Now this is an interesting proposition. Thinking analytically one would have to say that Bush subscribes to the belief that it is not the man who does these things and needs to be controlled by regulation but that it is the man's fear of the government and his loss of freedom that makes him do it. Now if they had used that same argument to defend that 13 year old boy they gave life imprisonment to for arguing that his wrestling moves on a girl child that killed her were the results of outside intervention, according to Bush and company he would have gotten off. What? You say Bush is for jailing and murdering children? Republicans would cry "foul" when we say such things. Class warfare, Race Warfare, Child Warfare. What is next, Dickens? I can see a revival of Oliver on Broadway. Better get to teaching those boy sopranos but keep that camera rolling in the studio so I won't be accused of molestation when I correct them by telling them they can't sing.....yet. The Republicans would say this criticism is all wrong. How could we be so "out of whack" so "absurd" "ridiculous" and all of those other debate coach terms that Newt Gingrich taught them. Just as they did on Donahue last night when they finally answered the BBC's analysis of the race issue in the 2000 election in Florida. Their answer was to huff and puff and yet they couldn't blow the house down in spite of their pretty clothes, nice ties and blond women.
Of course Jeb Bush isn't 13 so he won't be tried as an adult, wait a minute! It's so confusing for a poor Okie from Muskogee. Jeb Bush IS an adult and so are all of these CEOs who are claiming "outside intervention" and "the guvment made me do it." Today two children were tried as adults for killing their father. Little boys. Seeing them in the court was wierd. They don't have to understand the law but they have to understand death and serious issues like George Bush and Sadaam Hussien. They were convicted. Meanwhile we let CEOs who create chaos in families and cause children not to have food, clothing and shelter spending less of their lives behind bars then these two boys have lived. Oh we can also say that this all happened in Jeb Bush's state of Florida. I can hear it now from the rabid right "But the CEO's didn't have concubines!" (and they weren't from Arkansas) Who are these people who claim that sex is a much more serious crime? They would have buried Clinton up to his breast and stoned him for sure. Oh yes this is for Harry, Read Greg Palast on the BBC for the story on cheating the black vote and committing treason in the process, oh yes those who had their votes stolen still aren't able to vote. Yesterday in the early voting a Democrat Congresswoman who is black was turned away. The Republican response: Those Democrats had the nerve to challenge illegal votes by soldiers. Well when I was a soldier I voted and I knew how to fill out a form. What is this all about? If the soldier did it right then count it. If the poor Black or White person was cheated out of his vote then call a recall election and get the real winning President up there. If those old people were cheated out of their votes by machines then fix the machines or sue the state for all of that money that the CEOs took home with themselves when the senior citizen's retirement fund collapsed. The only answer is to make the right people poor. That Harry is why we have a crook in the White House just like the last time I was singing there. People loved Nixon as well. I guess California really wasn't bothered much by Enron and the British Empire is still in place so we don't have to worry about following the rules. We're safe. Yes....we are safe! Do you promise? Are you sure? Or will your children have to take care of you because your retirement is no more? Bring on those Social Security Wall Street accounts, they need to earn money fast....... See you in the bread line. REH ----- Original Message ----- From: "S. Lerner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, September 06, 2002 7:45 AM Subject: FW US economics (fwd) > Published on Thursday, September 5, 2002 in the Baltimore Sun > > Now That's Class Warfare > by Molly Ivins > > http://commondreams.org/views02/0905-02.htm > > AUSTIN, Texas -- Some days, you have to believe right-wing ideologues have > lost touch with > reality completely. Their latest proposal to prevent future Enrons is -- > ta-da! -- cut the capital > gains tax. > > And exactly what does that do to prevent future Enrons? Nothing. Except Ken > Lay won't have to > pay taxes on the stock he sold while his company cratered and his employees > watched their > life savings disappear. > > Enron & Etc. are not the consequence of a few greedy executives cutting > corners -- they are > the result of a series of deregulatory measures and other changes in the > law that set up the > opportunity for theft on a staggering scale, making it not only possible > but inevitable. The > Sarbanes bill, good on it, leaves quite a ways to go. > > In a recent issue of the National Review, television personality Larry > Kudlow goes even further, > suggesting: > > Speeding up the rest of the Bush tax cuts, which so disproportionately > benefit only the > wealthiest Americans that even the gutless Democrats are now gagging over > them. > > Making stock turnovers tax-free, so "unlocking past equity gains will not > be a taxable event." > There's one for the coupon-clippers. > > Reducing taxes on dividends. Another one for the coupon-clippers. > > Letting new business start-ups go tax free for a couple of years. > "Unhindered by corporate > taxes, business could get into gear more quickly." Since corporations > aren't paying corporate > taxes now, why not give them a further break? Great idea. > > Mr. Kudlow claims the debate over reducing the capital gains tax has been > "class > warfare-driven and contentious at best." No kidding. > > It's amazing to me that only populists are ever accused of class warfare. > Talk about losing a > grip on reality. I'll tell you what class warfare is: > > When the Gingrich Republicans mandate that the IRS spend more of its > resources auditing > working-class people who get the Earned Income Tax Credit than it does > auditing millionaires > who use countless tax evasion schemes. > > In 1999, the average after-tax income of the middle 60 percent of Americans > was lower than in > 1977. The 400 richest Americans between 1982 and 1999 increased their > average net worth > from $230 million to $2.6 billion, over 500 percent in constant dollars. > > By 1999, over one decade, the average work year had expanded by 184 hours. > The Bureau of > Labor Statistics reported that the typical American worked 350 hours more > per year than the > typical European. > > Less than half of all Americans have any pension plan other than Social > Security. > > Wage-earners in the United States collectively ended the decade with less > pension and health > coverage, as well as with the Industrial West's least amount of vacation > time, shortest > maternity leaves and shortest average notice of termination. Among the > Western nations, the > United States has the highest levels of inequality. > > >From 1980 to 1999, the 500 largest U.S. corporations tripled their assets > >and their profits, and > enlarged their market value eightfold, as measured by stock prices. During > the same period, the > 500 corporations eliminated 5 million American jobs. > > This is class warfare. (All these figures are from Kevin Phillips' > excellent book, Wealth and > Democracy.) > > None of this is inevitable or even accidental. It is a consequence of > oligopoly, rule by the rich > through their campaign contributions. In the 1940s and '50s, the middle 60 > percent of > Americans got the largest share of the growth in the economic pie. In the > '90s, the increase > went disproportionately to the very wealthy. Mr. Phillips reports it dwarfs > what happened in the > Gilded Age. > > When George W. Bush came into office, the first thing he did was give an > enormous tax break > to the richest 1 percent of Americans, the same people who had gained at > such a madly > soaring pace. That's class warfare, too. > > If I may be just wildly populist here for a moment, we can't fix any of > this by making it worse > with even more tax cuts for the very wealthy. > > It puzzles me that the well-off complain so much about taxes when they pay > so little relative to > their wealth. (See the Web site of Citizens for Tax Justice > at www.ctj.org) > > If Mr. Bush has his way, we are going to fight an unprovoked war with Iraq > without the financial > aid of any allies. The health care system is falling apart in front of our > eyes, schoolteachers > should be paid at least twice what they make now, lack of low-income > housing is making life > hell for the working class and now the right wing wants to cut taxes for > the rich yet again? > > That's class warfare. > > Copyright � 2002, The Baltimore Sun > > ### > Share This > Article With Your Friends > > > > > FAIR USE NOTICE > > > > This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not > always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making > such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of > environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, > and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair > use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the > US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, > the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have > expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information > for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: > http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use > copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go > beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. > > > > > > >
