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Obama's 'Fairness' Economy Has Backfired (The rich still get richer, while poor still remain poor)
Townhall ^ | 05/02/2013 | David Harsanyi

Posted on 05/02/2013 1:55:02 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

One of the most seductive parts of President Barack Obama's political message (and the message of progressive Democrats in general) is sympathy for the poor and a willingness to talk about the disparities of capitalism -- about the rich being too rich and the poor being screwed. In some ways, it's the predominant message of the Obama era.

And though it's reasonable to contend that Republicans need to display more compassion -- if for nothing else than their own political survival -- isn't it also reasonable to take stock of how things have gone for the poor under four-plus years of progressive rule?

Now, if you're heavily invested in the market, life is peachy. A confounding fact, no doubt, when one considers that nearly every economic indicator known to mankind has been pretty abysmal of late. We are experiencing high unemployment, a shrinking labor force, stagnant gross domestic product growth and rickety consumer confidence. A disconnected market, though, has been on a historic boom. So if we need any more proof that life really isn't fair, think about this: The rich have the Federal Reserve, and you have Harry Reid.

What does it mean in substance? According to a new Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data, thanks to a robust stock and bond market, coupled with a lousy housing market, the recovery has meant that households with a net worth in the upper 7 percent have seen their net worth rise, on average, by nearly 30 percent in the years after the recession and that everyone else's net worth has dropped by an average of 4 percent.

The economic gap between whites and minorities is even worse. According to the Urban Institute, whites, on average, have two times the income of blacks and Hispanics and six times the wealth, and that gap is accelerating.

This is going on, if you can imagine, even after a tax hike on the wealthy.

The left's answer to this accelerating disparity under Obama will, no doubt, be more regulatory burdens, more tax hikes (the president is still obsessed with closing loopholes on private jets -- a rounding error, in his budget), more deficit spending and more programs that smooth over all the unjust vagaries of life. Most often, these solutions erect barriers to mobility for small businesses and entrepreneurs -- the types of people who help alter the dynamics of mobility. Despite what you may hear, more revenue for government doesn't create wealth. A freer economy and more societal stability do.

If Americans believe that government should promote opportunity and mobility and not equality of outcomes, as this administration claims, allowing more economic freedom would not leave us hapless in the face of unregulated anarchy. It would do the opposite. It would invite more innovation and more opportunity.

Or forget policy. Maybe this is a moral question. Maybe it's a question of leadership. You may believe that government has no business telling us how to lead our lives. I would agree. But if the president were really concerned about inequality, rather than praising abortion mills, he might want to speak out on the importance of families, which, whether we like it or not, are one of the leading indicators of personal prosperity. He might want to speak out about the immorality of a welfare state that helps destroy those families.

Because really, what policy passed or proposed by Democrats over the past four years has started or would start fixing the income disparity in any substantive way? There are two obvious ways to start doing that, and neither seems to interest the president.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: fairness; obama; redistribution
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1 posted on 05/02/2013 1:55:02 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Hoax and Chains.


2 posted on 05/02/2013 1:56:32 PM PDT by Justa
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To: SeekAndFind

Fairness is just another word for “eliminate the middle class, and replace the whole thing with elites and peons.”


3 posted on 05/02/2013 1:59:56 PM PDT by IYAS9YAS
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To: SeekAndFind

“The economic gap between whites and minorities is even worse. According to the Urban Institute, whites, on average, have two times the income of blacks and Hispanics and six times the wealth, and that gap is accelerating”

Correction... IT should read “The economic gap between whites and minorities is even BETTER”

LOL!


4 posted on 05/02/2013 2:00:28 PM PDT by MNDude (Sorry for typos. Probably written on a smartphone, and I have big clumsy fingers.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Dennis Moore, Dennis Moore
Riding thru the woods.
Dennis Moore, Dennis Moore
With his bag of goods
He steals from the poor
And gives to the rich
Stupid b*tch!

“This redistribution of wealth business is trickier than I thought!”

Monty Python’s Flying Circus, 1970


5 posted on 05/02/2013 2:00:51 PM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: SeekAndFind

http://www.moviesoundclips.net/download.php?id=2851&ft=mp3


6 posted on 05/02/2013 2:03:13 PM PDT by BenLurkin (This is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire; or both)
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To: SeekAndFind

the most well off people in every marxist society are the elite

the Marxists pretend their agenda is about “equality” but its not, it’s simply about power


7 posted on 05/02/2013 2:03:37 PM PDT by Wuli
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To: SeekAndFind

If we took every dollar in America and split it evenly——the next day there would be rich and poor.


