Class warfare and the Left

I'm not a US citizen, so I won't even attempt to speak specifically about the US context ..... but in my own country I get pretty tired of the constant references to "class warfare" or "the politics of envy" (generally from pretty well-off folk seeking to hold onto financial advantage, including government subsidies which support their particular interests) whenever any new government initiative attempts to address some very glaring differences in how people in the same country experience life.
I don't think it's OK that some people get second or third rate medical treatment because of their financial situation. I don't think it's OK that that bright students don't have the opportunity to continue their education because of impoverished family circumstances. I think any country which doesn't offer some support to these students is under-valuing a precious resource, to the detriment of the whole country. (Just to give you a couple of examples.)
So what is so terrible about the notion that everyone living in the same country is considered - & treated - as a valued part of that community, no matter what their financial status? What is wrong with treating poorer people with dignity & giving them some assistance when they need it? (For starters, you'd probably reduce the crime statistics in the ranks for the poor. And they are hardly likely to become wealthy as a result of a bit of government assistance!)That's got to be be good for the whole community!) And what exactly is wrong with treating everyone within the community as part of that community, rather than individuals only looking out for their own, particular advantage?

ps ... you think that (US) $250 K per year isn't very, very comfortable?

parados wrote:

Our founding fathers were for elected officials making the decisions.

Elected by tax paying land owners.

H2O MAN wrote:

parados wrote:

Our founding fathers were for elected officials making the decisions.

Elected by tax paying land owners.

The constitution places no such requirement on the government.

Elected by tax paying land owners.

Their is no constitutional right to vote in a presidential election.

More than 12 million people are out of work.

Five million have lost their job in the past year alone.

American car companies are teetering on the brink of failure.

Trillions of dollars are being dished out to prop up America's financial system and to try to jumpstart the economy.

But I've discovered it's the silence that's one of the biggest signs of how much trouble the United States is in.

Silence as 3,000 people line up to try to renegotiate their mortgages and stop their homes from being foreclosed on.

Silence as dozens of people file into an unemployment office, many for the first time.

Silence when you walk down the main street of small towns like Timmonsville and Dillon in South Carolina.

It's as if people are worn out from what they're enduring.

They're not grumbling about having to queue for ages, they're just trying to keep their home or get a job.

South Carolina has the second-worst unemployment rate in the nation at 10.4 per cent.

Only Michigan is worse. And both states are well above the national unemployment rate of 8.1 per cent.

South Carolina has been hard hit by the decline of the tobacco and textile industries.

But as the manager of the unemployment office in the capital Columbia told me, in his 19 years on the job, he's never seen the situation as bad as this. ...<cont>

These are the sorts of reports we've been receiving in the Australian media about the dire circumstances of the poor, & newly-poor, in the USA. If these reports are accurate (& I have no reason to believe otherwise) I can't believe that some people appear to be quibbling about assisting the people whose lives have been so seriously affected. I honestly can't believe that some folk here are carrying on with their their partisan anti-Obama stuff while your nation experiences this upheaval. What alternative would you suggest to what Obama is proposing? This is an urgent situation, surely? And surely some urgent government assistance is to be expected at a time like this? If it means the wealthy have less cash in their pockets, well, so what? :

The only thing new is that seems to be the new strawman you are arguing against. You can nowhere find anyone in the Obama admin saying this. You said it. You made it up out of whole cloth so you could make another ridiculous argument. Big Whoop.

The bill would impose a 90 percent tax on bonuses given to employees with family incomes above $250,000 at American International Group and other companies that have received at least $5 billion in government bailout money. It would apply to any such bonuses issued since Dec. 31.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/House-passes-bill-taxing-AIG-apf-14693850.html

So yeah, I do believe the left has made $250 K the magic number...

Tell me, do you believe Americans should be allowed to make more than this without being taxed at extremely high rates? Or do you agree with the Dems magic number?

The Obama administration has urged European nations to do more to restart their economies through financial stimulus.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/us/politics/22regulate.html?pagewanted=2

Actually, the countries in Europe are not printing as much money as the US; Obama is asking them to do so, and they are resisting.

What is this new demagoguery by the Obama admin - and the left - of those who make more than $250 K a year?

So now we see class warfare on a level never experienced before in the US.

Obama wants to raise taxes on those that make more than $250 K a year.

Tell me, do you believe Americans should be allowed to make more than this without being taxed at extremely high rates? Or do you agree with the Dems magic number?

And now you introduce another strawman. The Dems have not introduced any legislation to tax everyone making over $250K at a 90% tax rate. Your arguments are nothing but silliness.