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Republicans Cry “Class Warfare” When They’re Winning the War
Whenever Republicans are at risk of not getting their way for their millionaire constituents, they cry “class warfare.”
So it was that House Minority Whip Eric Cantor just whipped out the old accusation again in the Wall Street Journal, blaming the Democrats and “the progressive left” for “provocative class warfare rhetoric.”
What Cantor doesn’t like is the rhetoric.
But he’s content with the class warfare, because his class keeps winning, battle after battle, war after war.
Look how much ground the richest of the rich have gained from the Bush tax cuts, which the Republicans are so intent on keeping for this cohort. The top 0.1 percent of Americans gained more than $2,326,607 a piece, whereas people making between thirty and forty thousand gained only $7,040, according to a great chart in Sunday’s New York Times Week in Review.
“Over the past three decades, income inequality has grown dramatically,” notes a recent report by the Joint Economic Committee of Congress.
“After remaining relatively constant for much of the post-war era, the share of total income accrued by the wealthiest 10 percent of households jumped from 34.6 percent in 1980 to 48.2 percent in 2008.1 Much of the spike was driven by the share of total income accrued by the richest 1 percent of households. Between 1980 and 2008, their share rose from 10.0 percent to 21.0 percent, making the United States as one of the most unequal countries in the world.”
Over the last decade, most Americans have been losing ground, with real wages stagnating and household incomes falling.
“Real median income for working-age households is now $4,925 below its peak in the year 2000,” according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Right now, they are desperate for tax cuts, and those tax cuts would inject a lot of money into the economy.
Whereas, the top 0.1 percent aren’t desperate for tax cuts; they’re just greedy.
But in our economy, and in our political system, it’s the richest and the greediest who win the class war, no matter what you call it.
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75 Comments so far
Show Alldems in DC are with / in the top 5%.
and they lie about it.
There are dems and republicans doing the greed dance. This is not about partisanship, this is about humanity. When people have more than they need and they hoard, they are mentally and spiritually ill, and they are hurting those around them. It's narcissism, sociopathy, whatever you want to call it.
I have to say...your post is a divisive troll post. Get over the partisan BS and get with your humanity.
I am so sick of this polarized nonsense being promulgated by media hacks. Both parties are rife with corruption, greed, power mongering, and blood lust.
Most Americans have been brainwashed to fear the terms "class warfare" and "conspiracy theory" to the point that if somebody wants to shut you up all they need to do is utter one of those phrases and you will feel like you are already half way to being convicted of treason and of being a heretic.
Considering that 98% of Americans have continued to undermine their own interests by voting for dems and repugs for more than a decade, it is safe to say that the elites won the class war around the end of the 20th century.
For sure.
If you believe that Al-Qaeda exists, you are a conspiracy theorist. If you believe that the NSA spies on Americans, you are a conspiracy theorist. If you believe that the US government was involved with cocaine smuggling in the 1980's, you are a conspiracy theorist. If you believe that the CIA gave LSD to thousands of American citizens without their consent in the 1950's and 1960's, you are a conspiracy theorist.
But the term seems to carry a profound amount of misplaced emotion.
Likewise class warfare. In simple fact, any time the rich propose a legal or social change making life more difficult for the poor, this is an act of class war. Much of the history of American politics is the history of class war in America. In the thirties, and at other times, the upper class even had private armies.
To say America experiences class war, and suffers from criminal conspiracies among the wealthy, ought to be no more arguable than saying the ocean contains water, or that mountains are typically higher elevation than valleys.
JFK and E.O. (Executive Order) 11110: http://www.john-f-kennedy.net/thefederalreserve.htm
Human experimentation in the United States: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_experimentation_in_the_United_States
Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth: http://www.ae911truth.org/en/home.html
The only conspiracies are the one's the Governments and Monarchs pull off right in front of our faces.
