CNBC'S DENNIS KNEALE SPOUTS REPUBLICAN SPIN ON TAX INCREASES

I happened to catch CNBC's Dennis Kneale last night railing against the supposed tax increases of the Democrats and Barack Obama. Kneale claimed that Obama was destroying profit motives on Wall Street by raising taxes on those guys making more than $250K. After all, Kneale said, greed is really good. And Obama wants to change that! And as if that were not awful enough, Kneale said that Obama was trying to raise taxes on utilities!

If Kneale wants to defend greed, what does he have to say about the practices of Bernie Madoff or Sir Allen Stanford, about whom CNBC this very evening is running one of its "specials?" I suppose Kneale will try to defend Madoff for wasting over 50 billion of his clients' assets in the interest of buying chateaus in France or mansions in Florida. Perhaps Kneale will even come to Stanford's defense by saying that he was motivated by "greed," greed being "good," so Stanford's alleged stealing of billions from depositors in his banks was merely an innocent pursuit of "greed."

And as to taxes, what does Kneale say about Obama's plan for universal health care? Sure, Kneale himself has health care provided by CNBC, but how about the millions of families living day-to-day with fears of someone getting sick and needing emergency medical care? This is what government is for, and what taxes are for - to take care of citizens who are faced with life's catastrophes and who don't have the means to buy their own medical insurance. So which would Kneale prefer? - low taxes or universal health insurance for all?