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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhat They Don’t Want to Talk About
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/opinion/sunday/what-they-dont-want-to-talk-about.html?_r=1What They Dont Want to Talk About
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"Fanning resentment of the poor and deflecting attention from the relentless Republican defense of the rich is also central to the partys current political strategy. Thats why so many Republican candidates and lawmakers keep talking so angrily about poor people not paying federal income taxes. Thats how the Tea Party got started in 2009, when Mr. Obama proposed lowering interest rates for homeowners who were behind on their mortgages and conservative activists saw an opportunity to pit the affluent against their struggling neighbors. And thats why Mr. Romney constantly accuses the president of trying to create an entitlement society, which is simply a variant on Ronald Reagans welfare-queen anecdotes.
And yet if Democrats dare to point out that the income gains of the top 1 percent have dwarfed everyone elses in the last few decades, they are accused of whipping up class envy. Alan Krueger, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, noted in a speech on Thursday that the median income in the United States had actually declined since 1999, shrinking the middle class while the income of the top 1 percent soared. Such inequality is corrosive. And pointing it out has nothing to do with envy and everything to do with pressing for policies to help Americas struggling middle class."
Anyone who criticizes Mr. Romneys business practices now faces the absurd charge of putting free-market capitalism on trial. No one is trying to end capitalism, but President Obama is calling for more effective regulation to protect consumers. While Republicans attack a supposed entitlement culture, Mr. Obama is calling for strengthening a desperately needed safety net. And he is calling for raising taxes on the wealthy, particularly for those on Wall Street and in private equity, to protect that safety net and reduce the deficit.
Mr. Romney has based his campaign on his business experience. Americans need to know how that experience was gained, and what values if any it represents. Class reality has nothing to do with class warfare.
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What They Don’t Want to Talk About (Original Post)
babylonsister
Jan 2012
OP
Warpy
(111,339 posts)1. As usual, they grabbed too much
and greatly increased suffering among the majority. While things aren't quite as bad here as they are in Greece, they're getting there fast.
The only question is whether the revolution will be peaceful or violent because it is now inevitable.
GeorgeGist
(25,323 posts)2. Here's the rub ...
No one is trying to end capitalism