Class Warfare

Well, the Republicans ought to know class warfare when they see it since they have been waging it against the middle class and the lower class for the last thirty years. Whatever "spin doctor" came up with the present "response" to Obama's tax speech must be an idiot.

Why should 5% of Americans possess the majority of wealth in America? Well, I suppose the practical answer is that they have been aggressive enough and sufficiently well positioned so that they could --- and did.

Why should 5% of Americans --- our wealthiest citizens --- pay taxes at a lower rate than most of the other 95%? Well, the practical answer is that they own the government and possess a Congress that is unwilling to raise their taxes under any circumstances.

Whether or not the first question has a moral answer is, I suppose, debatable. It depends upon what social justice means to you and it also depends upon what being in a community or commonwealth means to you.

But the second question has a much stronger moral and political dimension to it. Taxation is based on the idea that everyone should pay their fair share to keep government functioning. In spite of what the most wealthy would like to tell us, you do not get wealthy completely on your own. The level of support for wealth-production in this country is phenomenal. In fact, the government is possessed by developing and deploying means for supporting business, investment, etc. If you really look into it, the most wealthy people owe an enormous debt to government and should be paying this back in taxes.