![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Shared Sacrifice
Oct. 8th, 2011 12:57 amI keep hearing pundits talk about how the crumbling middle class in the US needs to do some "shared sacrifice" right now. They point to increased personal debt, reduced tax revenues and "entitlement programs" as the reasons the system is going bankrupt.
My response: what about the corporations?
What about the corporations that shipped tax-payers jobs overseas, cutting our tax base?
What about the corporations that got themselves sweetheart tax reductions for shipping those jobs overseas while cutting our tax base?
What about the corporations that didn't keep wages at pace with inflation and cut into our tax base?
What about the corporations that broke our financial system and got rich doing it, ripping into our tax base and our housing market?
What about the corporations that kept pumping up bonuses at the very top because the executives "needed the compensation" while crying poverty and cutting wages for most of the rest of their companies?
What about the corporations that sliced more jobs and wages out of their budgets to pump up dividends which mostly go to the 1%?
What about the corporations that have not been paying their fair share of taxes?
What about the corporations that have divorced themselves from any sense of community?
What about the corporations that can pay ludicrous fines out of pocket but claim they never have any money?
What about the corporations that arrange to move to states for the best bribes and tax breaks, then fail to follow through?
Our system is going bankrupt because these corporations have done their best to free themselves from the burden of community, of shared wealth with their employees, and of shared sacrifice as well.
If pundits want the middle class to get into some "shared sacrifice," I have news for them: the middle class is not going to meekly stand for "shared sacrifice" while the corporate class that has been grinding them down for three decades continues to share nothing.
We had much higher growth when the top tax tiers were 50%, 70%, even at 91%. It is time to return to those tax rates.
My response: what about the corporations?
What about the corporations that shipped tax-payers jobs overseas, cutting our tax base?
What about the corporations that got themselves sweetheart tax reductions for shipping those jobs overseas while cutting our tax base?
What about the corporations that didn't keep wages at pace with inflation and cut into our tax base?
What about the corporations that broke our financial system and got rich doing it, ripping into our tax base and our housing market?
What about the corporations that kept pumping up bonuses at the very top because the executives "needed the compensation" while crying poverty and cutting wages for most of the rest of their companies?
What about the corporations that sliced more jobs and wages out of their budgets to pump up dividends which mostly go to the 1%?
What about the corporations that have not been paying their fair share of taxes?
What about the corporations that have divorced themselves from any sense of community?
What about the corporations that can pay ludicrous fines out of pocket but claim they never have any money?
What about the corporations that arrange to move to states for the best bribes and tax breaks, then fail to follow through?
Our system is going bankrupt because these corporations have done their best to free themselves from the burden of community, of shared wealth with their employees, and of shared sacrifice as well.
If pundits want the middle class to get into some "shared sacrifice," I have news for them: the middle class is not going to meekly stand for "shared sacrifice" while the corporate class that has been grinding them down for three decades continues to share nothing.
We had much higher growth when the top tax tiers were 50%, 70%, even at 91%. It is time to return to those tax rates.