The list of crap goes beyond what can be written in this comment. You will find some of the truth when digging into the three main city states that govern much of the world. Washington D.C., The City of London Corporation and the Vatican. All three have an Egyptian obelisk. These goons have been running a muck for at least a few thousand years.
What's worse than having and hording too much - either inherited or earned - is using that money to destroy anyone else' chances, increasing their own power and wealth. The wealthiest among us make all the rules and have all the power. It's built into our system. The Supreme Court has recently given that idea its blessing.
Since it's not in vast sums of money, where does our power lie? We'd better find out soon because the longer we wait the worse it will get.
Am I the only person who makes a good salary that thinks I should pay more taxes?
Dizi:
No you're not alone! I'm not rich, but I should probably be paying more taxes.
Jim Shea
In my previously life I did make pretty good money. I was literally shocked when I reached the Social Security max and they stopped taking SS contributions out of my pay. Seriously, WTF? The few extra dollars I would have continued to put into SS wouldn't effect me much and it would help the solvency of the plan.
By the way in my current life I will never again have to worry about hitting the SS max again... :-(
While I still agree with the republicans and most serious economists on this, you simply don't raise taxes in the middle of a recession...Oops, forgot, some hack outfit says its been over for more than a year!, I see no reason not to uncap SS taxes right away.
And as soon as we are really back on our feet, if anyone objects to raisng taxes 4% on the top bracket and 3% on the next down, up theirs. Why not 8 and 6 for that matter.
Yes, its very hypocritical of the Gov. to tell us the recession ended 15 months ago, shortly before Obama established his deficit reduction commission (more commonly called the catfood commission) to gut social security and Medicare.
True. But think of it this way...if they hadn't kindly informed us, we would have gone on thinking that 10% official unemployment rate, our economy in shambles and big business still unshackled, housing prices in the toliet and 44 million in poverty and states and cities facing bankruptcy was a recession rather than boom times and a wonderful economy.
We should send a thank you card!
mightymite, I'm puzzled. You don't want to raise income taxes on the rich by 4% at the moment, but you'd like to raise their taxes by a similar amount by uncapping SS. Depending on the situation, some rich (but not all) would pay even more on SS than they would have on the rise in income taxes.
Raising income taxes on ANYONE in the middle of a recession is proven factually to be about as stupid as anyone can get. Tax revenue goes down, like it or not, it factually goes down.
Social Security taxes are not the same as Income Tax and will not, would not be viewed the same way. Actually I think its about 6.2% rather than 4%.
Uncapping Social Security taxes and assuring they will not be spent for any other purpose would sail thru Congress and meet with little resistence from the "rich" in my opinion.
Consider it this way...wee will extend the Bush Tax Cuts for two years but we will uncap SS taxes. Who votes against that?
The facts are quite plain. History shows exactly that. Consider this...republicans are right twice a century...this is one of them.
History shows that raising taxes on the poor, middle class and lower upper class in recessionary times is a mistake.
Thanks Greg for saying it best and balanced too. I shall keep that quote in mind.
Going to war without raising taxes is even stupider. And we're not going to raise taxes, we're going to let a temporary tax decrease expire, because it wouldn't have gotten passed if it were permanent. And after all these years of trickle down voodoo economics, isn't it about time for us to admit it doesn't work.
Not true...supply siders keep insisting this the case but it is NOT true.
Revenues went UP during the recessions of the early 80s even though Reagan In fact raised taxes and they went UP after Clinton raised taxes when he took over from the Bush recession.
While Reagan did not raises taxes directly he passed bills in 82 and 84 (recession times) that were the equivalent of higher taxes as they closed a number of loopholes and subjected prviously untaxed assets to taxes.
Furthermore raising taxes in other Countries during recessions has NOT always decreased tax revenues. The important thing is what those taxes are used for. So as example if you raise taxes on the very wealthy and use those revenues to build local small scale projects that put people to work you will generate more revenues.
