*from the Elizabeth Warren Campaign
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One of the most interesting pieces of information that I’ve seen in the
last few weeks comes from a recent study done by University of
California economist Emmanuel Saez. This study, based on an analysis of
American tax returns, showed that in 2010, 93 percent of all new income
growth went to the top one percent of American households. Everyone
else, the bottom ninety-nine percent, divided up the remaining seven
percent.In other words, the outrageous income and wealth inequality in America continues to get worse. Almost all new income is going to the wealthiest people in our country, the people who need it the least, while the middle class continues to collapse and tens of millions of Americans struggle daily just to put food on the table, fill up their gas tanks to get to work and pay for their housing. We have not seen this level of greed from the people on top in the last hundred years.
(from Sen. Bernie Sanders, Independent, VT, in recent campaign email)
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So, a Democratic Senate and WH can't figure out how to pass the Buffett Rule b/c of the all-powerful Republican filibuster. Geez. Maybe it's time to change the Senate rules and make the filibusterers (filibustees?) read from the phone book--at least then, Senators would have to own their obstruction (and when it's a Democrat, it'll be b/c they're standing up for a minority position. j/k) Besides, it's great theater (my second favorite West Wing episode "The Stackhouse Filibuster" is worth tracking down if you haven't seen it in a while).
Yes, I know the money raised by the increase in taxes for the wealthy on their own wouldn't eliminate the deficit, but don' you think it's at least a step in the right direction? And go ahead and allow the Bush tax cuts to expire at the end of this year (which should be the easiest thing for this Congress to do--do nothing and the cuts go away automatically) and now you're talking real money. And we didn't even have to ask the custodian at the local school to pay for subsidies to Big Oil.
You want to know what surprises me the most in this debate? Not that Republicans (and maybe some Democrats) vote against the best interest of the overwhelming majority of Americans--we've seen that for years. Many/most of our "elected" politicians are in the pocket of Big Business--and that's not an earth-shattering announcement (Citizens United makes our government more of a plutocracy than it's ever been).
No, what I find most surprising is the number of middle class folks--maybe even someone reading this post--who support the Republican position on the Buffett Rule. And the most impressive thing about the Republican party, esp over the last 30 years or so, has been their ability to craft narratives that smart, educated people buy into--so much so, that these folks are willing to vote against their own best self-interest. Masterful.
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(from Paul Krugman's blog at NYT: April 10, 2012)
To take the really big example: on current law, the whole of the Bush tax cuts will expire at the end of this year. If that’s your baseline, then plans like the Ryan budget, which not only maintains those tax cuts but adds another $4.6 trillion to the pot, are wildly deficit-increasing — in fact, the Ryan plan would be a huge budget-buster even if hell freezes over and his secret loophole-closers turn out to be real.
And yet, smart, educated people will support Mitt Romney, who has stated he supports the Ryan Plan, and believe they're making a better fiscal choice. Again, facts be damned.
Saw that study. Break it down a little further and notice the 37% goes to the top .01% and 56% goes to the next .09%. Unfortunately, the 'Buffett Rule' just allows the .01% to force wealth out of the .09% (Along with many in the middle class). The .01% don't take most of their earnings in a taxable way. The 'Buffett Rule' really helps the richest of the rich, like Warren Buffett. That's why he supports it.
ReplyDeleteright, so he can pass more of his wealth on to his heirs . . . oh, wait a minute, he doesn't believe the wealthy should be able to do that (how much revenue is lost to the dying death/estate tax? Don't let perfect be the enemy of good . . . )
ReplyDeleteWe can parse the finer points but if the R's were truly concerned about the middle class they could have negotiated to close loopholes or weaknesses in the legislation--but they didn't. I know, shocking. We both know that this legislation, whether we take an even bigger hammer to billionaires or not was not going to pass the R's. So, to suggest that was the problem w/ the legislation misses the point.
Now, like the Affordable Care Act, we can bang on the Dems for not being good negotiators (are they really that bad or are they OK w/ losing--"wink, wink, we tried") b/c the mandates will kick more $ to an industry that I'm not sure we even need (most progressives wanted single payer). We didn't get Medicare for all, but it doesn't mean that the legislation doesn't help improve the lives of millions of Americans. Is it perfect? Far from it, but if we keep waiting for that magic elixir (or the R's to actually support anything, anything at all that helps most families in this country) nothing, nothing will ever get done. The idealist in me wants the Dems to hold out but what happens in the meantime?
So, is the Buffett Rule perfect? nope--but wouldn't it be a step in the right direction? Or, are we going to be held hostage again by Grover Norquist? We got our answer last night.
If we could only get more folks to vote . . .
Ok, so we're ignoring 99% of the problem; the spending. Got it. Let's go to work on the rest of it.
ReplyDeleteLet's just say we hit the top wage earners with bigger taxes and they don't just pass them that right on through their companies with lower salaries for their middle class workers and higher prices for their middle class and poor customers. It would be a first, but let's just assume they'll give up part of their wealth because, dawg gone, it's the right thing to do.
The middle class still gets destroyed by inflation. Inflation is the most oppressive tax there is. It steals from the bottom and funnels the wealth right to the very top income bracket. Everytime they put more currency in the system, we need more of it to chase the same goods and services. Been to the grocery lately? The R's were horrible about stealing from the poor and middle class this way. The D's have been worse. And the worst is yet to come.
A step in the right direction of 10,000 mile walk.
(Why is no one else butting into our exchanges? Is it me?)
we've been hearing for years about the threat of inflation--it's become the boogey-man of policy--we have to throw out Medicare b/c inflation is going to wreck us! We have to use these tax breaks to stimulate the economy or inflation is going to crush us!
ReplyDeleteAnd it doesn't happen. I've seen what happens w/ the tax cuts, the austerity, and the whole deal--and what happens doesn't require a leap of faith or projection b/c it's the reality of the last 10 years (actually, the last 30). Democrats and Republicans alike "have kicked the can down the road" b/c neither are willing to make hard choices.
right here is where the supply-siders say, yeah, we need to cut spending. But that's not it--we need to increase demand and give people the means to purchase more of our own goods here at home. Oddly, the last President who had courage to raise taxes meaningfully was Reagan--since then, Clinton and Obama, fearful of how they might be portrayed or b/c they were in the pocket of big business, have worked from the same flawed R playbook, cutting taxes instead of raising revenue.
It's kinda how Kasich is working here in Ohio--it's a big fat yard sale. So, for a year or two our books will look good--that is, until we have replace what we sold off.
(people are reading but they haven't decided to write yet)
Oooo.....Looks like you have a nasty case of 'normalcy bias'. You need to kick that reality check back to 1913, when they slipped the Federal Reserve into existance over the Christmas Holiday. Merry Christmas everyone, and they've 95% of the purchasing power of the dollar since.
ReplyDeleteIt's been so slow it hasn't bothered you. That all changed in 2008. TARP, QE1,QE2, and of course Operation Twist have come to life. These are a new breed of currency creation and we're just starting to feel their effects. Been to the gas pump lately?
It's not the R's playbook, it's the bankers playbook. The R's and the D's dutifully follow it, because they are both owned by the banksters. All that liquidity keeps us from noticing that they are stealing our purchasing power. Kasich steals it from the supply side and Obama steals it from the demand side.
Go buy some silver coins and fight back!
I am truly glad you're here, Brian--always appreciate your perspective.
ReplyDelete