Bono is a rich man, he wears a rich man's cloak

Nobel Peace Prize nominee Paul Hewson, aka Bono, is in the news again. Is he instructing us greedy first world conservatives of our duty to our brothers and sisters in Africa? Well, actually, yes. But today he's also in the news for a surprising reason. Bono recently endorsed David Strom's ideology by suggesting that high tax rates are an affront to human dignity every bit as offensive as third world poverty.

Now I can't find a quote to back this up. However, I remember someone once telling me that actions speak louder than words:

The rocker and his U2 band have moved their business empire from Ireland to Holland to avoid paying the new high tax rates that have been imposed by the Irish government on music royalties.

Not surprisingly, Bono's greed is seen by some as hypocritical. Our first example is NewsMax commentator James Hirsen:

The problem is that this is the same guy who has consistently urged the U.S. government to use its own citizens' tax dollars to finance other nations' social programs and forgive Third World countries' debts.

And:

British television talk show host Graham Norton launched a harangue against the Irish rocker for his apparent hypocrisy." People like Bono really annoy me," Norton said. "He goes to hell and back to avoid paying tax. He has a special accountant. He works out Irish tax loopholes. And then he's asking me to buy a well for an African village."

Don't blame Bono for being a hypocrite. He likes hearing what a great humanitarian he is. And if he can command hundreds of dollars for a concert ticket on the free market (minimum price for U2's Aloha Stadium concert was $60 for general admission nosebleeds, scalpers wanted more than double face value), then he is worth what he gets.

However, he might just want to think twice about preaching to governments about how they should spend the tax revenues they obtain from the folks who, unlike Bono, aren't rich enough to avoid paying their taxes.