If you use those taxes to pay off Investors in China and at Goldman Sachs you will not see revenues go up.
It is not the TAXES that kill the economy , it is how the tax revenues spent. Tax money used to educate a new generation of children or invested in health care or on infrastructure even DURING a recession will ultimately see more tax revenues.
If the increased tax revenues are just to be used to "Balance a budget" there will be little positive impact on Tax revenues.
That all said it should be obvious that said tax increases can only target a certain group and that the people with a surplus of wealth and revenue.
No, Dizi...I would gladly pay more taxes....I believe in the American system of supporting "we the people" with taxation of ALL its working citizens--and non-working millionaires and billionaires. After all, without the bounty that is America, they wouldn't have that much money, now, would they? However, I have been out of work since January of 2009, so have just been paying taxes on my unemployment. I would LOVE to have a job to pay more taxes on. I believe in sharing the wealth AND the burden. After all, isn't that what made America great? (well, maybe not now....)
Well Mr. Cantor is correct. One could really not define the politics of present day America as class warfare. The war is long over. Oh sure, there is the odd skirmish here and there...someone might have the audacity to suggest that mayhaps a few bucks could be diverted from corporate welfare to building a school or feed a few starving kids so a coin is tossed (somewhere by someone) which decides whether a republican oligarch or a democratic plutocrat will brand it as 'class warfare!' denounce it and demonize it until the autocrats behind the curtain make the whole damned thing disappear.
DIZI send your Tax contributions directly to me and bypass the fat bureaucrats! :)
The U.S. public is in no way unique. They're just not fully accustomed (yet) to being treated like all the rest of the world's victims of imperial aims and methodologies. For that matter, the enactors of U.S. governance aren't really unique either. They're just commonly misperceived as the imperial source rather than, more correctly, as the paid henchmen of local oligarchies.
In fact, so-called "class warfare" is really nothing more than a reflection of global governance and an inevitable corollary of its current economic underpinnings. If you would truly understand it, it is necessary to understand those underpinnings in a global "financialization" and historical context.
Most of CD's selected "editorials" tend to be quite superficial, especially around election times. However, Michael Hudson has recently provided a fairly straightforward explanation to the Economic Advisors to the President of Brazil (CDES) Conference in Brasilia:
http://michael-hudson.com/2010/09/how-brazil-can-defend-against-financialization/
"Today, financial maneuvering and debt leverage play the role that military conquest did in times past. Its aim is still to control land, basic infrastructure and the economic surplus – and also to gain control of national savings, commercial banking and central bank policy."
There are however countries in the world doing better in terms of overall welfare than the US. I read a report that the US now ranks #10 or #11 (#1 = best). I think Finland was #1. The other Scandavian countries ranked high too, as did New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the UK.
The US can do better for its citizens. But the people have to support the concept of working to better the entire nation, not just their own personal bottom line and to Hell with everyone else. We seem to be going in the wrong direction. My 2 cents.
billyboy,
Just heard Rush on the car radio, and apparently your second paragraph is incorrect: As a matter of fact, just taking care of yourself is the BEST thing you can do! It is NOT selfish. Taking good care of yourself and your own family has its effects.
I wonder if it's about trickling down?
:) Have a nice day.
There was a time when the primary seat of empire provided certain advantages to its ordinary citizens. Globalized fiancial empire, however, even to the extent that it can be said to have a primary seat, no longer works that way. In fact, the only significant remaining implications arise in terms of the production and manning of its advanced weaponry.
I suppose one can be grateful that the producers and bearers of the adavanced tools of imperial power enforcement do generally enjoy a lower rate of extermination than its targets. But even that questionable benefit is being "privatized" quite rapidly.
