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Title: OWS has transformed public opinion For the first time since the Great Depression, the majority of Americans favor wealth redistribution
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URL Source: http://www.salon.com/2011/10/31/how ... rmed_public_opinion/singleton/
Published: Nov 2, 2011
Author: Bob
Post Date: 2011-11-02 09:47:55 by tom007
Keywords: None
Views: 833
Comments: 70
OWS has transformed public opinion For the first time since the Great Depression, the majority of Americans favor wealth redistribution By Robert Reich ows protest Topics:Occupy Wall Street, Great Recession This originally appeared on Robert Reich's blog. A combination of police crackdowns and bad weather are testing the young Occupy movement. But rumors of its demise are premature, to say the least. Although numbers are hard to come by, anecdotal evidence suggests the movement is growing. As importantly, the movement has already changed the public debate in America. Consider, for example, last week’s Congressional Budget Office report on widening disparities of income in America. It was hardly news – it’s already well known that the top 1 percent now gets 20 percent of the nation’s income, up from 9 percent in the late 1970s. But it’s the first time such news made the front page of the nation’s major newspapers. Why? Because for the first time in more than half a century, a broad cross-section of the American public is talking about the concentration of income, wealth and political power at the top. Score a big one for the Occupiers. Even more startling is the change in public opinion. Not since the 1930s has a majority of Americans called for redistribution of income or wealth. But according to a recent New York Times/CBS News poll, an astounding 66 percent of Americans said the nation’s wealth should be more evenly distributed. A similar majority believes the rich should pay more in taxes. According to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, even a majority of people who describe themselves as Republicans believe taxes should be increased on the rich. I remember the days when even raising the subject of inequality made you a “class warrior.” Now, it seems, most Americans have become class warriors. And they blame Republicans for stacking the deck in favor of the rich. On that New York Times/CBS News poll, 69 percent of respondents said Republican policies favor the rich (28 percent said the same of Obama’s policies). The old view was anyone could make it in America with enough guts and gumption. We believed in the self-made man (or, more recently, woman) who rose from rags to riches – inventors and entrepreneurs born into poverty, like Benjamin Franklin; generations of young men from humble beginnings who grew up to became president, like Abe Lincoln. We loved the novellas of Horatio Alger, and their more modern equivalents – stories that proved the American dream was open to anyone who worked hard. In that old view, being rich was proof of hard work, and lack of money proof of indolence or worse. As Herman Cain still says “if you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, blame yourself.” But Cain’s line isn’t hitting a responsive chord. In fact, he’s backtracked from it (along with much of the rest of what he’s said). A profound change has come over America. Guts, gumption, and hard work don’t seem to pay off as they once did – or at least as they did in our national morality play. Instead, the game seems rigged in favor of people who are already rich and powerful – as well as their children. Instead of lionizing the rich, we’re beginning to suspect they gained their wealth by ripping us off. Mitt Romney is defensive about his vast wealth (reputed to total a quarter of a billion). He’s reverted to scolding his audiences on the campaign trail for “attacking people based on heir success.” The old view was also that great wealth trickled downward – that the rich made investments in jobs and growth that benefitted all of us. So even if we doubted we’d be wealthy, we still gained from the fortunes made by a few. But that view, too, has lost its sheen. Nothing has trickled down. The rich have become far richer over the last three decades but the rest of us haven’t. In fact, median incomes are dropping. Wall Street moguls are doing better than ever – after having been bailed out by the rest of us. But the rest of us are doing worse. CEOs are hauling in more than 300 times the pay of average workers (up from 40 times the pay only three decades ago), as average workers lose jobs, wages, and benefits. Instead of investing in jobs and growth, the super rich are putting their money into gold or Treasury bills, or investing it in Brazil or South Asia or anywhere else it can reap the highest return. Meanwhile, it’s dawning on Americans that in the real economy (as opposed to the financial one) our spending is vital. And without enough jobs or wages, that spending is drying up. The economy is in trouble because so much income and wealth have been going to the top that the rest us no longer have the purchasing power to buy the goods and services we would produce at or near full employment. The jobs depression shows no sign of ending. Personal disposable income, adjusted for inflation, was down 1.7 percent in the third quarter of this year – the biggest drop since the third quarter of 2009. Housing prices have stalled, home sales are down. The only reason consumer spending rose in September is because we drew from our meager savings – mostly in order to pay medical bills, health insurance, and utilities. That’s the third month of savings declines, according to the Commerce Department’s report last Friday. This can’t and won’t continue. Savings are now down to 3.6 percent of personal disposable income, their lowest level since the recession began. Americans know a rigged game when they see one. They understand how much money is flowing into politics from the super rich, big corporations, and Wall Street — in order to keep their taxes low and entrench their privileged position. The Occupy movement is gaining ground because it’s hitting a responsive chord. What happens from here on depends on whether other Americans begin to march to the music — and organize. Robert Reich, a professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley, was secretary of labor during the Clinton administration. He is also a blogger and the author of "Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future."More Robert Reich
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#1. To: tom007 (#0)
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The relationship between morality and liberty is a directly proportional one. None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. Not one sentence from Robert Reich about Congress and the Federal Reserve and their responsibility for our sour economy due to decades of institutional fraud.
