Only in America could you see a headline like this – American SuperWealthy Wage War on Americans! Such an irony – the SuperWealthy who have risen to power and position by a combination of hard work, good fortune and stealth are finally throwing off the shackles of their dependence on the good will of the middle and lower classes. And it is the NYTimes black humorist, Paul Krugman, who gets to break the ironic black joke on us:
And now Governor Walker and his backers are trying to get rid of public-sector unions, too.There’s a bitter irony here. The fiscal crisis in Wisconsin, as in other states, was largely caused by the increasing power of America’s oligarchy. After all, it was superwealthy players, not the general public, who pushed for financial deregulation and thereby set the stage for the economic crisis of 2008-9, a crisis whose aftermath is the main reason for the current budget crunch. And now the political right is trying to exploit that very crisis, using it to remove one of the few remaining checks on oligarchic influence…
HOLD IT, Hold It, hold it.
But it is the SuperWealthy that have gotten a $3.3 trillion and continuing rescue payments primarily from middle class taxpayers. Thus it is the SuperWealthy who are the “social welfare bums” who have been rescued from certain bankruptcy and failure. Yet, it is the SuperWealthy that are making the decision to hold back and hoard funds to the tune of $trillions instead of making foreclosures compromises or loans to small businesses or investing in a green economy thus prolonging the housing crisis and stalling the recovery. It is the SuperWealthy , already having the lowest taxrates as a percentage of income, who have further screened their taxes by getting the Bush Tax cuts extended for 2 more years while lowering Estate and other taxes. It is the SuperWealthy who are bankrolling the Tea Party charge for deficit reductions while keeping tax reform and selective tax increases off the table. It is the SuperWealthy who are leading the Wisconsin campaign to break the public labor unions. It is the SuperWealthy who financed all of the efforts to get the Supreme Court to allow unbridled campaign financing and lobbyist funding for organizations. Is there an awkward trend here?
Summary
The SuperWealthy, often hiding under the guise of worthy philanthropy, are also spending hundreds of millions to promote blatantly undemocratic policies. But even worse, having garnered huge gains in the Bush Tarp bailout and the continuing Obama recovery efforts, the SuperWealthy are simply avoiding paying a fraction of their fair share of the resulting bailout induced deficit burden. Worse again, the Superwealthy are engaging in huge trillion dollar tax dodges while foisting painful spending cuts on the middle and lower classes. The problem is that this trend of “Starve the Beast Spending”, started under Mr. Nice Guy, President Reagan, and continues unabated with near treasonous attacks on President Obama, his administration and others who are trying to cope with the problems. Is this not the definition of a SuperWealthy-lead, deliberate class warfare? Thet obvious question is why? What is to be gained by accelerating the already notable Decline in America? You may ask, but don’t expect the SuperWealthy to deign to reply.