Fact:
The number of real-life, I-swear-to-God (irony-intended) communists and Marxists in the country is so infinitesimal that it would hardly register on a graph.
Fact:
None of our elected representatives—whether you’re talking about the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate—are either communist or Marxist. Including all of the members of The Squad and the nine Republican politicians who have spent more time in Russia on the 4th of July than they have at any of their local county fairs.
Fact:
Every person slinging those terms about couldn’t give you an accurate definition for either term even if their testicles were firmly in a vise, or they were threatened with the forcible removal of their fake eyelashes and fake nails. (That should cover all of the fake news talking heads, as well as the airheads in Congress.)
Even if we adopted every progressive agenda item, America would still be far and away the most capitalistic society in the world. Even if we reversed the old sarcastic saw about “socialism being for the rich and capitalism being for the poor”, we’d still be rabidly capitalistic.
Both of our political parties kowtow to capitalism. You don’t need an economics degree to comprehend that reality. But capitalism left to its own devices would usher in anarchy. The once Grand Old Party prefers that sort of unfettered capitalism. They believe — by default — the unseen hand of Adam Smith will bring an endless bounty to society. Never mind the four decades of proof those of us over 40 just lived through. What you need to understand is that their idea of “society” is limited. To those who look like them, or want to BE them.
It’s a society that doesn’t include those without boots with which the bootstrap metaphor would not apply.
It doesn’t include those with boots that can’t make the metaphor work for them due to a panoply of ordinary reasons.
It doesn’t include those with boots but not the boots that come with bootstraps.
Pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps doesn’t work — in general — for a society of 330 million.
The Grand Old Party, especially the most recent iteration which is weighed down by the smarmiest bad actors to ever seek power, shouldn’t exist. Their constituency ought to be next-to-nobody. Or, only the independently wealthy who care about nothing other than where they’re going to get their next bottle of Louis XIII Remy Martin.
Because their sole reason for governing has proven to be providing tax breaks and the means for which the wealthy can become wealthier. They use fear, loathing, bribes and threats to remain in power. They have no interest in looking out for the common good. They are without qualms — however — when it comes to giving the keys to the kingdom to rapacious industries.
At the very least, Democrats and progressives seem to want to let more folks take part in America’s capitalist spoils.
I just read how local governments across the nation — inspired by a group called RIP Medical Debt — are using excess COVID funds to buy back medical debt. John Oliver retired $15 million in medical debt to show how easy it could be.
It’s a shame America has to resort to this sort of crowd-funding means, like the ubiquitous GoFundMe campaigns, to free people from soul-crushing medical bills.
Medical bankruptcy is an American phenomenon. As a matter of fact, it’s as American as apple pie. No other industrialized nation with a similar status suffers from the same distinction.
Here’s another piece of good news tempered with the need for a heightened awareness because ‘dark forces’ are gathering:
Democrats in the once soviet state of Washington passed a bill a while back that increased taxes on Capital Gains (passive income — which everyone loves — but only the wealthiest get to enjoy) above a quarter million dollars. This means, of course, that the bill directly affects only those who don’t need coddling in the first place.
Those who, alone, without the assistance of anyone else, or any government-funded services, have already yanked themselves by their bootstraps to the top of the heap, and are now luxuriating in the spoils. Untaxed passive income rolling in like the tides.
I’m being facetious, of course.
I read just yesterday the tax worked exceptionally well and Washington state has an extra $900 million in their annual budget which, I believe, the bill earmarks for specific social safety net like programs, or projects everyone in the state benefits from. You know, typical do-gooder, thinking-of-others kind of things.
Sadly, a hedge fund billionaire by the name of Brian Heywood, fled California’s do-gooder (in his mind: onerous) tax structure for liberal, state income tax-free Washington. He thought he’d found a financial Shangri La — until the new Washington Capital Gains tax made him slightly less of a billionaire. This must have gotten under Brian’s skin. He’s bankrolling Washington’s milquetoast Republican party to the tune of 6 million dollars.
It’s a good investment for him because, I will guarantee you, he earns more than $6 million annually by sitting on his duff. And he’ll go to hell and back to retain every last cent.
If you see a Lets Go Washington ad, put your skeptic hat on. It’s being pushed at you by someone who believes the billions he has banked somewhere are doing you — and society — a favor. The trickle down — like TheFormerGuy’s health care plan — should happen any day now.
Almost 1 billion dollars raised for the good of the many from one minor increase on a form of income that only exists in the realm of the well-to-do? You can understand why the ultra-wealthy would be worried. They’re afraid we’ll milk them into non-existence.
The Patriotic Millionaires are pushing for something they refer to as the Oligarch Act.
What is it? As far as conservatives are concerned, it’s pure socialism:
What’s in the OLIGARCH Act?
The OLIGARCH Act implements a tax on the wealth of the ultra-rich based on the level of inequality the country suffers. When inequality reaches destabilizing levels, the tax is high. When inequality is at a manageable level, the tax disappears. The tax works as follows:
2% for all wealth between 1,000 and 10,000 times median household wealth;4% for all wealth between 10,000 and 100,000 times median household wealth;6% for all wealth between 100,000 and 1,000,000 times median household wealth;8% for all wealth over 1,000,000 times median household wealth.
Additionally, because the richest households are the most likely to evade taxes, the bill includes a requirement for at least a 30% audit rate on oligarch households and establishes penalties for substantial valuation understatements.
In the unlikely event median household wealth fell below $50,000 from its current level of about $120,000, the thresholds would be fixed at $50 million, $500 million, $5 billion, and $50 billion respectively. Otherwise, the tax is not pegged to a specified dollar threshold. By design, this causes the tax to wax and wane with wealth concentration, intensifying during periods of rising inequality, but tapering off to near non-existence when median household wealth increases and inequality moderates to an acceptable level.
Because the richest households are the largest tax evaders, the bill also includes significant enforcement measures, including a requirement for at least a 30% audit rate on households covered by this tax, and establishes penalties for substantial valuation understatements.
It’s all pie-in-the-sky, of course.
Even though our severely rejiggered tax structure is the one glaring difference between 1960s America and the America of today, the hue and cry about the threats of collectivism will keep the not-so-well informed voters agitated enough to swallow the Red Scare-mongers bullshit.
Even though the social contracts between the government and the not-so-well informed voters is what’s keeping them above water (Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, SNAP, Fannie Mae, WIC, food stamps, ACA, etc), they’ll continue to fall victim to the Red-baiting tactics of conservative politicians who’ve never met a tax break they didn’t like.
Even though the odds of America ever being Sweden are the same as the odds of me kicking the winning field goal in the Super Bowl, conservative talking heads will continue to trot out Socialist and Communist straw boogeymen to keep the less informed uneasy and uncertain.
The New Deal was a GOOD deal for America. That’s what the Many — the majority — need to remember.
Watched The Need to Grow last night on YouTube. It was eye-opening.
The Green Power House featured in the documentary is one of those inventions that has the capacity to be a complete game-changer. However, I’ve been on the planet long enough to have caught wind of dozens of complete game-changers that never saw the light of day. Or never reached critical mass.
The GPH would seem to be something one of our idle multi-billionaires could get behind instead of vanity projects like building phallic spaceships to go to Mars or buying social media companies in order to fulfill sophomoric fantasies.
Ah, well. We’ll see.
Also —
Meme of the Week.
Another good one!