KISS lead singer Gene Simmons is decidedly not taking a page out of Hillary Clinton’s book, and rather than trying to hide his wealth or run from his riches is instead publicly flaunting it — saying simply that living the 1 percent lifestyle is amazing.
“I have been part of the 1 percent for the past 30 years,” Mr. Simmons told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “It’s fantastic.”
His statements come on the heels of comments by Mrs. Clinton, the former Secretary of State, about being broke upon exiting the White House. Specifically, Mrs. Clinton claimed it was difficult to pay for her mortgages and her daughter’s education when she had her husband wrapped their White House run — comments that were met by shock and even outrage from many in the nation, who accused her of playing populist politics and pointed to her family’s millions in wealth.
In his interview, Mr. Simmons waxed on — a bit sarcastically.
“The 1 percent pays 80 percent of all taxes,” he said, Mediaite reported. “Fifty percent of the population of the U.S. pays no taxes. The 1 percent provides all the jobs for everybody else. If the 1 percent didn’t exist, there would be chaos and the American economy would drop dead. Try being nice to rich people. I don’t remember the last poor person who gave me a job.”
Mr. Simmons is a vocal conservative who publicly supported Mitt Romney for president in 2012. On top of that, he’s pretty blunt.
In the interview, Mr. Simmons also said: “People often confuse, at least in my estimation, my pride and self-confidence with arrogance. Because they are not used to people who have an in-your-face, ’take it or leave it, this is how I am’ point of view. I’m more like an animal in the jungle that [urinates] on the ground and doesn’t ask your permission. ’This is me, this is my territory.’ It’s simply defining who I am and what I stand for. … Others simply hold their opinions to themselves and never say who they are. … You will always know who I am. You don’t have to like it; that’s OK if you don’t.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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