Do political leaders realize that kissing rich peoples' asses won't magically restore prosperity?

[Amerigo Vespucci]

June 14, 2011 01:00 PM
Do any of our political leaders realize that kissing rich peoples' asses won't magically restore prosperity?

By Brad Reed

http://crooksandliars.com/brad-reed/obama-deserves-lose-america-doesnt-deser

Barack Obama's presidency certainly hasn't been an all-out bust -- repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell, taking out Osama bin Laden and getting some form of universal health coverage passed are real achievements -- but he's completely crapped the bed when it comes to jobs. And I'm not just talking about the high unemployment rate, either -- I'm talking about the continued collapse in workers' income. Check out this chart from David Frum:



Workers' share of national income started steadily dropping under Reagan and Bush I, saw a brief rebound during the late '90s tech boom, and then fell off a cliff during the Bush II and Obama administrations.

Of course, not everyone is hurting. As Felix Salmon pointed out earlier this year, the financial services industry has weathered this recession just fine:



There are lots of reasons this has occurred, but broadly speaking this trend started in the 1980s when we collectively decided that rich people were magical wealth leprechauns who must be kept happy at all costs lest they take their pots of gold elsewhere. So we got huge tax cuts for the wealthy, free trade agreements, financial deregulation and a government that turned a blind eye toward businesses that broke the law by employing illegal labor at below the minimum wage.

[yellerpup]

1. Evidently,

they do not.

[FiveGoodMen]

2. Political leaders' prosperity is greatly enhanced by kissing rich people's asses

When are we all going to face that fact that our 'leaders' are in it for themselves and don't give a fuck about us?

Thanks to Citizens United, they don't even need our campaign money.

We can all catch fire...what's it to them?

[leveymg]

8. Beat me to it. Revolving door between Capitol Hill and Lobby shops is golden

spins merrily for legislators and aides who kiss rich people's asses. The political system in this country is built upon legalized bribery. Reach a high enough level, and politics is almost pure crime.

[CrossChris]

3. Why would they want to restore our prosperity? The rich pay them to keep us down.

So kissing their asses is good for their prosperity.

People really need to let go of the romantic notion that fatcats in DC want to help people in the bottom 98%. That's the old, dinosaur way of thinking. This is a game of survival--the top 2% are increasing their odds by diminishing ours. DC politics are just a small part of that game.

[fascisthunter]

4. I'm a Billionaire: "Let me pay less taxes and I will invest in jobs!"

30 years later: "Give me more tax cuts and I promise it will all trickle down."

[Autumn]

5. Campaign donations.

I saw an article yesterday on his Broadway fundraiser that said,

"The cheap seats start at $250, one source said, but donors willing to shell out $10,000 will get their photo taken with the president."


I don't know about anyone else, but no one I know, or myself can afford to pay even the $250. If I were rich I could.

[atreides1]

7. I can afford $250

But I have better things to do with my money!

[yurbud]

11. you could go and protest to his face.

[AmBlue]

6. But the balmy breezes on the aft decks of their yachts are so damn pleasant...

Makes it so much easier to keep self-important heads stuck firmly in the sand.

[unblock]

9. they know damn well that it WILL restore prosperity.

for them, anyway.

screw the rest of us.

[yurbud]

10. they don't care if it restores prosperity for most of us, only that it secures their well-paid

future as an ass-kisser in the private sector when they leave office, or for their wife and kids now as collateral bribery.

[Lil Missy]

12. Of course they know that. They don't care.