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The relationship between morality and liberty is a directly proportional one. None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. deleted
The relationship between morality and liberty is a directly proportional one. None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. Americans are a joke. I despise the majority of the US population,"something for nothing" is their mantra. They want trick or treat everyday, and they dress the part. Robert Reich is a horror show on parade.
Republican Rome had it's problems with masses of disaffected mobs who expected a handout from Caesar. It appears that even the history majors that are no doubt sprinkled throughout the OWS mobs are purposefully silent about seeing history repeat itself right in front of their very eyes. The corrupt avoid the topic of corruption. " If you cannot govern yourself, you will be governed by assholes. " Randge, Poet de Forum, 1/11/11 "Life's tough, and even tougher if you're stupid." --John Wayne
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The relationship between morality and liberty is a directly proportional one. None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. deleted
The relationship between morality and liberty is a directly proportional one. None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. if the pie is getting smaller, and the fat boys are getting a bigger and bigger share of what's left of the pie... where's the justice in that? if you dont have justice, you have unhappy people, and when unhappy people cant make a living and feed themselves and their kids, they do nasty things. the situation is gonna get worse, no matter what (which is why the fat boys are looting... they've seen it coming for decades), so you, if you're somebody whose share of the pie is shrinking, might as well do something, even if it's wrong... seeing as how it's only gonna get worse, whatever you do. and doing something makes you feel better about yourself. so with that in mind (the theraputic benefits of doing something even if it's worng), you fat guys ought to start beating up protesters, and locking them up, and shooting them... you know that's what it's coming to, so you might as well get the ball rolling, hadnt you?
shoot a homeless person for jesus.
{{{{applauding}}}}!!!!!!
what a huge leap...good lord.
well, you're right... i'm not really expecting you people to get your hands bloody... i'm sure there's gonna be a huge supply of starving peons you can recruit into your military to do the shooting for you. ...but armies are expensive, so that's just another reason to continue the looting, isnt it? and then there's the cheapest method of all... divide the population into factions that shoot each other... you can make another tidy little buck selling them the guns.
you people? mr. socialist
mr. socialist what do you think blackwater is for? privatized armies... good deal. so your privatized armies can shoot starving americans while adhering to the highest raditions of capitalism... you sell guns to your military corporations, and sell (not quite such good guns) to the factions that are killing each other. and, in the best of all possible worlds, your military corporations wont have to shoot many people at all, because the starving factions will be too preccupied with killing each other... which is where y our propaganda and black ops come in... all your military corporations will have to do is defend you and your little enclaves.
When will Hebrews like Robt. Reich STFU, and either sit down, or be put down?