RV, while many ancient Empires overtly ran on the promise of the "spoils of war" for their commoner cannon fodder, and even 19th and 20th century Empires (eg. British, French, Nazi, Japanese, up to Soviet Empires) promised nationalist benefits to their naive citizens, the current and uniquely 21st century Global corporate/financial/political/militarist EMPIRE which hides behind the facade of its two-party Vichy sham of phony democracy is the world's first truly global corporate Empire in which all benefits accrue only to private and elite (ie rich) 'corporate citizens' --- rather than promising any benefits to any traditional country citizens.
The US masses seem to be about the most naive and gullible citizens on earth regarding ignorance of this change in Empire promise (or more accurately, Empire lies), and do not generally understand the immutable truth of Hannah Arendt that all Empires (including this latest and most guileful global corporate Empire) that "Empire abroad (always) entails tyranny at home".
The US masses are now beginning to experience the 'tip of spear' of this new style 21st century global Corporate/Elite Empire --- and yet they still hold some inane faith and naivete that the US, which is the nominal head-quarters of the new global corporate Empire (including junior members UK, Israel, etc) will protect and provide benefits to the general population.
As the economic,political, and ultimately legal disenfranchaisement of these insanely ill-informed citizens continues its death-spiral, they may wake-up soon enough to take action ---- or maybe 'not so much'.
Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine
If you are talking about the UNHDI Rankings, the US sits at #13.
Norway, Austraila, Iceland, Canada and Ireland, Netherlnads, Sweden, France, Switzerland, Japan rank 1 to 10 in that order.
But you can't use this argument to any conservative, or even "moderate" USAn you might encounter, becasue of the usual idiotic ideas they hove toward the UN.
RV: Thank you for the post. I'm surprised more people aren't taking in what that final paragraph REALLY means. Powerful stuff... evil is a creative force, to be sure; and always capable of coming up with new ways to abuse the innocent and steal their chances at experiencing a decent quality of life. (Needless to say, this observation crosses all national borders, as well as racial and ethnic lines.)
This is in reference to your earlier post... my comment was placed after the 2nd one, not by my choice.
Any recognition of the full significance is extremely uncomfortable, SR. Probably too much to ask all at once, especially from people who are already reeling from a much belated recognition of their country's true character and role in the global context.
Well said, Bravo!
It's one of the most difficult things in this life to be able to recognize what this country has become.
The ruling social elite won the Class War by persuading working, lower-income individuals to vote _ or, perhaps more importantly, to to embrace an ideology _ against their own economic, material interests.
They're kissing the hand that beats them _ Darwinian neoconservative Capitalism _ and biting the hand that has fed them for a generation _ Liberal, balanced Social Democracy.
The recurring issue at the heart of the matter is what force drives them to do this. I've been contending that it's the Rabid Right's consistent ability to play on their emotions, insecurities, fears and identities to generate intense hatred for the 'other,' a common sense balanced America that now bears the tainted name 'Left,' 'Liberal' or 'Progressive.'
I'm not convinced that we can ever join forces. But I'd surely love to hear any ideas about how to address the situation.
Sure. Just convince your countrymen that (especially in the U.S.) the theatrical political processes are largely diversionary distractions from capitalist economic realities and that any solution must be found in the latter area since the former is utterly barren. Good luck with that.
Basically here and over most of the world we have the super rich (ruling class) and the very wealthy Political Class (politicians) and the rest of us.
The rest of us don't hardly get represented in this class war since we are constantly divided by the psychological war tactics of the Political Class and their owners.
This is over simplified, but too true basically to cover up and ignore much longer like we have been programed by the two classes above us.
"I am so sick of this polarized nonsense being promulgated by media hacks. Both parties are rife with corruption, greed, power mongering, and blood lust."
Well said!
Be bi-partisan...fight organized crime, re-elect no one.
I do not care for this sentiment one bit. Russ Feingold is now trailing in the polls. Go ahead, CDers, pretend we can ever elect anyone significantly better than this man.
You assume that the goal is to elect "better" people. What does that mean?
