ltte...
My partner, a Vietnam Vet, good citizen and wonderful man, was beside himself a few days ago when all the pundits were spouting the need for the 47% to have skin in the game... he hastily put this letter to the editor together... (we are not unfamiliar with friends, family and neighbors that some put in that 47% and we live in solidarity with them) My partner lamented that he rushed the letter off without having me edit it for him... but upon reading it, I assured him that the sentiment was evident... 
"Skin in the Game.....
...I am discouraged to think that any reasoned citizen would think less affluent Americans do not have “skin in the game.” ...
We pay a higher percentage of our income in taxes than many well to do individuals. People who are overworked and under paid contribute “skin” in ways politicians and the well to do never will. A few tax dollars sent to the IRS are nothing compared to the sacrifice of a family that loses a relative to traumatic brain injury or death in defense of the financial interests of a billionaire or a politician’s ability to produce effective and reasoned public policy.
The less affluent, nearly exclusively, contribute real “skin” when they pull a family from a burning building as a fireman does, insert themselves between innocent and vulnerable citizens and the murderous criminals that would harm them as police do, labor in miserable conditions to grow and harvest our food and construct our infrastructure so the least and the most fortunate among us is feed, clothed and housed. The 47% represent 99.9% of all the maimed and killed in the wars which are manipulated by the influential and politically connected and who contribute no “skin” (or offspring) to secure the freedom of this country.
Shame on you. We are fully vested in this experiment of self governing and the life blood we spill each day for this country far exceeds any dollar amount you can imagine we need to contribute so you will accept us as having “skin in the game.....”
= new reply since forum marked as read
He really did hit it out of the park.