Who Hijacked Our Country

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

‘The Rage of the Rich”

Also known as “the wail of the one percent.” This New York Times column by Paul Krugman will throw you into a rage. You’ll fume; you’ll yell; you’ll punch your computer monitor.

Paul Krugman doesn’t tell you anything you didn’t already know. But he pinpoints the problem — totally captures that arrogant self-absorbed Marie Antoinette attitude of the wealthiest one percent — and he does it all without a single swear word; without insulting anybody’s parents or anything. He’s a better man than I.

Here’s an item from that column: When Obama tried to close a tax loophole that hedge fund managers were reaping a fortune from, fund manager Stephen Schwarzman — a billionaire — compared Obama’s proposal to the Nazi invasion of Poland.

Regarding whether or not to extend the Bush tax cuts for millionaires, Krugman says:

“Among the undeniably rich, a belligerent sense of entitlement has taken hold: it’s their money, and they have the right to keep it…The spectacle of high-income Americans, the world’s luckiest people, wallowing in self-pity and self-righteousness would be funny, except for one thing: they may well get their way.”

And:

“Politicians spend a lot of time hanging out with the wealthy. So when the rich face the prospect of paying an extra 3 or 4 percent of their income in taxes, politicians feel their pain — feel it much more acutely, it’s clear, than they feel the pain of families who are losing their jobs, their houses, and their hopes.”

He wraps up the column with:

“And when the tax fight is over, one way or another, you can be sure that the people currently defending the incomes of the elite will go back to demanding cuts in Social Security and aid to the unemployed. America must make hard choices, they’ll say; we all have to be willing to make sacrifices. But when they say ‘we,’ they mean ‘you.‘ Sacrifice is for the little people.”

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10 Comments:

Anonymous S.W. Anderson said...

You're right, this is enough to make any decent, fair-minded person furious. But it's not new. The rich and super rich spouted the same selfish, self-righteous crap during New Deal days.

In 1936, FDR made a famous speech in New York. Speaking of the rich and other Republicans, FDR said, "They hate me, and I welcome their hatred!" It brought the house down.

September 22, 2010 at 7:37 PM  
Anonymous Jess said...

I'm at the, Nelson Muntz point now, just laughing at them. I watched that hedge fund guy tell PO, about his feelings, like Wall St was being beat up on and snorted water onto my the kitty sitting on my lap at the time. How can they be so very out of touch with just the way things work outside of their bubble? No need to answer, I will just get more angry.

September 22, 2010 at 11:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

FDR raising the taxes on the rich even included his own mother - he paid her taxes.

The problem is, the rich may be a small minority but they have lots of foot solders names the Republicans.

And if the Tea Party changed to the Shay's Rebellion, I would join them.

Erik

September 23, 2010 at 12:57 AM  
Blogger Randal Graves said...

Empty cans, rattling, always get their way.

September 23, 2010 at 6:18 AM  
Blogger Demeur said...

As I've said before the only way to get back at them is to make them poor. Pull your money out of banks and watch what happens. They can't tax money in a mattress either. So you win two ways.

September 23, 2010 at 8:43 AM  
Anonymous Omnipotent Poobah said...

I know what you mean. I don't know if you saw it or not, but the CEO of JP Morgan said forclosure is the "moral" thing to do a few months back.

Here is my post on it if you're interested:
http://omnipotentpoobah.com/2010/04/14/jpmorgan-ceo-foreclosure-is-the-moral-thing-to-do/

September 23, 2010 at 10:01 AM  
Anonymous Thomas said...

I think the President could get what the country needs by channeling Saint Ronnie. If he just got on television and made a speech about "Returning taxes to the levels we had under Ronald Reagan," without ever mentioning that the wealthiest segment of the population paid a much higher tax rate in the eighties than they do now, the elites would kind of have to go along with it.

September 23, 2010 at 12:02 PM  
Blogger Tom Harper said...

SW: There definitely isn't anything new about this. These rightwing save-the-wealthy groups flared up with a vengeance in the 1930s, came back with a vengeance in 1980, and they're more front-and-center than ever now.

Jess: Their little magic bubble world is the only thing that matters.

Erik: They have the wealth and influence, and best of all (for them) -- millions of gullible dimwits who rally around them and do their dirty work for them.

Randal: Those cans need to be filled with something.

Demeur: Or at least moving bank accounts from big banks to small community banks and credit unions.

OP: If that CEO is consistent with his "morality," he also thinks failed executives should resign and forfeit all perks and bonuses; and failed companies should go ahead and fail without any help from taxpayers.

I'll check out your post.

Thomas: Good idea. For whatever reason, today's rightwingers can't bring themselves to say anything bad about Reagan. They've moved so far to the right they make Reagan look like a communist. But they'd masturbate in church sooner than they'd say anything negative about St. Ronnie.

September 23, 2010 at 1:15 PM  
Blogger Dave Dubya said...

Spoiled crybabies.

September 23, 2010 at 4:56 PM  
Blogger Tom Harper said...

Dave: Unfortunately, spoiled-rich crybabies always get their way.

September 23, 2010 at 5:47 PM  

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