Amazing Shell Game

The political right uses the threat of redistribution of wealth by the left as a fear tactic.  It’s a shell game.  But their effectiveness amazes me because those with the strongest reactions don’t have much wealth left to be redistributed.  Yet they can be worked up into a frenzy when told that the left-leaning “socialists” want to redistribute their non-existent wealth.  I think it might be a form of Stockholm syndrome.  From Wikipedia, “In psychology, Stockholm syndrome is a term used to describe a reaction wherein hostages express positive feelings towards their captors, mistaking a lack of abuse from their captors as an act of kindness.”  Not exactly the same but it sure sounds a lot like the working class defending the rights of the super-rich.  Too radical?  Read on and then you tell me.

A huge share of the nation's economic growth over the past 30 years has gone to the top one-hundredth of one percent, who now make an average of $27 million per household. The top 1% share is now $1,138,000.  The average income for the bottom 90 percent is $31,244.

Between the years 2007 and 2009 Wall Street profits went up 720%.  At the same time unemployment went up 102%.  The major portion of the net worth of most American families is the equity in their homes.  That equity dropped by 35%. 

Since 1950, we, the individual’s have carried between 40% to 50% of the total tax load.  In that same period, the corporate share has dropped from a high of about 32% to the current level of about 8%.

The top tax rate on million dollar earners reached its peak in 1945 at 66.4%.  It has dropped to the lowest level since before the great depression to 32.4% by the Bush era tax cuts, which were extended by the Republicans when President Obama blinked.  Of the top ten richest members of Congress, (3 Republicans and 7 Democrats) all of them voted for the extension of these tax cuts.  Together these ten people are worth $2.8 billion dollars.  Try to tell me that they can understand us.

Speaking of understanding us; the median net worth of the American family is $120,000.  The median net worth of our members of Congress is $912,000.  The average American’s chance at becoming a millionaire is 1 in 22.  Of those in Congress who are not already millionaires, they have a 1 in 2 chance.

Still insist that redistribution of wealth is a bad socialist plot?  Well here’s some more facts to think about.  In the same time period mentioned above, the top 1% has gained $597,000 in income per year and the bottom 90% have lost between $3733 and $10,100 depending on which economic strata you’re in.  I’ll repeat that another way:  Depending on which level of income you earn, your wealth has been redistributed to the top level in the range of $3,000 and $10,000 dollars per working family.

The political right is correct.  We should fear the redistribution of income – from us to the super-rich. I don’t fault the super-rich for being super-rich.  I fault them for gaming the financial system that worked for them so that it punishes us.

I think the first response when people hear the term “redistribution” of wealth is they think of free handouts and welfare cheats.  I don’t advocate that abuse any more than the average American taxpayer.  I’m upset about the fact that the middle-class tax paying American is falling further behind because the government/financial system has been corrupted.

The core resistance to wealth redistribution is the mythology of trickle-down economics.  A rising tide, etc. – you know what I’m talking about.  Re-read the above numbers.  Do you still believe that?  I am not going to sit around waiting for my boat to rise with theirs.  My advice?  Sell your boat.  I sold my mine two years ago.

Robert DeFilippis