Look: I am eager to learn stuff I don't know--which requires actively courting and posting smart disagreement.

But as you will understand, I don't like to post things that mischaracterize and are aimed to mislead.

-- Brad Delong

Copyright Notice

Everything that appears on this blog is the copyrighted property of somebody. Often, but not always, that somebody is me. For things that are not mine, I either have obtained permission, or claim fair use. Feel free to quote me, but attribute, please. My photos and poetry are dear to my heart, and may not be used without permission. Ditto, my other intellectual property, such as charts and graphs. I'm probably willing to share. Let's talk. Violators will be damned for all eternity to the circle of hell populated by Rosanne Barr, Mrs Miller [look her up], and trombonists who are unable play in tune. You cannot possibly imagine the agony. If you have a question, email me: jazzbumpa@gmail.com. I'll answer when I feel like it. Cheers!

Monday, August 31, 2009

Republicans - All Wrong, All the Time, Pt 3

This just in:

U. S. Wealth disparity has Never Been Greater*

Yeah, like THIS is a big surprise.

Notable Quote:

The most recent data available (for 2007) showed that the top 14,988 households (0.01% of the population) received 6.04% of income, the highest figure for any year since the data became available. The top 1% of households received 23.5% of income (the second highest on record, after 1928), while the top 10% received 49.7% of income (the highest on record).

Here is my source. Read the rest. It's depressingly impressive.**

Then put it in context.

_____________________________________
* If you are wondering what this has to do with Republicans, I'll channel Barney Frank, and ask what planet you've been living on. Now excuse me, I must go confer with my dining room table.
** Or, I might have that backwards.

2 comments:

J said...

Chairman BO has not even bothered to kick tax rates back up to pre-Bush levels (say in regards to capital gains rates). That might be due to his economic people, who appear to be mostly from Goldman Sachs.

While in principle I support traditional Demo policies (i.e., the New Deal), even unions, I no longer buy "the Demos are the ethical party" line." Let's not forget the bipartisan support for the IWE, and the Orwellian programs--PatAct, FISA, etc. In ways, I respect the few independents--even libertarians--who object to the FISA BS.

There's no convenient scale which would allow us to measure political morality, yet I suspect if we engaged in a little audit we would find that the leading Demos as a whole have more wealth and power than the GOPers (google Dame Feinstein's multi-million warbucks SF Chateau for example, or Clintons).

The Inferno, if it exists, has got to be bipartisan.

Jazzbumpa said...

J -

Points well taken.

Don't take my anti-Repugnicant diatribes to mean that I'm pro Damnorat. Bill Maher nailed it when he said that in recent decades the Dems have moved to the right, and the Reps have moved to the nut house.

The modern Damnoratic party has exactly one thing in it's favor: it ain't the Repugnicants.

Sad truth is big business owns both parties. Couple that with the popularity of religious fervor and the ubiquitous fear of bogeymen, and we are set up perfectly for a descent into fascism.

But, by any objective measure, the country still does better with a Dem at the helm.

This series of posts will illustrate it, in bold relief.

Obama is a centrist conservative, like Clinton. Don't expect very much progressivism from his regime. But it will still be far, far better than what we would have had with McShame.

Cheers!

JzB the pinko trombonist