Here you go again Eric. Not everybody is entrepreneurial material, just as everybody isn't a surgical doctor. If you are an entrepreneur, thank your lucky stars that you have that ability. Why not some income redistribution? The rich have all the money and are grubbing for more. They have so much money and power they have bribed our representatives in government and corrupted our system and economy. The way you support the 1%, it looks like they made all that money the old fashioned way, they earned it. I hate to tell you this, but all that wealth has blood all over it. I do not believe there are very honest businesses today! They all have their hands out grubbing for handoutd, bailouts and their corrupt friends in government keeps taking from the 99% and giving the 1% whatever they want with no concerne for the rest of us including small businesses. It is past time this economic bubble burst and we need to start all over. There needs to prosecutions of those who have stolen from and destroyed our economic system. Hope that doesn't include you. By the way, there wasn't anything in my panties that was irritating. Only you trying to get behind me and doing a nasty deed. I didn't know you were a "backdoor" guy!
Pics or BS!!!! :p How true that statement is. He's just another joo suffering from a case of short man's disease, i.e., not enough head on his neck to full with sufficient grey matter to give the midget the tools with which to THINK, let alone understand what is going on around him! I agree with you that Americans are a joke. That is about as good a compliment as one can give!
naw......I will wait till they break and enter, .45 to the head will take care of it, self defense, you know, it has moral principle behind it. You need to hit the Zombies in the head to off 'em.
Do you really believe this bull honky !? Go pick some apples and bake a pie for Jebus sakes. You have no knowledge of economics to you ? A good start would be Mises.org, jus sayn :)
Now that might be some "pie" I can get behind ! :) And what's so wrong about doggy-style ?!! I've been taking the Herminator class on pickn up white chicks, is it workn, or just makn me blush...lol
We're talking Hershey highway. Apparently that is what Eric likes.
who me?
lol ;P
Don't kid yourself though the Protestant Brahmins of the NE and then the Italian Catholics, and the Irish Catholics practiced the same kind of Ethnic Networking that we are seeing on Wall Street. The Jewish Mob just has more practice at it and effectively wiped out the competition. But if you look at the history of organized crime in America you can find names like Siegel, Legs Diamond, Rothman, etc., .... Crime and criminality is not the province of any one specific ethnic group it is just that the Jews have a bigger outfit. It probably has its roots in much the same way the Sicilian Mob did - one group oppressing another and crime was the only avenue left to make a living - and they became very good at it, and very brutal. Oh, I know it is not entirely quite that simplistic as there are cultural elements as well, but my point is that demonizing and entire group for the actions of SOME is neither fair nor rational.
When I observe the jews continually degrading Western Civilization through pornography, miscegenation, the dilution of Christmas through litigation, and then see how they set themselves apart from the rest of humanity by using the term goyim to describe non-jews, I see no reason not to condemn the lot of them. It's fair and rational to oppose a group that's out to destroy Western Civilization.
Yes, even more so because of the way their disgusting degradation is designed to do us in. Just confirmation of their cowardice.
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The relationship between morality and liberty is a directly proportional one. None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. deleted
The relationship between morality and liberty is a directly proportional one. None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. deleted
The relationship between morality and liberty is a directly proportional one. None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. Why not some income redistribution? The rich have all the money and are grubbing for more. Actually I agree on some points with both of you. First not all of the top 1% got there by being crooks. Some got there by hard work and building a better mouse trap. I have no quarrel with them. As for the Bankster crooks who stole, cheated, defrauded, and murdered there way to wealth it should be nothing less than total confiscation of all of their ill gotten gains - and were it in my power they would spend the rest of their life at hard labor. deleted
The relationship between morality and liberty is a directly proportional one. None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. This is not technically true. We've had wealth redistribution going on for decades now, from the 90% to the 10%. The only thing that's changing is that people are beginning to think that maybe some of that ought to be reversed. I used the wrong link. - yukonIbluafartskyNotAgainYesAgain
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The relationship between morality and liberty is a directly proportional one. None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. deleted
The relationship between morality and liberty is a directly proportional one. None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. Sounds like she needs a spin cycle. Ya think ? I am an entrepreneur and a surgical doctor. I am familiar with Bambi, not so sure what an Ambi is exactly?