8 posted on 05/02/2013 2:07:54 PM PDT by Venturer
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To: FReepers; Patriots; FRiends






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9 posted on 05/02/2013 2:08:03 PM PDT by onyx (Please Support Free Republic - Donate Monthly! If you want on Sarah Palin's Ping List, Let Me know!)
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To: SeekAndFind
but it's OK cause the “right” people got richer....
10 posted on 05/02/2013 2:10:14 PM PDT by The_Victor (If all I want is a warm feeling, I should just wet my pants.)
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To: Venturer

You are 100% right. There are good reasons why there are rich & poor. We here all know what those reasons are. Over at du & other places like them, not so much.


11 posted on 05/02/2013 2:14:21 PM PDT by certrtwngnut (')
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To: certrtwngnut

“The poor you will always have with you.”

Matthew 26:11


12 posted on 05/02/2013 2:16:11 PM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: SeekAndFind
The sad part is that higher income tax prevents people from getting rich. With higher taxes, most people get poorer while the rich stay where they are. The rich don't have much taxable income and can easily hide anything offshore.

Imagine the personal and overall economic growth if people had an additional 30-50% to spend/invest rather than throw into the bottomless gubmint pit.

13 posted on 05/02/2013 2:17:31 PM PDT by varyouga
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To: SeekAndFind

“The economic gap between whites and minorities is even worse. According to the Urban Institute, whites, on average, have two times the income of blacks and Hispanics and six times the wealth, and that gap is accelerating.”

When you look at predominate cultural values of folks that mostly vote democrat vs republican this makes sense.

Not only do they not value saving & hard work they soo obsessed with blaming other people for their problems they never bother to solve their real problems themselves.

So of course people who DON’T DO THAT are going to not only earn more but they are going to save more and therefore end up with more.


14 posted on 05/02/2013 2:19:11 PM PDT by Monorprise
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To: SeekAndFind

The only thing that Obama has accomplished is to create more poor people and make the poor even lazier than before. Do you hear them screaming about no jobs and high unemployment? Neither do I...

That’s what liberals call “social justice.” we Conservatives call it an enslavement into a welfare plantation. The Democrats are still the racist KKK Democrats that they have always been. They love their plantations.

Jesse Jackson Al Sharpton, et al, are the true Uncle Toms making sure the slaves don’t run off.

Democrats are disgusting.


15 posted on 05/02/2013 2:19:59 PM PDT by avacado
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To: SeekAndFind
Politics is all about Power
Ifs yah gots Money, ya gots the Power

The Politicians Sound Populist to Mollify the Poor,
Giving Bread and Circuses.

Riots are hard on the Wealth Effect,
Crime depresses Property Values,
So the Powerful concentrate Violence in Cities,
and Buy Mansions in the Suburbs

The Poor just get Poorer, Die by Crime, Destructive Behavior, or Pestilence

16 posted on 05/02/2013 2:23:05 PM PDT by HangnJudge
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To: SeekAndFind

It was never about narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor, it has always been about narrowing the gap between himself and the poor.

One by getting rich, two by makeing more people poor.


17 posted on 05/02/2013 2:33:59 PM PDT by American in Israel (A wise man's heart directs him to the right, but the foolish mans heart directs him toward the left.)
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To: Venturer

Its quite natural as to why, some of us are willing to work, make good choices and save. Others just want their happy-meal now and don’t worry or plan for the future.

Sadly ideologically an entire segment of our population is being lulled into a cultural disposition.


18 posted on 05/02/2013 2:38:56 PM PDT by Monorprise
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To: SeekAndFind

The rich can usually figure out a way to maintain and grow wealth, according to current conditions. It’s a priority in their lives. This time the conditions are: near zero interest rates and low inflation brought about by monetary easing.

It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that the only wealth growth opportunities are in real assets like stocks and real estate. Interest payments and dividends won’t cut it.

Zero’s next redistributional move would be to tax assets. If so, the wealthy will either hide (i.e. gold) or transfer wealth offshore or move offshore. He knows that asset taxes would do more harm than good for his legacy.

The wildcard: does zero care about his legacy?


19 posted on 05/02/2013 3:20:00 PM PDT by cicero2k
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To: cicero2k

RE: Zero’s next redistributional move would be to tax assets. If so, the wealthy will either hide (i.e. gold) or transfer wealth offshore or move offshore.

So, what’s stopping him from going after offshore assets?

They’ve already bullied Switzerland into giving up the names of American account holders.


20 posted on 05/02/2013 3:26:22 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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