Why should income inequality matter if the life standards of everyone rises?. As a guy who grew up in socialized India and saw the effects of this kinda of rhetoric i am worried about the future of America!
Excellent point. In my opinion this sort of rhetoric is a substitute for addressing the real issue which is the value actually being provided by government services.
If you tell a poor person "We spent your social security on the war and now we're going to lower the amount you receive" that's asking to be voted out of office. If you tell them "The greedy rich person got a tax cut and that's why your social security is gone. Let us fight them" that gets a lot of people upset and helps politicians win elections.
"If you tell a poor person "We spent your social security on the war and now we're going to lower the amount you receive" that's asking to be voted out of office. If you tell them "The greedy rich person got a tax cut and that's why your social security is gone. Let us fight them" that gets a lot of people upset and helps politicians win elections."
It's funny how, in both scenarios, it would seem the poor person would likely vote democratic, yet Republicans still win 6 out of 10 times. Perhaps, it's because the republican in scenario #1 just issues IOUs to the SS trust while still waging the wars, but spins it by saying "war is manly and we're awesome so debts (and deficits) don't apply to us", then when the house of cards fall, and the democrats scratch out a victory in the next election cycle due to voter frustration, the republicans whip up the frustration and then pivot it by saying "see? we told you the liberals would destroy us. debts are TERRIBLE! give us another chance!"
It's the virtuous circle of modern politics, which is why I don't even bother with it anymore.
It would be nice if the country had a discussion about the role of government and what we want from government. After figuring out what we really want government to do the go about finding the best way to fund it. It's not likely we'll have this debate though.
It's better for TV to have an us vs. them debate when it comes to politics. It's always about a Republican proposal or a Democratic proposal. Rarely do you see the talking heads discussing what is the best course of action.
