I'll start with a complaint. Why am I making contributions to an alumni association that did not inform me of the November 21st "Occupy CUNY" march on Wall Street? I'd have been there, and so would a lot of other long-ago graduates who went to CUNY... those of us who went for FREE.
We geezers who attended the schools of the City University of New York before 1976 paid no tuition. Why, I have to wonder, was New York City able to do it then, but not now?
Well, the city has lost a hell of a lot of state aid over the years — but where did that money go? I'm still not sure. Also, I'm not sure where the federal money went, specifically, except that the later seventies were the time that tax rates on the rich began their precipitous fall.
College should be free. It's hard enough to make it out of the working class — and if you have to put yourself in ridiculously crazy debt you can't even shed in bankruptcy court to get a little bit beyond where your parents were, it may never happen. (Are there any corporate debts that can't be shed in bankruptcy? I can't think of any.)
Back in the sixties, I'm sure I could have qualified for some financial aid, and probably won a scholarship or two, but I doubt it would have been enough to get me all the way through a private college. It's certainly not enough for many students today, especially since jobs for those without college degrees are in such short supply and pay so poorly (and since full-time work and full-time school really are incompatible.)
The Occupy movement is about economic inequality — but also points out how generally screwed up our priorities have been for the past few decades. It's really time to get them straightened out.
Showing posts with label occupy Wall Street. Show all posts
Showing posts with label occupy Wall Street. Show all posts
Monday, December 5, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
999?
Herman Cain has been shooting himself in both feet from quite a few different angles lately, but now that some major media have started paying attention to what econometricians make of his 999 plan, we should not have to wait too long for the shot to his head. Although all of 999 is a shameless giveaway to the rich, the real "killer" is the national sales tax.
Even innumerate Americans can understand that a 9.1% federal sales tax on every gallon of milk, every pair of new shoes, every gallon of gas, and everything else except for "used" items (used milk?) will cost them a hell of a lot of money. Ordinary Americans, who spend most (or all) of their incomes would be hit the hardest. Even those willing to ignore how a 9% income tax would devastate the working poor will come to view that sales tax with horror.
The rich, of course, whose incomes far exceed whatever they conceivably could spend, would pay an even smaller proportion of their incomes in taxes than they do now. I'm far too lazy to do the math and construct a chart showing the impact of "999" on people in different income brackets, but I assume somebody will do it fairly soon — probably some anonymous somebody from the Romney campaign. (It won't be the Obamanistas, who will be happy to see Republican infighting go on for as long as possible.)
In the meanwhile, most of the Wall Street money is going to Romney — and as far as politics is concerned, Wall Street money is the smart money. Needless to say, though, the financiers are hedging their bets by contributing to Obama as well. Then again, once there's a clear leader — of whatever party — they'll flood him with money. They always like the winner to think he couldn't have won without them. (It sure worked with Obama!)
Following up on my previous post: recent polling shows that a majority of Americans are sympathetic to the "goals" of the Occupy Wall Street movement — which shows that you really don't need specific policy goals to win public support. Most Americans don't have specific policy goals. They just get it.
Even innumerate Americans can understand that a 9.1% federal sales tax on every gallon of milk, every pair of new shoes, every gallon of gas, and everything else except for "used" items (used milk?) will cost them a hell of a lot of money. Ordinary Americans, who spend most (or all) of their incomes would be hit the hardest. Even those willing to ignore how a 9% income tax would devastate the working poor will come to view that sales tax with horror.
The rich, of course, whose incomes far exceed whatever they conceivably could spend, would pay an even smaller proportion of their incomes in taxes than they do now. I'm far too lazy to do the math and construct a chart showing the impact of "999" on people in different income brackets, but I assume somebody will do it fairly soon — probably some anonymous somebody from the Romney campaign. (It won't be the Obamanistas, who will be happy to see Republican infighting go on for as long as possible.)
In the meanwhile, most of the Wall Street money is going to Romney — and as far as politics is concerned, Wall Street money is the smart money. Needless to say, though, the financiers are hedging their bets by contributing to Obama as well. Then again, once there's a clear leader — of whatever party — they'll flood him with money. They always like the winner to think he couldn't have won without them. (It sure worked with Obama!)
* * *
Following up on my previous post: recent polling shows that a majority of Americans are sympathetic to the "goals" of the Occupy Wall Street movement — which shows that you really don't need specific policy goals to win public support. Most Americans don't have specific policy goals. They just get it.
Friday, October 14, 2011
The Occupation
I don't believe the media really does not understand what it is the "Occupy Wall Street" crowd and their cousins around the country are demanding. Maybe news types are so accustomed to "specific" recommendations like Perry's call to drill for oil and gas in National Wildlife Refuges or Cain's idea for an immensely regressive national sales tax (more on that in a later post) that a simple idea like "Stop the goddamned plutocratic parasites from sucking our blood" is beyond their comprehension.
No, it's not beyond their comprehension. They just don't like to think about such a scary idea because the media are owned and controlled by goddamned plutocratic parasites. So who is left to explain the Occupation's simple, straightforward message to the long-deluded segment of the 99% who haven't quite caught on?
Simple. Those of us who do understand have to make every effort to explain, face to face, to those who don't. Most people catch on immediately, even those who never heard the word "plutocrat" before. Do not leave the task to organizations like MoveOn.org, which are working hard to co-opt a populist movement on behalf of Obama and the Democrats. The Democrats — especially since Clinton — have done just as much to advance the parasitic/plutocratic agenda as the Republicans.
Screw the Democrats. It's time for us to do it ourselves.
No, it's not beyond their comprehension. They just don't like to think about such a scary idea because the media are owned and controlled by goddamned plutocratic parasites. So who is left to explain the Occupation's simple, straightforward message to the long-deluded segment of the 99% who haven't quite caught on?
Simple. Those of us who do understand have to make every effort to explain, face to face, to those who don't. Most people catch on immediately, even those who never heard the word "plutocrat" before. Do not leave the task to organizations like MoveOn.org, which are working hard to co-opt a populist movement on behalf of Obama and the Democrats. The Democrats — especially since Clinton — have done just as much to advance the parasitic/plutocratic agenda as the Republicans.
Screw the Democrats. It's time for us to do it ourselves.
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