On Friday, I wrote a plea for a return to some sense of sanity regarding tax policy.
Today, Robert Reich wrote:
"Here's the truth: The only way America can reduce the long-term budget deficit, maintain vital services, protect Social Security and Medicare, invest more in education and infrastructure, and not raise taxes on the working middle class is by raising taxes on the super rich.
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| Source - The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities - CBPP |
Even if we got rid of corporate welfare subsidies for big oil, big agriculture, and big Pharma -- even if we cut back on our bloated defense budget -- it wouldn't be nearly enough.
The vast majority of Americans can't afford to pay more. Despite an economy that's twice as large as it was thirty years ago, the bottom 90 percent are still stuck in the mud. If they're employed they're earning on average only about $280 more a year than thirty years ago, adjusted for inflation. That's less than a 1 percent gain over more than a third of a century. (Families are doing somewhat better but that's only because so many families now have to rely on two incomes.)"
We are quickly running out of time to right our course. The proof of the deepening plutocracy which drives our monetary policy is revealed in the hard numbers showing a majority of Americans were opposed to the extension of the "W Tax Cuts" for the hyper-wealthy. Tomorrow, it appears Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) is going to double down on this madness. This is because they don't care what the people think.
Our window of opportunity is closing.
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