Barack Obama is now experiencing why his lack of experience is so damning. In 2008, riding a wave of anti-Bush frustration from a pliant (if not brain dead) news media, The One had an easy coast to election as everyone WISHED for something better. No analysis, no vetting, no looking at warning signs. Just wishful thinking.

And the price the nation paid for this impatience and laziness has been brutal.

Thankfully, the news media is paying as well – as in they lost their only, true commodity – trust. No one is listening to CNN anymore, and the other liberal news sites are dying out while the more balanced Fox News takes off (see here). The news media is going bankrupt because it failed its job and drowned in the left-wing Kool Aid

The Democrats, too, were hammered in 2010 for putting up a cardboard President- who reads from a teleprompter – to try and hide their socialistic putsch. They and their support groups are still being hammered (see Wisconsin for the union future).

And of course the people paid with massive career losses, savings losses and generations of debt.

But the penultimate example of Obama’s ignorance came with him uttering the words “You didn’t Build That” to a nation of proudly independent, self motivating, success-seeking people. And think of the wonderful timing of this peek inside the confused mind of Barack Obama – right before the Olympics, where individual effort and success is the cornerstone of games!

Are Obama (and Lizzie Warren) going to now explain to the medalists and contenders they did not achieve their successes on their own, that government workers are the true ones to thank?

Interestingly, one story does indicate the government will be taking a slice of their success – in the form of brutal taxes:

Americans who win bronze will pay a $2 tax on the medal itself. But the bronze comes with a modest prize—$10,000 as an honorarium for devoting your entire life to being the third best athlete on the planet in your chosen discipline. And the IRS will take $3,500 of that, thank you very much.

There are also prizes that accompany each medal: $25,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver, and $10,000 for bronze.

Silver medalists will owe $5,385. You win a gold? Timothy Geithner will be standing there with his hand out for $8,986.

So as of this writing, swimmer Missy Franklin—who’s a high school student—is already on the hook for almost $14,000.

Now, if these people were incorporated somehow they would be allowed to write off years of investment against these meager (monetary wise) winnings. This represent many tens of thousands of dollars a year over many years. We know, we had a daughter who went into figure skating and the cost of just being an average amateur was stunning. When you hit the point you need a private coach, dedicated facilities and endless hours of practice it adds up quickly to hit the Olympics.

So why aren’t Olympic awards tax exempt? Not the sponsor money – that’s income. Just the awards

BTW, did Al Gore pay taxes on that lame Nobel Prize he won for Science Fiction? Betcha he didn’t!

Update: Well, if Gore dodged the taxman, it was done by some loophole, because apparently in 1986 Nobel Prize earnings became taxable:

Before 1986, most prizes were tax-free. Now prizes and awards are taxable.

And yes, Gore did dodge the taxes:

But Gore apparently planned in advance to take advantage of § 74(b):

Exception for certain prizes and awards transferred to charities Gross income does not include amounts received as prizes and awards made primarily in recognition of religious, charitable, scientific, educational, artistic, literary, or civic achievement, but only if—

1. the recipient was selected without any action on his part to enter the contest or proceeding;
2. the recipient is not required to render substantial future services as a condition to receiving the prize or award; and
3. the prize or award is transferred by the payor to a governmental unit or organization described in paragraph (1) or (2) of section 170 (c) pursuant to a designation made by the recipient.

Gore announced on Friday:

My wife, Tipper, and I will donate 100 percent of the proceeds of the award to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan non-profit organization that is devoted to changing public opinion in the U.S. and around the world about the urgency of solving the climate crisis.

So, the Olympians just need to donate their winnings away!