COLUMN: From the Left
There’s no doubt that things are seriously wrong in this country. From the rise in populist movements, such as the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street, a general dissatisfaction with the status quo is evident. It seems people everywhere are frustrated — even those who were once inclined to be apolitical — uniting their voices to express discontent.
A recently released poll by the Pew Research Forum reflects this observation, finding that two-thirds of Americans perceive a growing conflict and division between rich and poor in the United States.
Most interestingly, those who felt that way weren’t just bleeding-heart liberals but were from across the political spectrum — Independents to Republicans.
Income inequality now ranks ahead of racial tensions between blacks and whites, immigrants and U.S. citizens, and even between young and old, as sources of conflict. This is one evidence of the success the Occupy Wall Street movement has in bringing the class issue to the public consciousness and discourse — and hopefully to the polls.
While average, honest and hard-working people have seen their incomes and wages stagnate, or even fall, over the past 20 years, a very small, yet powerful, group of people have seen their incomes rise at record rates. The top 1 percent of income earners bring home more than the bottom 50 percent of Americans combined — tripling since the 1970s.
Many reports over the past year have demonstrated the slipping levels of economic well-being for many Americans.
A recent study released by Indiana University found 46 million Americans lived in poverty last year — 11 million more since 2006.
U.S. Census data concurs. The bureau found that nearly half of Americans have either fallen below the poverty line or are classified under the category of “low income” — a total of 146.4 million people. Nearly one in three of these individuals are children. More alarmingly, many of these families were once considered middle class. In other words, class mobility is down in America — not up.
I cite these statistics to emphasize that the numbers are not aberrations but time after time demonstrate the alarming, systemic trend that poverty is increasing in this country.
Meanwhile, people like Mitt Romney, and others in the investment class, have huge advantages not permitted to the rest of us. Last week, at a campaign stop in South Carolina — and after much goading — Romney revealed that his tax rate is about 15 percent. On the other hand, taxes on regular income, such as wages and salaries, is 35 percent.
Ironically, Mitt Romney — whose own father released his tax forms going back more than 10 years when he ran for president — refuses to release his tax returns any further back than 2011.
Most likely it is because he, like others of his stripe, has taken advantage of special tax havens in far-flung locales, such as the Cayman Islands, to avoid further taxation.
It is time to end preferential treatment given to the rich and powerful in this country. Their prestige does not justify their manipulation of the system for continued gain.
They may have the lobbyists in Washington, D.C., but it is the middle class who have the numbers on their side come election day. Ultimately, it is with the middle class that the power rests. Together, they can take the country back from corporate control and enacting policies that represent their interests.