Without the teeniest sense of irony, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has proposed that America’s Olympic medal winners should not have to pay taxes on the cash prizes they are awarded with their medals.

Schumer’s reasoning behind lifting the tax? Because “hard work” and excellence shouldn’t be punished. Seriously:

In a press release from his office Schumer said:

“Our Olympian and Paralympic athletes should be worried about breaking world records, not breaking the bank, when they earn a medal,” said ‎Schumer. “Most countries subsidize their athletes; the very least we can do is make sure our athletes don’t get hit with a tax bill for winning. After a successful and hard fought victory, it’s just not right for the U.S. to welcome these athletes home with a tax on that victory.

It’s refreshing to see a Democrat refer to a federal tax as a penalty and a burden and something that should not be levied against someone merely because they have excelled and won at their chosen vocation.

It wasn’t too long ago when Democrats chastised Americans for lamenting their tax bill, guilting them into believing that paying taxes was the “patriotic thing to do”:

But why does Schumer stop at just the tax on Olympic winnings? The only reason Schumer is pushing this is because it gets him on television and gets his name linked to the Olympic champions he claims he wants to help out.

I’m pretty sure the idea that working and training hard for years and having all that hard work culminate in a victorious career pinnacle can be easily extrapolated to many professions. It isn’t just athletes who work their tails off, sacrifice and end up getting a financial windfall when they “win” in their chosen field.

It’s a nice baby step to concede that the tax is a penalty and a burden, now maybe if Schumer and his Democratic colleagues would just widen their gaze a bit to the rest of us mere mortals…