Rick Perry on income inequality: Money is ‘highly overrated’

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Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry on Tuesday advised protesters in the Occupy movement to worry less about income inequality.

“You know, we have young people who are today occupying Wall Street, that there are some people out there that are making too much money,” the Texas governor said at an education forum in Des Moines, Iowa. “And if somebody were to ask me what the best advice that I could give them? It would be that money is probably the most highly overrated thing in the world.”

“It’s good to have some,” he admitted. “Because I’ve been without and I’ve had some, and it’s better to have some.”

Perry is said to have an overall net worth of about $2.8 million.

In 2007 alone, he made over $1 million, putting him well withing the top 1 percent of earners in the country.

CNBC’s John Harwood pointed out to Perry last week that his recently unveiled flat tax plan could actually worsen income inequality.

“I don’t care about that,” the candidate said. “If that’s what comes, I’ll take that criticism.”

Watch this video from CNN, broadcast Nov. 1, 2011.

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