Regarding this story the Republicans have been telling for some time about rich people paying the large majority of taxes. Look that story the republican cheerleaders tell only applies to income taxes. Of all the revenue the fed guv takes in I think it is only 25-35% from income taxes. Of that proportion of federal revenue the rich people pay the lion's share. That's true. But another similar chunk of federal revenue comes from payroll taxes. That comes entirely from working slobs.
In our country the way taxes work a person working as a consultant at $100 per hour will pay a smaller percentage of their income in taxes than a working stiff making $15 per hour. The working stiff will have payroll taxes taken out by the computer. The consultant will hire a tax person and the tax person will be able to get that tax bill down to the point that as a percentage of income the lower income person will pay more.
In the book of Matthew it is explained what our proper attitude should be towards the unemployed. It says that in the world god wants us to build we go into the marketplace and we seek out those who want jobs and we give them jobs, all of them, not just some of them, but all of them. We used to follow that ideal in America. Outside of the 1930's the American unemployment statistics prior to 1970 and for 100 years of good statistics was normally between 3.0 and 3.5%. When it went up much more than that the Wall street Journal and others would howl that the government has to get the economy going to get unemployment down.
The republicans in this country used to be christian and more than just in a token way. Today we have a new idol to worshop regarding this matter. The republicans are first and foremost at promoting this new god. Alan Greenspan was appointed to his position precisely because he is a liberal republican economist. Greenspan believes in high levels of unemployment. He's said so publicly. Greenspan says that when unemployment comes down that it is a sign of inflation. He says that when unemployment begins to get near what is historically normal in america that those pesky workers are going to seek raises and that american business can't compete by paying a decent family wage the way they used to. So greenspan according to his own description of his own policies raised interest rates over and over and over again to stop lower income people from prospering so that big corporations operating in a dream world of high finance could show the bankers that they don't have domestic cost increases due to stupid workers wanting to get paid so they can support families.
This is the new Republican ideology, do whatever it takes to maximize corporate profits. If the unemployment rate goes to double or triple what used to be normal in our country, then it doesn't matter at all to the republicans. We have a big wedge opened up between lower income and upper income. The income gap is growing so wide compared to what it was. We have armies of men on street corners. We have mexicans deciding on their own that they can make more money in mexico and going back to mexico because the market's bad here. We have huge numbers of americans who can't afford families. We have huge numbers of americans who can't afford medical care. All this is OK with republicans, but if corporate profits dip, then republicans will go into action.
Keep in mind how many bad laws and bad regulations have been imposed on the american economy domestically the last 30 years that have had the impact of destroying industry and jobs for no benefit to the environment. The republicans do nothing to lift this burden.
The Republicans are today behaving exactly like what they used to criticize in the Democrats. They're spending money like drunken sailors. Only the sensibilities of the rich can justify this spending binge. It is not in the interest of the poor people who will be dependent on social security in their later years to squander that money.
The Republicans have negotiated trade deals that are simply not in the american interest, that instead are only in the interest of big corporations. Manufacturing in America is languishing badly, the republicans are turning a cold shoulder to these concerns. The republicans behave consistently like their only constituency is rich people and big corporations. I think that is wrong. I think we are one nation and we should look out for our own people first, all of our own people, even the people that are restricted by laws made by the republicans from living in some cities.
So, you are wrong Austin Willard Wright, it is not hatred that drives me, I merely see what is happening in my country and I don't like it. I used to be a very enthusiastic republican, I not only voted Republican always, but I contributed money and I consistently convinced other people to vote republican also. I did it because I love america and the american people. Today I work against the republicans as much as possible and for the same reason.
Your point that unemployment before 1970 was rarely more than four percent is exactly right! This little-known fact provides a wonderful endorsement for a shift to more laissez faire/free market policies. For most of this low unemployment period period, the U.S. had no income taxes or a minimal income tax prior to the 1940s, no mimimum wage laws, and and very mimimal federal regulations on business. For the first 40 years of this period, the U.S. had no central bank and extremely lax anti-trust laws If you are endorsing a return (indeed acceleration of) to those policies, we have no disagreement. Are you?
The rise in unemployment in the last few decades has nothing to do with a undefined glob called "the rich" and everything to do with the rise of the warfare/welfare state. If you want to solve this problem through playing the game of class welfare (which has produced some terrible horrors during the twentieth century), you are barking up the wrong tree.