John Kerry is a co-sponsor of the latest Cap & Trade bill, which thank God has been put off indefinitely. The bill, should it become law, God forbid, would force all working Americans to pay more for energy and to live more humbly.
But living humbly and paying more taxes to the government applies only to the little guys. For the rich, elite and privileged, like Kerry, they’d continue to fly around in private jets, be chauffeured in limousines and frolic the seas in big yachts. Watch Kerry’s reaction when confronted about skirting Massachusetts taxes by birthing his new 76 foot $7 million yacht in Rhode Island:
By berthing the yacht in Rhode Island, Kerry skirts paying nearly $450,000 in sales tax and a yearly $70,000 excise tax bill to his own home state. Look at how pissy he gets when confronted by the media.
Worse, Kerry, who claims to be fighting for American jobs, had the yacht built in New Zealand. The same yacht could have been built at a yard in his own state of Massachusetts. So much for American jobs. And what about environmental friendliness?
What does a 76-foot yacht include?
According to the Boston Herald, Kerry’s yacht has two cabins, a pilot house fitted with a wet bar and cold wine storage.
I wasn’t able to get further specific information on Kerry’s yacht, but looking at other typical 76-foot yachts on the market, we find that they are far from spartan. Take this 76-foot Monte Fino for only $2,450,000 – a real bargain when compared to Kerry’s $7 million cruiser. The Monte Fino includes a 10,000 liter diesel fuel tank, 1500 hp twin engines and is filled with high-tech electronic doo-dads.
God knows what Kerry got for his $7 million.
Kerry spokesman David Wade said Friday the boat is being kept at Newport Shipyard not to evade taxes, but “for long-term maintenance, upkeep and charter purposes.”
John Kerry is married to Theresa Heinz, who is millionaire heiress to the Heinz ketchup fortune, and is a philanthropist and environmentalist.
When you’re rich, you can do things like this. It’s okay. But these rich people should not be making it much harder for the rest of us to make ends meet.
When confronted by the media in the above clip, Kerry defends berthing the floating palace in tax-haven Rhode island, claiming he is paying his taxes. Then he scuttles away – not on a bicycle or in a hybrid car – but in a chauffeured SUV.
“Can I get outa here please!”, he orders his chauffeur.
And let’s not forget Sen. Jeff Greene and 145 ft yacht dragging anchor through coral reef: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/23/1743175/greene-denies-his-anchor-damaged.html
Not to defend Kerry, but you post a motor cruiser, and Kerry’s boat has sails. It surely has an engine, but two 1500hp behemoths? Hardly.
Reply: Thanks! Silly me. How would I know? It’s not like I own a bunch of them. Nice to see Kerry has a wind-powered one that’s good for the climate.
John Kerry: “While all Americans are at risk of suffering the ill-effects of air pollution–and all pollution–not all are suffering equally. In the US, poor & minority Americans have a much greater chance of becoming ill from environmental toxins because they have a greater chance of living near a polluting industry than do white, wealthier Americans.”
Guess that’s why he needs the yacht. Reduces his chances of living near a polluting industry.
Puts his money where his mouth his 😉
“Good for the climate?” Don’t be silly. What would be good for the climate is to have blowhards like Kerry shut up. All that hot air is what is strangling the climate we used to have – a climate of constitutional government and personal freedom.
Kerry believes that he can change the weather by an act of congress. That is a reality-free position, no matter how popular its support.
Considering the current CO2 famine, he should have got a coal-fired steamer, with a scrubber to take out the particulates and mercury and sulphur, etc., and leave just dihydrogen oxide and carbon dioxide eco-products.