Make the Rich Pay Their Fair Share

Make the Rich Pay Their Fair Share

We listen to Mitch McConnell, the Turtle, on January 6, 2013 and he talks about this large debt we face and the President’s inaction. It is like he never led the Republican Party to vote for the largest revenue decrease in history, an illegal unfunded war in Iraq, a war in Afghanistan, Part D Medicare, a number of military procurement boondoggles, etc. McConnell has cheerleaded the disastrous fiscal and economic policies of Reagan-Bush-BushII and has personally profited from them. He supported the Trickle-Down tax policy and Supply-Side Economics policy of Reagan’s budget Director David Stockman. Which Stockman later admitted he had no idea what they were and admits today they did not work. That is probably what is wrong with Washington today. The multi-millionaires in Congress are lining their pockets by knowing where the economy is headed and working with the lobbyists in investing in pet projects.

This is truly a case of the Two Santa Clauses Theory. Whereby the Republican Party when in power spends the country into debt and then cries foul when the Democratic Party comes into power to clean it up.

The incoming Tea Party class of 2010 to Congress was the richest set of Congress members ever sent at an average wealth of $32 million for 50 members.

So how does a group of ultra rich fat cats ever possibly represent the common man? How does the Tea Party even accept these people as being their representatives? A Party funded by Dick Armey and the Billionaire Koch Brothers to enact their agenda of flat taxes (which reduce a billionaires’ taxes by having the middle class pay for them), increased defense spending (the biggest place to make profits off of contracts), oil company subsidies (at a time when the top three oil companies make a record over $40 billion a quarter in profit), etc.

So our national political plan and entire national dialog since 1980 is give everything to the rich and they will take care of us. Well it hasn’t worked especially in light of the majority of tax cuts being invested overseas. Tax cuts are in fact making the rich lazy; they actually need to do nothing for them—they get money for absolutely no effort in creating ANY jobs. So let’s start taxing the rich are higher and fairer rates!

What is “fair.” Younger people may not know that FDR lifted the 90% rate on millionaires, and JFK removed the 70% rate on multi-millionaires. Thom Hartman in 2013 has advocated a 100% tax rate on billionaires.
If you are paying attention, you have to believe that these rich guys have effectively turned our country over to China and India in trying to make the last buck before the economy implodes. They have no ethics, no morals, and no motivation to make this a better country. Clint Eastwood speaks to an empty chair for only them.
No, the Republican mantra of: “the rich will take care of you” hasn’t panned out, just ask Scott Nelson in his book, the History of America’s Financial Panics (1819, 1837, 1857,1873, 1893); it failed in the Republican Great Depression of 1929, and the Republican Recession of 2008; why should it work in 2013?
Truth be told, everything the Rich supporters believe in or have said is probably just a talking point created by Fox News just to advance the agenda of the RICH.
I recently attended a Los Tres Magos (The Three Wiseman) nativity play and the message was that Jesus Christ was born in absolute poverty as an example to mankind. He was born naked in a manger to make us all realize that our worldly possessions, our instinct toward greed and hoarding; is not the purpose for mankind. It is to love one another and to take care of the least amongst us.

We just completed a Presidential Election where Obama was criticized for being the “food stamp President,” but the truth is this has been coming since 1980. 1 in 2 Americans are now in poverty or classified as low income: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57343397/census-data-half-of-u.s-poor-or-low-income/
I wonder how bad it has to become before there is open warfare, WE the 99% are very restrained. There was a time when the RICH, the 1%, were dragged into the street and their possessions divided by the 99% in the 1789 French Revolution —you know the “Let Them Eat Cake” history of it all…..

The solution to all our country’s woes is simple: TAX THE RICH! It is a policy that can be favored by the 99%—that is an easy compromise number to reach. It is a consensus when Warren Buffet speaks.

What Class Warfare?

Right wing pundits claim there is “class warfare” when someone mentions the ultra-rich or mega-corporations should pay their fair share of taxes; or the actual costs to operate society.  I prefer to call a spade a spade, and what is going on is really “Class Extermination.”  There is no “War” going on.  Unless the rich are armed with nuclear weapons and the rest of us, the 99%, are armed with rocks; then maybe we have classified the conditions of this so called War.

If there was a War, there would be casualties.  I guess the poor and the middle class have taken broadsides that have made both classes almost extinct.  But the rich have morphed into: very rich, filthy rich, stinking filthy rich and ultra-rich.  The old millionaire has been replaced with the mega-billionaire.  Tax plans calling on taxing anyone with more than $250,000 a year income ($119.73 an hour) have moved on to a million dollars a year, or $478.93 an hour.  I guess the American Dream may be a casualty as polling shows that a majority of Americans say their children will not have a better life than they did.

The only casualties of the rich since 1970 have been John Keating of the Keating Five (and millionaire Senator John McCain escaped that one), and Bernie Madoff.  Madoff may be the only one who has gone to prison in the last 42 years for acting inappropriate while rich.  Thief, fraud and insider trading are the only ways to get rich in this country today; and getting caught is the “crime” to the class of rich.  In the financial meltdown of 2008, what we find out now is the second great Republican Depression after 1929 (the Panic of 1894 should also be added here as the fault of the Republicans), no one went to jail—or was even prosecuted.  The many Ponzi schemes were overlooked by Wall Street lawyer Attorney General Eric Holder.  All of these financial schemes were illegal until 1980 when Republican Ronald Reagan took office.   There is a reason they were illegal, the bubbles and distress on the economy that these financial schemes threaten, can take the whole system down.