GREG: Although your default position is that of apologist for the democratic party, what value has Russ Feingold if in the final analysis, he goes along with the crowd? It's been sagaciously suggested in these threads that persons like Kucinich and Feingold present the semblance of decency and concern for citizens. They reflect positions (anti-war, pro single payer health care delivery, etc) that satisfy the "left." Yet they are either ignored, marginalized, or serve the purpose of operating like lighting rods to preserve that faction of betrayed democrats who work and wish for just and humane values. Unfortunately, these progressive representatives manage to retain this ilk of the population, so they become effectively caught in the Democratic Party drift net. As a result a significant faction that might otherwise work to create "other" becomes disabled.
HERE on this site, as a result of well-reasoned opinions, I came to clearly see that it is impossible to deny that both parties now seamlessly serve the same corporate masters. Anything else, within the 2 party system is mere masquerade... and increasingly, that is the metaphor that comes to mind when I think of current American politics.
In a nation where so little is real... heck, how many millions are medicated OUT of their own feelings??? Where food serves as semblance, the "substantial equivalent" of nourishment, where body parts are often fake, where politicians lie, where killing is synonomous with business profits... why expect politics to reflect any genuine form of representation of the public's interests?
A consciousness this sick (and otherwise adulterated) cannot get well using the tools that made it ill in the first place. Paradigm shift has begun.
Thanks SR, I need say nothing.
Siouxrose, sometimes I think the whole world is insane except for me. And sometimes I'm not too sure about myself. Good luck with the paradigm thing.
It happens to all of us dude. If you don't have out of control expectations and are a hard worker, you're a good man and nothing to worry about. If Dennis Kucinich, Bernard Sanders, and Russ Feingold could be bashed even if they're hard left, guess what would happen to Nader.
"If Dennis Kucinich, Bernard Sanders, and Russ Feingold could be bashed even if they're hard left,"
Threy are hardly being bashed. They are simply caught in a sea change election and caught on the wrong side.
Sad to say, we are living in a full-blown Plutocracy and there's no chance that it's going to change.
This information is readily available on the web:
Half of the members of congress as well as the Supreme court are millionaires. Now does that sound like a proportion that will result in a fair and balanced representation of the average citizen?????
Dream on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When our country was founded, 100% of the members of Congress and the Supreme Court were male. 100% were white European. I don't know the stats, but I'd guess that at least 75% of the reps from states south of Pennsylvania were slave-owners. Mostly, they were major landowners and/or wealthy in other respects -- i.e., equivalent to the multi-millionaires of today.
So, clearly, the average citizen might as well have just thrown in the towel right then and there, in 1776. Obviously there was no chance things would ever change for blacks, women, or non-landowners.
Now ask yourself by what is representation made necessary?
The way they suck the average person into becoming sympathetic for low taxes for the wealthy, is that the average person doesn't realize that making over $200,000 puts one in the top 5% of earners. Also, they fail to differentiate between earnings and taxable income. To have $200,000 in taxable income, generally speaking, you have to "earn" significanly more than that.
Please correct me if I'm missing something. But my point is that the Republican party wants Joe The Plumber to think he's one of the threatened "rich" and combatting this misconception needs to be a progressive talking-point.
Although only 1% of the US population pays estate taxes, polls consistently show that 60 to 75% of Americans are against the estate tax. With so many delusional Americans, I have to concur that the class war was won by the 1% about the time Raygun was re-elected in 1984.
Yep!
I believe you are correct. Many people who aren't rich think they are, and I think many more think they will be some day, so they should vote with the interests of the wealthy. They want to be sure they will be able to keep their wealth when they pull themselves up into the top 5% by their bootstraps. I saw a poll of young Americans recently and if I remember correctly, over 50% of them expected to be rich someday. The elite are very skilled at manipulating this belief.
If Mr. Cantor is going to accuse the 'liberals" of waging class warfare, then let's have a real one. Time to re-read some French & Russian history, dust the pitchforks, and sharpen the guillotines!