When Louisiana Congressman John Fleming said he is not in favor of increasing the tax rate for those making $1 million and more per year, you need to probe a little deeper to understand that his real motive in opposing higher taxes might be just a tad self-serving.
Interviewed right after House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, withdrew his “Plan B” fiscal cliff bill which would have extended the Bush-era tax cuts to all households making less than $1 million per year, Fleming made his position crystal clear.
“Raising taxes on any American to me is not the right message, he told CBS reporter Nancy Cordes. “The right message is cutting spending.”
But to fully understand what Fleming, a Minden Republican, is really saying, we have to go back more than a year to Sept. 19, 2011, and review his MSNBC interview with Chris Jansing, giving particular attention to the numbers being bandied around in that interview.
Jansing reminded Fleming that his businesses (Subway sandwich and UPS franchises) earned $6.3 million in 2010.
Fleming said that while his businesses made $6.3 million, “Income flows to my personal tax return. My net income is a mere fraction of $6 million since my net income is more like $600,000. By the time I feed my family, I have maybe $400,000 left over.”
That’s right, folks, Congressman John Fleming, that man of the people whose only concern is the welfare of good, hard-working Americans, can barely make ends meet on $600,000 per year. And that doesn’t even include his $174,000 per year congressional salary, free mail (franking) privileges, district office, furniture and staff.
The average household income in the U.S. in 2010 was just under $50,000, down 2.3 percent from 2009.
“Class warfare has never created a job,” he said in that interview. “Most people feel owning a business is a virtue, not a vice.”
That, folks, is called spin.
That $6.3 million is “before you pay 500 employees, you pay rent, you pay (for) equipment and food,” he protested, almost to the point of whining.
But his numbers just don’t add up so let’s break them down and then you can decide for yourself just who is promoting class warfare.
Let’s begin with that $6.3 million. By his own admission, he receives $600,000 of that, which leaves a trifling $5.7 million with which he claims he pays 500 employees, pays rent, purchases or leases equipment and buys food for his Subway restaurants.
For the time being, let’s discard all the expenses for rent, equipment and food and say, for the sake of argument, that the entire $5.7 million goes for salaries of those 500 employees.
That works out to $11,400 per employee—UPS drivers, sandwich makers, and supervisory personnel.
The poverty level for a one-person household in America in 2010 was $11,344.
Assuming that his UPS drivers and management personnel were making substantially more than that $11,400 average, reason dictates that the remainder of his workers were among America’s working poor.
Fleming told Jansing President Obama’s deficit reduction plan was a terrible idea which kills jobs provided by wealthy “job creators.”
Whether or not one agrees with Obama, Fleming’s position is a little difficult to square up against the numbers he threw out to Jansing.
Of course Fleming was either grossly exaggerating the number of employees or grossly understating the income from his business enterprises which also include numerous other investments.
Or his employee turnover rate is such that he really did go through 500 workers during 2010 as personnel came and went after unusually brief tenures which would translate into far fewer people on the payroll at any given time.
Not that Fleming is a poor businessman. He already had the good sense to set his businesses up in such a way as to minimize his corporate taxes.
Under the federal tax system, the income of corporations is taxed twice—once at the corporate level through the payment of the corporate income tax and again at the individual rate when corporate profits are distributed. Sole proprietorships, partnerships, S corporations and limited liability companies (LLC) are taxed only at the individual owner level.
According to his congressional financial statement, his companies are all set up as LLCs and partnerships which would explain his statement that the $6.3 million flowed through his personal income taxes.
Congressional financial statements are vague at best, thanks to the requirement that income and liabilities are generally listed within a spacious range between the low and high ends.
For example, here are Fleming’s 2011 income ranges from the following sources:
• Park City Health Services (Fleming also is a physician)—$1 million to $5 million;
• JCF Properties Limited Partnership—$100,000 to $1 million;
• Fleming Franchise Development—$100,000 to $1 million;
• Fleming Subway Restaurants—Over $5 million;
It’s not that we mean to come down too hard on the good congressmen. After all, he went through some tough financial times from 2007, the year before he was first elected, to 2010, the latest year for which figures are available from OpenSecrets.org, as reported by the Washington Post.
His net worth plummeted from $24 million in 2007 to a paltry $6.5 million in 2008 before eventually climbing back to $10.2 million in 2010.
That included $3.8 million in real estate, $3.6 million from his private companies and $3.2 million from unspecified sources.
He did pretty well, too, in attracting big ticket campaign contributions in 2011-2012.
Of the $1,229,259 in total campaign contributions, $1,202,416 (77 percent) was classified as large individual contributions while a mere $26,843 (2 percent) came from small individual contributors.
Another $321,363 (21 percent) came from political action committees, including, among others, Northrop Grumman’s PAC ($15,000), The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and Every Republican is Crucial PACs ($10,000 each), National Association of Realtors (8,010), the Shaw Group ($8,000) and the National Beer Wholesalers Association ($7,500).
Other contributors included:
• Atco Investments: $29,000;
• Gamble Guest Care: $15,100;
• Kinsey Interests: $12,300;
• Builders Supply Co.: $12,100;
• Willis Knighten Hospital: $7,200;
• Louisiana State University: $11,850.
We can only hope things pick up for Congressman Fleming in 2013 so that he can feed his family a little better and bring the pay scale of his employees up to the national poverty level and perhaps even endure a tax increase for him and his poor millionaire friends.