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The relationship between morality and liberty is a directly proportional one. None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.
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- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832
#2. To: tom007 (#0)
-Schweizerische Schuetzenzeitung (Swiss Shooting Federation) April, 1941
#3. To: X-15 (#2)
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832
#4. To: X-15 (#2)
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832
#5. To: tom007 (#0)
the majority of Americans favor wealth redistribution
#6. To: Eric Stratton (#3)
(Edited)
The primary "income" message by these people, the OWS-ers, seems to be "gimme, gimme, gimme from the 1%,"
-Schweizerische Schuetzenzeitung (Swiss Shooting Federation) April, 1941
#7. To: X-15 (#2)
Not one sentence from Robert Reich about Congress and the Federal Reserve and their responsibility for our sour economy due to decades of institutional fraud.
#8. To: abraxas (#7)
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832
#9. To: All (#7)
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832
#10. To: Lysander_Spooner (#5)
(Edited)
I despise the majority of the US population,"something for nothing" is their mantra.
#11. To: All (#10)
#12. To: Lysander_Spooner (#5)
#13. To: lead.and.lag (#10)
o, you fat guys ought to start beating up protesters, and locking them up, and shooting them... you know that's what it's coming to, so you might as well get the ball rolling, hadnt you?
#14. To: christine (#13)
(Edited)
what a huge leap...good lord
#15. To: lead.and.lag (#14)
#16. To: christine (#15)
(Edited)
you people?
#17. To: X-15, 4 (#2)
Not one sentence from Robert Reich about Congress and the Federal Reserve and their responsibility for our sour economy due to decades of institutional fraud.
#18. To: Eric Stratton (#3)
The problem with this OWS movement, at least as I am seeing it re: the majority of the protestors, is that these are not "entrepreneurial types," even the spokespeople.
#19. To: ambi (#18)
There needs to prosecutions of those who have stolen from and destroyed our economic system.
-Schweizerische Schuetzenzeitung (Swiss Shooting Federation) April, 1941
#20. To: ambi (#18)
By the way, there wasn't anything in my panties that was irritating.
-Schweizerische Schuetzenzeitung (Swiss Shooting Federation) April, 1941
#21. To: Lysander_Spooner (#5)
Robert Reich is a horror show on parade.
#22. To: lead.and.lag (#10)
so with that in mind (the theraputic benefits of doing something even if it's worng), you fat guys ought to start beating up protesters, and locking them up, and shooting them... you know that's what it's coming to, so you might as well get the ball rolling, hadnt you?
#23. To: lead.and.lag (#10)
the pie is getting smaller
#24. To: ambi, lead.and.lag (#18)
there wasn't anything in my panties that was irritating. Only you trying to get behind me and doing a nasty deed. I didn't know you were a "backdoor" guy!
#25. To: Lysander_Spooner (#24)
And what's so wrong about doggy-style ?!!
#26. To: lead.and.lag (#16)
you. you. you. you.
#27. To: Lysander_Spooner (#23)
#28. To: X-15 (#19)
#29. To: Original_Intent, *The hook-nosed Jew* (#28)
-Schweizerische Schuetzenzeitung (Swiss Shooting Federation) April, 1941
#30. To: X-15 (#29)
It's fair and rational to oppose a group that's out to destroy Western Civilization.
#31. To: ambi (#18)
(Edited)
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832
#32. To: Lysander_Spooner, All (#24)
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832
#33. To: ambi, All (#18)
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832
#34. To: ambi, Eric Stratton (#18)
Here you go again Eric. Not everybody is entrepreneurial material, just as everybody isn't a surgical doctor. If you are an entrepreneur, thank your lucky stars that you have that ability.
#35. To: ambi, All (#18)
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832
#36. To: tom007 (#0)
OWS has transformed public opinion For the first time since the Great Depression, the majority of Americans favor wealth redistribution
#37. To: Original_Intent (#34)
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832
#38. To: JRiggs (#36)
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832
#39. To: Eric Stratton, ambi (#32)
Give her a whirl!
#40. To: Lysander_Spooner (#39)
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832
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