G
Guns Guns Guns
Guest
The GOP steals from the 99% and gives to the 1%...
This is not what Republicans want you to think of when you hear the word redistribution.
You’re supposed to imagine the evil masterminds as Bolsheviks, not bankers.
You’re supposed to envision the lazy free-riders who benefit from redistribution as the “poor,” and the industrious job-creators who get robbed as the “wealthy” — not the other way around.
If Americans were to realize they’ve been the victims of Republican-style redistribution — stealing from the poor to give to the rich — the whole political atmosphere might change.
I believe that’s one reason why the Occupy Wall Street protests have struck such a nerve.
The far right and its media mouthpieces have worked themselves into a frenzy trying to disregard, dismiss or discredit the demonstrations.
Thus far, fortunately, all this effort has been to no avail.
The right maintains that inequality is the wrong measure.
To argue about how the income pie should be sliced is “class warfare,” and what we should do instead is give the private sector the right incentives to make the pie bigger.
This way, according to conservative doctrine, everyone’s slice gets bigger — even if some slices grow faster than others.
Wealthy individuals and corporations have disproportionate influence over public policy because of the often decisive role that money plays in elections.
If the rich and powerful act in their self-interest, as conservative ideologues believe we all should do, then the rich and powerful’s share of income will continue to soar.
Second, and more broadly, the real issue is what kind of nation we want to be. The more we become a nation of rich and poor, the less we can pretend to be offering the same opportunities to every American.
As polarization increases, mobility declines.
The whole point of the American Dream is that it is available to everyone, not just those who awaken from their slumbers on down-filled pillows and 800-thread-count sheets.
So it does matter that as the pie grows, the various slices do not grow in proportion. We’re not characters in one of those lumbering, interminable, nonsensical Ayn Rand novels.
We believe in individual initiative and the free market, but we also believe that nationhood necessarily involves a commitment to our fellow citizens, an acknowledgement that we’re engaged in a common enterprise. We believe that opportunity should be more than just an empty word.
http://www.registerguard.com/web/op...-percent-believe-redistribution-rich.html.csp
This is not what Republicans want you to think of when you hear the word redistribution.
You’re supposed to imagine the evil masterminds as Bolsheviks, not bankers.
You’re supposed to envision the lazy free-riders who benefit from redistribution as the “poor,” and the industrious job-creators who get robbed as the “wealthy” — not the other way around.
If Americans were to realize they’ve been the victims of Republican-style redistribution — stealing from the poor to give to the rich — the whole political atmosphere might change.
I believe that’s one reason why the Occupy Wall Street protests have struck such a nerve.
The far right and its media mouthpieces have worked themselves into a frenzy trying to disregard, dismiss or discredit the demonstrations.
Thus far, fortunately, all this effort has been to no avail.
The right maintains that inequality is the wrong measure.
To argue about how the income pie should be sliced is “class warfare,” and what we should do instead is give the private sector the right incentives to make the pie bigger.
This way, according to conservative doctrine, everyone’s slice gets bigger — even if some slices grow faster than others.
Wealthy individuals and corporations have disproportionate influence over public policy because of the often decisive role that money plays in elections.
If the rich and powerful act in their self-interest, as conservative ideologues believe we all should do, then the rich and powerful’s share of income will continue to soar.
Second, and more broadly, the real issue is what kind of nation we want to be. The more we become a nation of rich and poor, the less we can pretend to be offering the same opportunities to every American.
As polarization increases, mobility declines.
The whole point of the American Dream is that it is available to everyone, not just those who awaken from their slumbers on down-filled pillows and 800-thread-count sheets.
So it does matter that as the pie grows, the various slices do not grow in proportion. We’re not characters in one of those lumbering, interminable, nonsensical Ayn Rand novels.
We believe in individual initiative and the free market, but we also believe that nationhood necessarily involves a commitment to our fellow citizens, an acknowledgement that we’re engaged in a common enterprise. We believe that opportunity should be more than just an empty word.
http://www.registerguard.com/web/op...-percent-believe-redistribution-rich.html.csp