On Wednesday, Forbes Magazine released their richest people in America list. Why do I even care? Because the rich keep getting richer while the rest of our country gets poorer; while the rest of the country is desperately trying to crawl out of the worst recession since The Great Depression, the divide between rich and poor widens further.
According to the report (pdf) "Building a Better America -- One Wealth Quintile At A Time" by Dan Ariely of Duke University and Michael I. Norton of Harvard Business School and reported in The Huffington Post...
.......that across ideological, economic and gender groups, Americans thought the richest 20 percent of our society controlled about 59 percent of the wealth, while the real number is closer to 84 percent.
For those of you who look in the mirror and (falsely) see yourself in this group, rejoice in the fact that the GOP fights for you. They will shout, "no!" to extending unemployment benefits; "no!" to the security of health care benefits; "no!" to a decent wage (I'm talking to you again, Waltons); "no!" to eliminating a contract's fine print; and, "no!" to anyone who tries to provide assistance to anyone outside of the highest income brackets.
Are you and/or your spouse having to work to keep your health insurance? Do you have numerous health problems so that you can't afford to purchase decent health coverage or do you risk them dropping you if you have the audacity to use the policy despite that you are regularly paying the premiums? Yes and yes? Ooohhhh...."but I don't want the government telling me I have to have insurance". Insurance companies can trick us into believing we have to have cancer policies for the chance we may or may not get cancer some day or earthquake insurance if, by chance, there is ever an unlikely earthquake in our vicinity, and on and on and on. But the government? Noooo. That's shh..shh..shh..socialism. Socialism?! Let's say together: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security.
I get it. Buying insurance would be your choice, not the government's choice. Would it be your choice if the insurance company raises your premiums; if they drop you without notice; if they refuse to pay for a treatment that could save your life; and, if they make record profits while so many people do not even have medical insurance? It certainly is not mine.
Let's see....when did I feel this hopeless and fearful for people outside of the wealthiest in the U.S.? Oh yes, the Reagan years. When did the culture wars rear its head and prey on the people's anxieties and fears? Oh yes, the Reagan years. And, the culture wars are back now. That is never, ever a good sign. They are like cockroaches who appear out of the darkest night if you aren't vigilant.
It appears Billionaires for Bush can make a comeback now. Happy days are here again.
For those of you who believe you can run with the big dogs or who falsely believe you are even middle-class because you buy things or, in some cases, you are white and you think middle-class automatically comes with that skin color, let me be the first to tell you that you are not. And, you are going to sink all of us.
Other reading on the subject:
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