Hotdish in the Fog

(I have not written for a long time because I’ve been busy organizing in real life with DSA. Turns out that being “extremely online,” as the kids like to say, isn’t very effective in challenging the rich and powerful, but the DSA gives me hope that together, we could be).

Income and Wealth Inequality are at levels not seen since the Gilded Age, but this is what the Republican tax bill is set to do:

“By 2027, people making $40,000 to $50,000 would pay a combined $5.3 billion more in taxes, while the group earning $1 million or more would get a $5.8 billion cut.”

Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Treasury secretary, right, and his wife Louise Linton. The spitting image of greed.

This bill is deeply unpopular because most people seem to understand it’s a giveaway to the already-wealthy, and it’s no secret that the motivation behind ramming this monstrous piece of legislation through Congress is to richly reward Republican owners/donors. Lindsay Graham, among others, has openly said they have to pass this bill or their wealthy and corporate donors will stop giving them money. (Disclaimer: this is not an endorsement of the Democratic Party, which has its own problems with wealthy and corporate donors).

This is far more than a “tax bill.” It’s a bomb dropped in a class war, with the monied masters directing their puppets to do their bidding, popular democracy be damned. And it’s just the opening salvo, as Marco Rubio has already confirmed speculation that their next attack will be to claim that budget deficits – which their bill will increase – justify cuts to Medicare/Medicaid/Social Security, programs that are both popular and crucial to the health, welfare, and survival of tens of millions of people.

The masks are off. There is no limit to the greed of the monied ruling class, or the cruelty they’re willing to inflict on ordinary people to expand their wealth and power. And especially in this era of Wild West-levels-of-lawlessness when it comes to campaign finance, the more money the wealthy have, the more political power and control they possess. They then use the levers of political power not to “shrink government,” which they and their political puppets love to claim as their end goal, but rather, to use the government to further enrich themselves through policy changes, thus giving themselves more money, and thus, more political power, which they then wield to further enrich themselves and . . . you get the picture. It’s a vicious cycle, which is why many have long recognized that inequality is a threat to democracy.

The solution to our powerlessness is not to buy into the ruling class’s false narrative that the government is inherently bad and is responsible for our immiseration. Our government isn’t terrible because it’s too big. It’s terrible because it’s not accountable to ordinary people. So the solution is for us, the people, to hold our representatives accountable, reclaim the government and pass public policy that is for the many, not the few.

Extreme Inequality in USA

The rich are richer than ever, corporations are stashing their profits in tax havens, while the income and wealth of ordinary Americans are stagnant or in decline. If you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention. And if you’re not politically active, it’s not too late to get involved.