in response to obama's wealth redistribution critics

~on~

why would america be against wealth redistribution, per se? thanks to the dot com boom and the increasing corporatization of america, the income disparity is staggering. 1% of the country owns 38% of the nation's wealth, and the top 20% of the country holds 83% of the total household wealth, whereas 60% of the nation holds less than 6% of the total wealth, with 12% of the country living below the poverty line (mantsios). you could also cite a graph i found on the ratio of ceo pay to the federal minimum wage: 821:1 ... so 821 times the minimum wage as of 2005 (5.15), which makes the the equivalent hourly wage of a ceo over $4,200/hour. i'm sure that they've "earned" it, but such a great disparity in income distribution in this, the most affluent, country is an absolute affront to even american ideals.

furthermore, middle class tax cuts while raising taxes on those who make more than 250K/year, i would argue, is not income redistribution. [btw, the percent of the population who make more than that magic number is 1.5%, or 1,699 households. that's it.] if you think about it, the 95% of americans who would benefit under obama's tax plan largely only draw income from a job - or labor in some form; whereas, the 5% of americans who would see tax increases don't work jobs, per se, but rather draw income from investments and assets (stocks, bonds, property ownership, production, and distribution). to enhance this, you can also add that 66% of those who make $100K or more a year have inherited assets. (which to me suggests that they didn't "work" for their money, as is so often the argument the wealthy level against tax-based income redistribution) so, they largely either sit on or invest their wealth in things that mature, rather than having that as income and needing it to pay bills, send kids to school, buy food, pay rent, etc. at this point in the game, the majority of americans need the majority of their income, so lowering their taxes makes sense.

as for the top 1.5% of america, i think that their investments can be curtailed a little. obama is looking to stimulate the economy through middle class tax cuts and energy sector job creation - which is (at least according to pure capitalism) what that 1.5% should have been investing in in order for it to "trickle down." they are not, and have not, been holding up their side of the economy, and the majority of us (the workers) are suffering as a result. so, obama proposes to invest (as the wealthy should have been doing) in securing america's energy future, and creating new, non-exportable jobs. more money for the struggling middle class and a new energy-based sector of the economy opening and creating jobs seems like a sound formula to me.

i'll leave you with this: the income gap between rich and poor in the US, measured as the total income held by the wealthiest 20% of the population versus the poorest 20% of the population, is approximately 11:1 ... cf: nyt

~off.