Stephen Colbert: Yearning Tax-Free
on Friday, August 4, 2017Stephen Colbert Money Quote saying in a parody of the Emma Lazarus poem on the Statue of Liberty that we would prefer allowing only rich, educated immigrants rather than the downtrodden poor. Stephen Colbert said:
“Give me your wealthy, your rich, your huddled M.B.A.s yearning to be tax-free. Send these, your English-speaking, fully insured, to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door! And lift my leg upon your filthy poor” — Stephen Colbert
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Stephen Colbert is satirizing the famous poem by Emma Lazarus about the Statue of Liberty welcoming immigrants. In this quote, he suggests the U.S. is really only interested in attracting wealthy, well-educated immigrants who won’t burden the social welfare system and will contribute economically, rather than helping the poor.
The best interpretation is that Colbert is using humor and exaggeration to critique a perception that the country’s immigration policies and priorities seem to favor the rich and educated over the less fortunate seeking opportunity.
His comedic rewriting of the poem implies the U.S. is more welcoming to those who are tax-advantaged and financially self-sufficient than to those simply seeking refuge or a better life through hard work.