Posted on 12/31/2010 9:52:27 PM PST by DeaconBenjamin
Horse manure.
It is a sad fault that America often gets the best government that money can buy. So big institutions like banks sock you in the teeth coming and going and it’s all legal even if it’s as immoral as heck.
Nonetheless, the wrong question is being asked here. We should be asking what percentage of Americans are living in tolerable or better conditions, and compare THAT to other countries. Most jobs are created by the rich, not the poor, and I see no point other than envy in punishing the rich simply for the sake of being rich.
Long on diagnosis short on solutions as they skip the notion that Unions are like any other Organization with the top echelon living lavishly as any other CEO of upper level mgmt.
Racial pity parties are such a problem. These could literally be turned on their head overnight if traditionally segregated racial elements would be willing to know pride of the country where they are rather than some fantasy alter-existence.
So somewhere in the back of your mind don’t you wish for everything to go completely to shit so when the people with money falling out their ass land on your doorstep, but have no clue how to grow food or build a house, etc., you can “turn” them into compost?
No mention of Free Trade or immigration. A worthless article.
We are Americans, we shouldn't be comparing ourselves to any other Country. We should be holding our "leaders" accountable for reducing our security, destroying our economy and robbing us of our freedoms. I don't care if we are better off than every other country, we are not where we should be because of the deep corruption of those we should be able to trust.
I would have hoped you would notice the obvious, that this is not an overall philosophy of government. That this is simply a saner way of looking at the ethics of being rich and poor. I guess you did not notice the obvious.
Sorry, it seemed "obvious" to me that you suggested we compare ourselves to other countries. I guess I thought it was obvious because this is what you posted. Excuse me for using the plain meaning of the words you used.
The real question is,why are rich people LEAVING America in record numbers?
Aw, give it up. Both political parties are dens of thieves, and globalization is about to end. Globalist tyrants won’t be honestly able—even by propagandizing confusion—to put all of their hated enemies (their more faithful fellow Americans) into the camp of the left.
I agree. I subscribe to foreign affairs magazine just to see what the wicked are up to. And that is usually supporting policies intended to weaken America.
The simple fact is centralized power hungry government will corrupt anything and everything, just like the Soviet Union, just like Red China. There are profound human psychological reasons for this which the boys here miss totally, in particular as financial, decision making, and regulatory powers become more distant from the individual creative citizen, the individual creative citizen becomes isolated, demoralized, disempowered, feckless, and eliminated.
Did the United States of America truly land men on the Moon without a Dept of Education, without a Dept of Energy, without a Dept of Homeland Security, without "global" integration, without an illegal alien workforce? Well boys did it?
Boys, you dismantle the federal government, its taxing, its regulations, its judicial tyranny, its budget, by forty to fifty percent, get our internal energy act together, and you'll see the return of the "middle class" in the USA like nothing since the fifties.
Really, really, really, misguided people, talking to hear themselves talk.
Johnny Suntrade
Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson, political scientists at Yale and Berkeley.
Any mention of tarp? If not you can completely disregard the entire article.
I agree that this article was a disappointment and provided mediocre analysis with no solution. One obvious question: why use pre-tax figures to argue that inequality has grown, while casting blame on a reduction in the tax rate for upper income earners? If anything, more post-tax dollars would lower the need to increase pay. Moreover, as anyone who lives in CA or another “progressive” state knows, federal taxes may have declined on a percentage basis, but state and local fees and taxes have increased substantially. In short, this article is more liberal mush. The real government issue: regulations, bloat, corruption, taxes and lawsuits that chase manufacturing and other high value businesses out of the country. No business. No investment. No jobs. No income. Simple.
Good question! If you see people leaving a 'paradise' in droves, it isn't one.
I don't know enough about Foreign Affairs to say it's a habit of theirs, but this article does miss an obvious reason. Increasing wealth inequality comes from taxes. High-income people are taxed at higher rates, so greater income inequality (especially with the Alternative Minimum Tax!) means a greater tax take.
Income taxes impact in another way: them who supply the gold wind up making the rules. Had I been a jeremiad writer, I'd put the point this way: "Income Tax The Mother Of Plutocracy."
Do you want a union job that pays 422,000 dollars a year? Check it out.
http://www.keytlaw.com/blog/2010/12/carnegie-halls-top-paid-employees/
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.