Louisiana Voice 
“Louisiana State University: $11,850”
LSU makes political contributions? How can that be remotely legal?
Remember Jindal is Guvnah, as Edwards would say, and he’d rather walk a mile on hot coals barefooted than to stay still and tell one truth !
$200,000.00 to feed his family? Wow. Poor guy how on earth does he manage? Maybe he could push through a law to give himself food stamps. Wait a sec doesn’t he own Subway franchises? He should be providing his family with that.
Even his pet dog has had it up to his hound dog ears with Subway.
What I have always thought and said about him, but didn’t have facts to back it up. I too wonder how LSU could contribute to his political campaign. I have lived in 7 different states in my career and had numerous congressmen/women. Congresman Fleming is by far the most biased one-sided Congressman I have had to “not” represent me and I am an Indpendent. He has no interest in anything that is even close to the center or to the left. He violates my Constitutional right of freedom of speech by be-friending me on his facebook page. In fact, the best I can tell, anyone who counters the information he feeds people on his facebook page is removed from being able to comment.
Clueless!!
I’d like to find out where Louisiana State University finds millions to donate to his campaign. In fact, I will find out.
Poor Congressman Fleming is also an abject racist. His first campaign included the Leesville/Ft.Polk area and thecamptoledo2012, where he posted signs saying I am against OBAMA, which of course went well with the area but really pissed off a number of black servicemen and retirees, and if I remember correctly Jindal was up campaigning with him and passing out his”Honor Medal” to unsuspecting veterans. Fleming and Jindal should be for a raise on taxes, will be more money for them to spend on thier campaigns to the ignorant and prejudice.ron
Income flowing through to his tax return from his LLCs and partnerships will be after all operating expenses of those businesses, including employees’ salaries. Unless he has a large personal staff at home, his explanation seems inaccurate.
Maybe the poor congressman and Les Miles can get together and commiserate over how expensive it is to feed and educate their children.
With leaders like this, it is no wonder the good politicians of our state is so concerned about the next Eastern division in the office of Attorney General in our Great state.We do have a great state, stop more of the corruption and open our eyes to what we can be.Politics aside, we are very important to the United Staes because of our location,Politicians know this, Citizens need to Wake Up,Speak Up to the needs of this state.
You don’t pay income tax on expenses, only profits. If 6 million was his revenue of which most went to pay employees none of that gets taxed at a higher rate. If he really only banks 4ook in income annually he should jump at Obama’s latest offer, assuming he is only voting for hus own self interest.
Bob , I’ll clue you in, the family has quit eating subway, now that tells me something. You heah whar I’m coming from, heah the gate post creak ?
Ohhh ! the family pet quit too.
Congressman Fleming posts comments on articles @ Shreveporttimes,com, and he triggers atta boy comments from all over the country, those of us who contest him are mysteriously flagged…….he has also threatened to ban me from his FB page for calling him out on some of the lies he tells…this is something that needs to be looked into by someone who has more skills than I. He controls the message by not allowing any opposing views……he is a danger to our freedom…….of speech…..and a hypocrite of the first order……so much so I voted for Randall Lord the Libertarian, a first for me……
Well said Charmaine. Perhaps Louisiana Voice would be interested in investigating Congressman Fleming’s facebook tactics and learning how many people like you and me who have been denied our Constitutional right to be heard by our own congressman. I am thinking it could be an ethics violation that has never been looked into since social media such as facebook and twitter are new ways for elected officials to supposedly hear from their constituents, yet control who sees and who comments on the postings. I too voted for Randall Lord after having voted for Mr. Fleming the first time he ran. He might have fooled me once, but not the second time.
If anyone who reads this blog has proof or documentation of Congressman Fleming’s blocking anyone from commenting on his Facebook page, please forward that to louisianavoice@cox.net.
I would like to do a follow up on that.
Fleming threatened to ban/block me from his FB page for a comment I made that was not bad, it just pointed out his hypocrisy…I told him not to bother because his FB page was basically an Obama hate site and I would willingly leave…but on the Shreveporttimes.com FB page, I dont have any proof and cant get any, because its confidential……but I, and others, have had trouble only when he comments…..now it may be him or one of his ditto heads,but we cannot find out the culprit……FB has no human monitor its done by the computer, Ist flag is a warning———–2nd flag is a 10 day suspension——-3rd flag is a permanant ban…….which is really a bad system…but thats the way it is. Congressman Fleming is representing his own interests, and those who agree with him, he has no intention of compromising and working with the Dems….I invite everyone to check on his FB page and see for yourself……Keep up the good work Tom…..I enjoy reading your articles, after I take my BP meds…….
Just post something unflattering (but not overtly insulting) but accurate that he won’t be able to tolerate and take a screen capture. Check back in a few hours and see if it’s gone and/or i you are banned 🙂 Do you have the e-mail or message from Fleming to that effect?
crazycrawfish, it only takes me one post regardless what or how I say it and my comment is immediately taken off Mr. Fleming’s page if I can get it on there. Most of the time I am barred from commenting or voting on anything he asks people to vote on. I am able to comment on the Sheveport Times page when he responds on it, I assume he can’t control it. My guess is he is in violation of ethics for a Congressman but don’t know. I doubt they have established social media rules yet. Facebook is not his official website so I assume he thinks he can do what he wants with it, but if he is paying staff with federal funds to monitor it, he is misusing federal funds by barring constituents from telling him what they think or are experiencing. Doubt that he really cares since he is in the top 5 percent of income earners.