency relief, I plan to build thousands of new gas stations." Nevertheless, says something about this country today when ppl like Gracie would undoubtedly be considered politically incorrect....

[WaCoHi]

Mr. Rooney, your negative comments have a positive side: THEY MAKE VIEWERS THINK! If they don't want to think let 'em watch cartoons!

[FredScaglione]

It is one thing to listen to Andy Rooney whine about whatever crosses his mind, but it would be nice -- and maybe even important in this case -- if he got his facts straight.

Tonight, Andy told viewers that "Our taxes ...(are )among the highest in the world." That isn't true no matter how you choose to look at it.

The OECD reports that the U.S. has the fifth lowest level of total tax revenues when measured as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product out 30 developed nations. Our 28% compares with 49.1% in both Denmark and Sweden, more than 44% in Belgium and France, 37% in the UK, 35.6% in Germany and 33.3% in Canada.

We rank 19th out of 30 in top marginal tax rates and 24th out of 30 in average personal income tax rates for a family with 2 children.

The nation's current fiscal crisis and ballooning national debt results at least in part from the failure of both politicians and the media to promote a reality-based discussion about the appropriate levels of taxation necessary to support vital government services and the waging of two wars half way around the world. Taxes actually pay for a lot more than the "thousands of jobs for Internal Revenue workers" which Andy is complaining about.

It would be helpful if Andy Rooney didn't add to the the torrent of misinformation which already muddles the thinking of most Americans on this subject.

[spillover]

Our 28% compares with 49.1% in both Denmark and Sweden, more than 44% in Belgium and France, 37% in the UK, 35.6% in Germany and 33.3% in Canada. Fred ,I'm sure what you are stating here is income tax but add in all the other taxes we pay and you would get quite a different number. You can't even flush your toilet without being taxed.