Tag: trickle down economics

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Politics pope

The Pope Sneaks Out At Night to Help People – Republicans Can’t Be Happy

The Pope has been getting on Republicans’ nerves lately. He recently let his feelings about capitalism and trickle down economics be known, saying that the theory of trickle down “has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naive trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power…”

This proclamation by the Pope caused the right wing to practically blow their tops. Rush Limbaugh, the author of much of the Republican’s talking points took to his radio show and denounced the Pope and all that he stands for. Said Rush;

“Pope Francis attacked unfettered capitalism as ‘a new tyranny.’ He beseeched global leaders to fight poverty and growing inequality, in a document on Tuesday setting out a platform for his papacy and calling for a renewal of the Catholic Church. In it, Pope Francis went further than previous comments criticizing the global economic system, attacking the ‘idolatry of money.’ ”

I’ve gotta be very caref– I have been numerous times to the Vatican. It wouldn’t exist without tons of money. But, regardless, what this is — somebody has either written this for him or gotten to him. This is just pure Marxism coming out of the mouth of the pope. There’s no such — “unfettered capitalism”? That doesn’t exist anywhere.

And a Fox Host Stuart Varney also lashed out at the Pope for him suggesting that we should be helping the less fortunate among us.

And now this news. A recent interview with Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, the “Almoner of His Holiness,” raised speculation that the Pope joins him on his nightly trips into Rome to give alms to the poor, and it turns out that the rumors are probably true.

A knowledgable source in Rome told The Huffington Post that “Swiss guards confirmed that the pope has ventured out at night, dressed as a regular priest, to meet with homeless men and women.”

Krajewski earlier said, “When I say to him ‘I’m going out into the city this evening’, there’s the constant risk that he will come with me,” and he merely smiled and ducked the question when reporters asked him point-blank whether the Pope accompanied him into the city.

What will these Republicans do now? Oh the calamity!

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Politics

John Boehner: I Can’t Believe The President Is Talking To The Middle Class

John Boehner had to get something off his chest, so he went to his friendly neighborhood propaganda machine called Fox News Radio and expressed his frustrations at President Obama for doing the unimaginable – talking about middle class issues.

When Boehner was asked about the president’s belief that economic stability comes from the middle class out and not from the top down, Boehner exploded!

“Sometimes I have to catch my breath and slow down because the rhetoric in this campaign is just so over the top. And that’s because the president’s policies have failed. Listen — 93% of Americans believe they’re a part of the middle class. That’s why you hear the president talk about the middle class every day, because he’s talking to 93% of the American people. But the president has never created a job. He’s never even had a real job for Christ’s sake.”

The Maddow Blog found Boehner’s response interesting; “For the record, Obama has been an attorney, a community organizer working with churches in communities hit by factory closings, a law professor, a state lawmaker, a federal lawmaker, and the president of the United States during a time of multiple crises. I’m curious, which of these jobs does Boehner consider fake?

I’m also struck by the notion that Boehner thinks Obama is too focused on the middle class — a complaint Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) also levied last week. Since when did Republicans decide “talking about the middle class every day” is a bad thing?

Boehner really should catch his breath, slow down, and consider the fact that the rhetoric in this campaign is just so over the top. Then, once he’s regained his composure, he should also realize it’s unbecoming of a Speaker of the House to lose his cool and make attacks like “he’s never even had a real job for Christ’s sake.”

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Medicare Politics Republican Rick Scott Ronald Reagan United States

Republican Robin Hoods – Taking From The Poor To Support The Rich

Republicans have long wished for the time when the poor and suffering would move out-of-the-way, and allow the millionaires, billionaires and Corporations to prosper. In their view, poor and middle class Americans are trying to take away all the programs the government has established to benefit the rich. Republicans call these “entitlement programs,” and the sooner they’re able to push and squeeze others off these programs, the sooner the rich can benefit.

No place is this more evident than in Florida, where a new Teaparty candidate,  representing the Republican party,  held a townhall meeting to address his supporters. Mr. Allan West, the House representative for Southeast Florida told the crowd that he would love to abolish the Internal Revenue Service and federal income tax, while retaining tax cuts for billionaires. West also wants to stop the  extension of unemployment benefits to the middle class and refers to the government  providing these benefits to middle class Americans as, “rewarding bad behavior.”

In reference to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, West thinks that leaving these services in tact will deplete our GDP by 2030 or 2040. His plans would be for the eventual dismantling of these  services that again for the most part assist the poor people and middle class. Spokeswoman for DCCC Jennifer Crider said;

“Everyone agrees we need to cut spending, but Representative Allen West is making the wrong choice by forcing seniors to shoulder the burden and while not asking Big Oil companies making record profits to sacrifice even the smallest amount.”

