Wealth vs. hard work - what's REALLY important in America
redstar at daily kos articulates very well what i have long known but have not expressed nearly as well...
and the problem with all that is...?
unfortunately, wealth never has bought "access to our Democracy..." what it has bought and continues to buy is privilege, power, and exemption from the rules... up until not too long ago, there was an implied social contract that provided at least a floor to the toiling masses but that has been eroding since reagan and is being quickly destroyed under the social darwinism that has prevailed since bush's ascent to power... Submit To Propeller
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Don't think we in the US value accumulated wealth over labor? Look at the tax code. Labor is taxed at marginal rates of over 40% for most middle class citizens (both sides of FICA/Medicare + typical marginal income tax rate middle income folks end up at). But the incomes of wealthy people with competent tax advisors are taxed at far lower rates: Long term capital gains are taxed at 18-20%, while dividend income at taxed at 15%. This is how it pays to be rich, relatively speaking, and how we value Capital over labor. The problem is not money, the problem is wealth which generates unreasonable and tax-advantaged rents, while labor is held hostage to the whims of shareholder value, under constant assault, on worker's rights to organize and stay organized, on a decent and living wage, on workplace safety. And what we do make is taxed at a higher rate than our shareholder bosses.
and the problem with all that is...?
What people have a problem with is a society which values the whims of accumulated Capital over an honest day's hard work. A society which incents us to seek rent rather than bear down and get something done. And above all, in a country where equality and justice for all is a value we all claim to hold dear, we rue what we really see: a society which promotes the use of the wealth one has amassed to buy access to our Democracy, to be slightly or significantly "more equal" than our fellow citizens based on how much dough we've rolled up into our firms or our investments. The notion of "fair share" has been lost, as has the notion of "fair access": that's what we have a problem with.
unfortunately, wealth never has bought "access to our Democracy..." what it has bought and continues to buy is privilege, power, and exemption from the rules... up until not too long ago, there was an implied social contract that provided at least a floor to the toiling masses but that has been eroding since reagan and is being quickly destroyed under the social darwinism that has prevailed since bush's ascent to power... Submit To Propeller
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posted by profmarcus at
6/17/2006