There is no class warfare when the American society worships the rich and thinks they too will be rich one day.  Just look at television: the Lives of the Rich and Famous; Donald Trump’s your fired; Shark Tank; largest houses in the United States, largest yachts of the world (with one now costing a billion dollars); most expensive hotel rooms in the world; when presidential candidates have car elevators for their secondary beach house in Malibu (Mitt Romney).

It is not us against them, it is them against us.  They own the politicians and are shifting the tax burden to the little guy by legislation.  State and local governments find themselves cash strapped with the loss of Revenue Sharing (Reagan) and local elections reducing taxes in a race to the bottom to attract business and relocating millionaires.

In 2012, in the United States, we have the widest gap in the disparity of wealth in the history of man—exceeding the Gilded Age, and the Fall of Rome.  Taxes as a part of GNP have been the lowest they have ever been since 1950 (the first year they started recording this).  The number of people qualifying for Food Stamps is high and 44% of people are falling into poverty.  There is an answer: Tax the Rich; that is not class warfare it is survival of the country!

 

Tax the rich

Tax the Rich

So our national political plan since 1980 is give everything to the rich and they will take care of us.  Well it hasn’t worked especially in light of the majority of tax cuts being invested overseas.  Tax cuts are making the rich lazy.  They need to do nothing for them.  They get money for absolutely no effort.  So let’s start taxing them higher and if they want to make more money they will start to have to work harder.  Say, to work at creating jobs in the USA for one thing, instead of ending jobs here.  This is a new motivational tool: higher taxes on the rich; make them job creators again!

These guys have effectively turned our country over to China and India in trying to make the last buck before the economy implodes.  They have no ethics, no morals, and no motivation to make this a better country.  All they can do it blame Clint Eastwood for selling out!

No, the Republican mantra of: “the rich will take care of you” hasn’t panned out in the Panic of 1893 or the Republican Great Depression of 1929, or the Republican Recession of 2008; why should it work in 2012?

This dialog is not going to win me any friends in the 1%……So I await the insults.

Whenever someone calls you a liberal and thinks they are insulting you… you know there is no hope 😦 in talking to them.   Because as we have written here at these posts, being a liberal is the best you can be.  When you try to reason with this person, the insults increase and you are a socialist and an Obama mama, etc.

Truth be told, everything the Rich supporters believe in or have said is probably just a talking point created by Fox News or Rush Limpballs.  It is a sad existence, aspiring to be rich……

You know you can never be rich.  This isn’t the real American Dream.  The Dream is to one day retire and have a pittance of an income that keeps you from digging ditches at age 80, when it physically is impossible.  Then also you want your kids to do better than you did.  Maybe they can become millionaires.  Yes, dream on!  We need equality and that can only be achieved through higher taxes on the Rich.

Your addiction to Reaganomics and the belief that someday you too can become rich is insanity.  Trickle Down Theory and supply-side economics created by David Stockman, the Reagan Budget Director, was in his own words: “a lie.”

But wait —you too— can become a millionaire!  After 25 years of working at a job, your salary should be at least $50,000 a year.  Work there another 20 years and you will have earned ONE MILLION DOLLARS!  Just don’t spend any of it on food, health care or gas getting to work!

See how ridiculous it is?

In almost all industries, whether it be digging ditches or typing behind a computer, after twenty-five years of working you are so broken physically (back, neck, vision, carpel tunnel, migraines, etc.) and maybe mentally, that it is easier to replace you with another new person than to allow you to go another twenty-five years at a faster rate.  A young 18-25 years old is also less likely to complain about dangerous or illegal working conditions.

Conversely, bringing in new people can allow young families to have stable salaries and they might have fresh ideas.  I think our state government has finally gotten rid of those people who said: “I will not touch a computer” and they didn’t……

The era of twenty five years and a gold watch are over now, you just lose your job to a Chinese person willing to suck chemicals for a living….

You have to constantly be in fear of losing your job to a younger person or brownnose—or that it will go overseas…….

I recently commented in our local paper on an article, where others put on-line comments that: “police and firefighters shouldn’t get pensions.”  I called this line of thinking Tea Party lunacy and I would add to this: do you want a 55 or 60 year old cop running after an 18 year old burglar and not catching him; then the burglar shoots you the next day in an attempt at your home?  Or an equally as old fireman climbing up a ladder with a hose having a heart attack and then shorthanded your house burns down?

1 in 2 Americans are now in poverty or classified as low income: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57343397/census-data-half-of-u.s-poor-or-low-income/
I wonder how bad it has to become before there is open warfare, We the 99% are very restrained.  There was a time when the RICH, the 1%, were dragged into the street and their possessions divided by the 99% in the 1789 French Revolution —you know the “Let Them Eat Cake” history…..

The solution to all our country’s woes is simple: TAX THE RICH!  It is a policy that can be favored by the 99%.