Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
Hollywood Hates The Economic System That Makes It Rich
Hollywood Hates The Economic System That Makes It Rich
Mar 28, 2026 11:52 AM

John Stossel is fed up with celebrities whining about the very economic system that made them rich. From Russell Brand demanding redistribution of wealth to George Lucas decrying “capitalist democracy,” celebrities who are rolling in dough seem to be suffering from some sort of entrepreneurial guilt. Of course, they aren’t feeling guilty enough to ditch one of their seven planes (à la Harrison Ford) so as to lower their carbon foot print, but guilty enough to tell us that capitalism is wrong. Very wrong.

It’s bad enough that celebrities trash the only economic system that makes poor people’s lives better. What’s worse is that many are hypocrites.

Celebrities who support big-government politicians routinely take advantage of tax breaks, which reduce the amount they contribute to that government.

It’s nice that Obama supporter Bon Jovi has a foundation that builds houses for poor people, but at tax time, the musician labels himself a “farmer.” He pays only $100 in state property tax. And his tax dodge gimmick: raising honeybees.

Of course, there are some in Hollywood who see things differently, usually after trying to start a business.

When actor and lifelong Democrat Rob Schneider tried launching a business, he was so offended by California’s burdensome regulation that he left the state and changed political parties.

Comedian Drew Carey, on Reason.tv, says we don’t need to have big government telling us what to do all the time, and Stossel clearly agrees.

It’s good to be a celebrity in America. However, their de-crying the economic system that helped make them a es off a bit like Marie Antoinette telling the peasants to eat cake. Capitalism for me, but not for thee.

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
As SCOTUS mulls Maine religious discrimination case, anxious parents wait across the U.S.
The arguments in Carson v. Malkin have been heard but no decision has yet been made. Will families in Maine receive equal access to funding for private religious schools? Will the religious use/status distinction be abolished? Or will the ghost of James G. Blaine raise its eerie head? Read More… Earlier this month the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Carson v. Makin. The appellants in this case, co-represented by the Institute for Justice and my...
Resolve this New Year to visit Billy Wilder’s The Apartment
The Big City can be a great place to lose yourself among a crowd, and too often lose your soul. Only love of another can help you find yourself again. Read More… Christmas movies tend to be sentimental, to emphasize the struggles that define our society and our souls, but ultimately they are hopeful and even joyful. Humanity triumphs at the end of the story—for evidence, read my series of essays on The Bishop’s Wife, The Shop Around the Corner,...
North Korea’s economic and cultural reversals mark Kim Jong-un’s 10th anniversary
COVID and failures at international summits have caused Pyongyang to reverse economic reforms and openness to South Koran pop culture. The future is beginning to look a lot like his father’s past. Read More… Communism has spawned only one full-scale monarchy: the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. On December 17, 2011, 70-year-old Dear Leader Kim Jong-il died. That very same day, Kim’s 27-year-old son, Kim Jong-un, was put forth as the “Great Successor” and surrounded by elderly “mentors” who were...
This billionaire from Hong Kong is standing up to China’s oppression behind bars
Jimmy Lai remains strongly rooted: first in his fervent Catholic faith, and second in his unshakable support of freedom. Read More… Hong Kong was once a beacon of opportunity, of democracy. It was a political refuge, a blip in a territory controlled munist China. Seemingly overnight, 7.5 million Hong Kongers have had their freedoms stripped from them by an oppressive Chinese regime intentsilencing any voice of dissent — and that doesn’t mean revoking the odd Twitter account. It means imprisonment...
Acton Rome Fellow is making a difference in Africa
The Rev. Dr. Nicholas Chisongo is just one of many Acton fellows setting out to bring reform to the church and hope to the world. Hear what he has to say on the subject of church finance and canon law. Read More… For over 20 years, the Acton Institute’s Rome office has enjoyed a number of extremely impressive academic fellows as part of its prestigious scholarship programs offered to graduate students at pontifical universities. Aiding in the study of theology,...
Pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai charged with another violation of Hong Kong’s repressive NSL
Newspaper publisher Lai and six colleagues were charged with printing, publishing, and selling “seditious publications,” this after being convicted on a variety of charges for their anti-Beijing, pro-freedom activities. Read More… Prominent Hong Kong media mogul and pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai, along with six of his former staff members, were charged by prosecutors with an additional National Security Law (NSL) violation, this time regarding “seditious publications,” as part of their ongoing trial. Seventy-four-year-old Lai has already been convicted under the...
Elizabeth Holmes is the con artist we were all waiting for
Her promise of a magical technology that would transform healthcare proved a lie, but why were so many smart, plished investors willing to believe it? Read More… Elizabeth Holmes has been found guilty on four of 11 federal charges of wire fraud and conspiracy, after promising revolutionary blood test technology from her corporation, Theranos. The promised disruption was something people desperately wanted and still want: cheap, quick blood tests, requiring only a finger drop of blood. In reality, the corporation...
Spider-Man: No Way Home offers a multiverse of redemption instead of revenge
Needless to say, spoiler alerts galore! Read More… In superhero movies, it’s a given that the good guys will try to save innocents from the bad guys. Sometimes they save individuals, sometimes they save cities, and all too often—especially in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)—they save the entire planet or, increasingly, the entire universe. (Once you’ve raised the stakes so high and swatted them back down, every subsequent threat on that scale seems less threatening because more unreal.) But what...
Jimmy Lai ranked No. 1 on press freedom coalition’s “10 Most Urgent” list
Imprisoned entrepreneur, publisher, and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai has been highlighted as the most urgent case when es to threats to press freedom in China, this as the world is about to focus on Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Read More… Every month, the One Free Press Coalition issues its “10 Most Urgent” list, ranking the most harrowing challenges to press freedom from around the world in order of urgency. Jimmy Lai, a 74-year-old Hong Kong entrepreneur and pro-democracy...
Remembering Latin America’s knight of freedom
A signal force in bringing market economics and limited government ideas to Latin America, Ramón P. Díaz’s legacy offers hope for a continent sinking into a mire of socialism and authoritarianism. Read More… January 7, 2022, marks the fifth anniversary of the death of a man who played a major role in spreading throughout Latin America the key ideas that underpin the free society. Intellectual, lawyer, journalist, economist, university professor, and public servant, Ramón P. Díaz (1926–2017) has good claim...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved