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Surprise! The People Speak
The general public doesn't want to balance the federal budget by putting Social Security on the chopping block.
Nov 01, 2010
Michael Duke is the Big Wally of Walmart. As CEO of the low-wage
behemoth, he siphons some $19 million a year in personal pay from the
global retailer.
How much is $19 million? Let's break it down in terms that Duke's own
workforce can appreciate. While Big Wally's workers average about $9.50
an hour, Duke's pay comes to about $9,500 an hour. He pockets as much
in two hours as Walmart workers make in a whole year!
But WalMart doesn't give a damn about such gross pay gaps between
privileged elites and the rest of us. As a spokesman scoffed, "I don't
think Mike Duke...needs me to defend his compensation package."
Really? If not you, who?
Those who think that the hoi polloi don't notice or care
about America's growing income disparity, should take a peek at a recent
opinion survey run by the right-wing, corporate-funded Peter G.
Peterson Foundation. This outfit intended to show that the general
public backs the tea party's agenda of slashing government spending,
which includes balancing the federal budget by putting Social Security
and Medicare on the chopping block.
But--whoops-a daisy--the survey of thousands of Americans went badly
wrong for the Peterson ideologues. Far from wanting to gut Social
Security payments, 85 percent of those interviewed favored extending the
program. They want the rich to pay a tax on their whole salary which
goes into the fund, like all the rest of us.
And--hey, Mike--this one's for you: nearly six out of 10 of the folks
involved in the foundation's "America Speaks" survey want a new, higher
tax bracket to make millionaires pay their fair share of providing for
the common good.
The foundation tried to bury these surprisingly progressive results, but didn't succeed. You can read a good analysis of them at the Center for Economic Policy and Research: www.cepr.net.
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Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
This column was distributed by OtherWords.
Jim Hightower
Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author of the books "Swim Against The Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow" (2008) and "There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos: A Work of Political Subversion" (1998). Hightower has spent three decades battling the Powers That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought To Be - consumers, working families, environmentalists, small businesses, and just-plain-folks.
Michael Duke is the Big Wally of Walmart. As CEO of the low-wage
behemoth, he siphons some $19 million a year in personal pay from the
global retailer.
How much is $19 million? Let's break it down in terms that Duke's own
workforce can appreciate. While Big Wally's workers average about $9.50
an hour, Duke's pay comes to about $9,500 an hour. He pockets as much
in two hours as Walmart workers make in a whole year!
But WalMart doesn't give a damn about such gross pay gaps between
privileged elites and the rest of us. As a spokesman scoffed, "I don't
think Mike Duke...needs me to defend his compensation package."
Really? If not you, who?
Those who think that the hoi polloi don't notice or care
about America's growing income disparity, should take a peek at a recent
opinion survey run by the right-wing, corporate-funded Peter G.
Peterson Foundation. This outfit intended to show that the general
public backs the tea party's agenda of slashing government spending,
which includes balancing the federal budget by putting Social Security
and Medicare on the chopping block.
But--whoops-a daisy--the survey of thousands of Americans went badly
wrong for the Peterson ideologues. Far from wanting to gut Social
Security payments, 85 percent of those interviewed favored extending the
program. They want the rich to pay a tax on their whole salary which
goes into the fund, like all the rest of us.
And--hey, Mike--this one's for you: nearly six out of 10 of the folks
involved in the foundation's "America Speaks" survey want a new, higher
tax bracket to make millionaires pay their fair share of providing for
the common good.
The foundation tried to bury these surprisingly progressive results, but didn't succeed. You can read a good analysis of them at the Center for Economic Policy and Research: www.cepr.net.
Jim Hightower
Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author of the books "Swim Against The Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow" (2008) and "There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos: A Work of Political Subversion" (1998). Hightower has spent three decades battling the Powers That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought To Be - consumers, working families, environmentalists, small businesses, and just-plain-folks.
Michael Duke is the Big Wally of Walmart. As CEO of the low-wage
behemoth, he siphons some $19 million a year in personal pay from the
global retailer.
How much is $19 million? Let's break it down in terms that Duke's own
workforce can appreciate. While Big Wally's workers average about $9.50
an hour, Duke's pay comes to about $9,500 an hour. He pockets as much
in two hours as Walmart workers make in a whole year!
But WalMart doesn't give a damn about such gross pay gaps between
privileged elites and the rest of us. As a spokesman scoffed, "I don't
think Mike Duke...needs me to defend his compensation package."
Really? If not you, who?
Those who think that the hoi polloi don't notice or care
about America's growing income disparity, should take a peek at a recent
opinion survey run by the right-wing, corporate-funded Peter G.
Peterson Foundation. This outfit intended to show that the general
public backs the tea party's agenda of slashing government spending,
which includes balancing the federal budget by putting Social Security
and Medicare on the chopping block.
But--whoops-a daisy--the survey of thousands of Americans went badly
wrong for the Peterson ideologues. Far from wanting to gut Social
Security payments, 85 percent of those interviewed favored extending the
program. They want the rich to pay a tax on their whole salary which
goes into the fund, like all the rest of us.
And--hey, Mike--this one's for you: nearly six out of 10 of the folks
involved in the foundation's "America Speaks" survey want a new, higher
tax bracket to make millionaires pay their fair share of providing for
the common good.
The foundation tried to bury these surprisingly progressive results, but didn't succeed. You can read a good analysis of them at the Center for Economic Policy and Research: www.cepr.net.
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