I've stood by for several weeks observing the political plays that have been occurring in DC. I've been idle for the most part. Accepting that Republicans and especially the Tea Party are willing to risk anything and everything, to not let legislature pass that may in the slightest of ways give President Obama and more importantly, this country, the slightest of victory. In their opinion, if this country fails, then Obama fails. This is an acceptable risk. Most Americans have come to this realizations and as a result the predominately Republican House of Congress has the lowest approval rating in history, 10%. I've been mostly silent during the debates on how to decrease the deficit and how to create jobs. Republicans are stuck believing that America is on the right track. The president did some math and finally said what everyone has been thinking for the past two years; we need to end these tax breaks and increase the taxes rates on the wealthy. At the very least they need to meet or match the other tax brackets. There are far too many loopholes that can be exploited by the wealthy, and they often are.
Where am I going with this? A few days ago Republicans and Fox News started accusing President Obama of trying to wage class warfare with his million dollar tax plans. People like Paul Ryan are saying it is bad for the economy to raise the taxes on those making over a million dollars a year. "Why burden the job creators?" They ask. There is a reason Obama is calling this the "Buffett Tax Rule". Jimmy Buffett has openly admitted that his secretary pays more in taxes than he does. And he knows that isn't fair or right. It's been reported that over 7,000 millionaires did not pay any taxes last year. Obviously there is something wrong here! Recent polls suggest 63% of Americans believe taxes need to be raised on corporations and the rich. So the rich are worried about having to pay their share of taxes and claim this is class warfare. Poor choice of words. This rubs me the wrong way.
Class warfare is what we have been watching for decades. The lower and middle classes in this country have been under attack for a very long time. No one likes to point it out though. This country is constantly run by people who care about keeping the wealthiest people rich and the poorest people poor. And when it comes right down to it, this country has focused on keeping minorities poor. I feel like every time anything passes in Washington it has the richest peoples interest at heart. As a country we don't have a problem sweeping the poor under our rugs, but not before taking every cent of theirs we can.
Minorities in this country are less likely to get a decent education, job, housing, or even a fair trial. As a child I thought things like "No Child Left Behind" was a great idea. "Hey we all get the same tests and if we do good our school get's more new computers next year". At least that's how we explained it to kids. But does that really make sense? How in the world did anyone spin the argument that we should give more funding to schools that have better test scores. Because that will hold teachers accountable. Really? I know far too many teachers to know that no matter how or what they teach there are far too many variables to hold teachers accountable for these test scores. By granting more funding to schools with better grades we are simply increasing the gap between the poor schools in rough neighborhoods and the wealthy schools in great neighborhoods. That's like saying, "Hey, you are a cop in Cary NC. There is hardly any crime in Cary! Congrats. That must mean you are doing a great job. Here's your raise this year! Well hey there cop in Durham. Looks like there's still lots of crime in Durham, so ... expect to make less money next year. Sorry. But we need to pour more money into this other department that has a pretty cake job!" If something is struggling you don't pull the resources from it, you have to actually give it more resources. What's the outcome of this? Something similar to the 178 teachers in 44 Atlanta schools that felt so threatened by their principals with pressure to produce scores for funding that they cheated on tests and changed answers for students.
I know this is just one small example, but there are just so many out there. Class warfare. How about that the country has privatized prison systems. That's right. There are prisons that are basically corporations that get funding per person being locked up. So now what happens? We go around locking up more and more people for lesser and lesser crimes so the prisons can meet their quotas. Do I think the prison system needs to drain tax money, of course not. But a prison should not be focused on being a "for profit business". I'm almost certain they should be used to rehabilitate criminals and deter the masses from wanting to be locked up. Fromer Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party and CCA founder Thomas Beasley compared locking up human beings to selling cars, real estate, or hamburgers. Even if you are erroneously locked up and freed these corporations still earn money for your arrest and detention. This increases false imprisonments for profit. This is a 5 Billion Dollars a year business and states that have privatized prisons have a much higher arrest rate for petty crimes, especially amongst minorities, most of which have been proven to be false.
So the president wants the rich to pay their fair share in taxes... that's class warfare. You accuse the president of appealing to Americans fear, envy, and anxiety. The words fear, envy, and anxiety mean different things to these "high class" politicians and the middle and lower class American Citizens. All those words translate to "money" for politicians. For the poor in this country they are every day emotions they face when they wake up and are bussed to schools that are under funded, locked up for crimes that are insignificant, just to be profited from, they are discriminated against in the media and in every branch of our government. For decades this country has passed legislation with one simple goal. To keep the rich comfortable and to keep the poor struggling. The trickle down effect if you will. We can make all the money we want and the change will find its way down to the common folk. Class warfare is nothing new in this nation. But before you accuse the president take a look at history.
Corporate-ocrasy, what a hypocrisy!
No comments:
Post a Comment