Social Security is a program that mostly pays for itself. Over the last few years, however, the program has began to show signs that it will eventually fall short of its goals of comfortably providing for its beneficiaries, mainly because more people are entering into retirement and also because the labor force is reduced due to the economic downturn. Republicans, who have been trying to dismantle the program for decades, are now using the economy and the federal deficit as reasons to bring social security to its knees. Some Democrats, like Senate Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, are determined to fight these efforts of the Republicans. In a recent interview, Mr. Reid said;

“I have said clearly and as many times as I can, leave Social Security alone. Social Security does not add a single penny, not a dime, a nickel, a dollar to the budget problems we have. Never has and for the next 30 years it won’t do that.

“So what I’ve said, if you want to look at something to take care of the out years, let’s do it at the right time. It is not in a crisis at this stage. Leave Social Security alone. We have a lot of other places we can look that are in crisis. Social Security is not. I repeat, for the next approximately 30 years people will draw 100% of their benefits.”

Mr. West’s thinking is common amongst Republican party members. Many Republican governors nationwide have begun breaking down the middle class in order to support their rich donors. Recent examples in Wisconsin, Detroit, and Florida are just some of the states where Republican governors are creating laws geared towards removing any form of assistance from the middle class worker, and transferring that assistance to the rich. Rick Scott of Florida recently proposed a bill that will cut school subsidies in his state by $1.3 billion, while at the same time, giving a tax cut of $1.6 billion to millionaires.

It is a transfer of wealth like we haven’t seen in quite a long time, and it started over 30 years ago when Ronald Regan introduced the idea of trickle down economics. The concept embraces the belief that giving to the rich will in turn allow them to provide jobs to the middle class, thus trickling down the wealth. But this idea failed in the Reagan years, causing the president to raise taxes in an effort to fight off a downward turn in the 1980 economy. And although it failed then, trickle down economics was embraced by conservatives over the past 30 years, and contributed heavily to the most recent recession that started in 2007/2008 under the Bush administration. According to reports from The Atlantic;

When Clinton left office in 2000, the Census counted almost 31.6 million Americans living in poverty. When Bush left office in 2008, the number of poor Americans had jumped to 39.8 million (the largest number in absolute terms since 1960.) Under Bush, the number of people in poverty increased by over 8.2 million, or 26.1 per cent. Over two-thirds of that increase occurred before the economic collapse of 2008.

Unfortunately, here we are in 2011, and the trickle-down trend has continued. Republicans are now taking away from schools, education, cutting back on planned parenthood and public radio, in an effort to finance the bank accounts of the rich. Will the American people wake up from their slumber before it’s too late? Will we ever realize that the last 30+ years of trickle down economics did nothing for the middle class, and everything for th über rich? If we continue to go down this path we’ve been on for the past 30 years, why should we expect a different outcome?

America can once again be what the founding fathers intended it to be. The preamble to the constitution says it best;

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

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Politics Ronald Reagan Tax United States

The Lesson of Not Taxing The Rich in Hard Economic Times

If history is to be our guide, then why aren’t we doing what’s already historically proven to work? The refusal by congressional Republicans to raise the taxes of the rich in these hard economic times makes as much sense as pouring water into the ocean. And this refusal goes against all that history has taught us.

According to a report written by Larry Beinhart, “History shows that when spending is cut — in the name of balancing the budget — recessions immediately follow. It makes sense, therefore, to look back at government tax and spending policies during the Depression and what the results were. ” Mr. Beinhart writes in detail some very interesting historical facts:

  • 1932 — Hoover raises the top tax rate from to 25 to 63 percent.
  • 1933 — Roosevelt comes into office. He begins spending at the same time that new tax hike comes into effect. The Depression bottoms out.
  • 1934 — Recovery begins. The GNP rises 7.7 percent, unemployment falls to 21.7 percent.
  • 1935 — New government spending on public works and rural electrification. A push to strengthen labor and raise wages. New taxes through the creation of Social Security.
  • 1936 — The top tax rate is raised again. This time to 79 percent. GNP grows a record 14.1 percent; unemployment falls even further.

Middle class Americans have carried this country on their backs for far too long. Since Ronald Regan took office in the 80’s and introduced the concept of trickle down economics, the concentration was placed on making the rich pay less in taxes while providing them with unlimited loopholes, in the hopes that when they succeed, the middle class will succeed. That concept has failed and over the last 30 years, the rich continued getting richer while the middle class fell more and more into poverty.

So here we have our lesson in history.  At a time when this country went through what is now called The Second Great Depression, all Americans, especially the rich, bore the responsibility, each paying according to his/her means. Today however, the lie of the sucess of a trickle down theory to boost a failing economy is still engraved in our minds, and the congressional Republicans are determined to keep it that way.

Read Mr. Larry Beinhart’s Report here.

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