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There is no deflection. The chart, compiled by Open Secrets from federal election filings, happens to show the bias in the contributions.
Of note is there is only 1 corporation among the top 15 contributors, and that is ATT. Several people on the left have posted that the evil rich and evil corporations purchase politicians -- the data show the purchasers are more often unions, both private sector and public sector.
There are 100 senators, 435 in the US House of Representatives, and one President/Vice-President. That is 536 offices, comprising 537 people.
I personally think we would be better off changing 100% of them. That is, re-elect NO ONE. How hard should it be to vote out 537 people?
Oh -- we don't live in a democracy; we live in a constitutional republic.
I agree we should vote them all out.
Every single one. Problem is anyone you replace them with will just be another of the same ilk.
That's why reforms have to come, then dissolve Congress and hold elections under the new rules.
It's not about which party you support, neither of them is going to do anything for the common man.
Data in this case is misleading, as it doesn't reflect contributions concealed by smaller donation amounts from numerous corporate entities and old boy network fundraisers. Data does not equate with truth, it is merely another piece of the puzzle.
Last edited by The Maleman; 02-01-2015 at 01:42 PM..
So many posters here are middle class, and they clearly hate -- loathe -- those who are in the upper income class and upper wealth class.
Why can't middle class people just get along with those who earn more/are worth more? I
Is it just jealousy, or is there more to it?
the thing is most people do not even know which 1% they are talking about I would assume the 1% of 1%.
they need to make a clear distinction.
because the 1% of 1% use tax loopholes to dodge taxes and file for bankruptcy while they keep their real wealth hidden in tax havens.
the middle class would LOVE to be able to do what the 1% of 1% can do to evade tax.
unfortunately the middle class doesn't have enough wealth to make it feasible otherwise everyone would be doing it.
unfortunately the 1% of 1% put in loopholes to exclude everyone but themselves from the taxes they put into place and bribed politicians to
trick the leeching class into thinking that the laws really help them.
but in fact they are using the leeching class to trick the middle class to siding with them so they can push forward idiotic laws to destroy themselves.
So stupid. Yet so effective
the stupid leeches need to stop and think
the income tax hurts the middle class NOT the 1% nor the 1% of 1% idiots.
in fact the worse tax of them all = income tax and the 1% of 1% would laugh at us as it would never affect them in the least.
IF one wants to tax you need to tax based on sales or tax based on property or a combination of both but repeal the income tax is necessary.
Property tax hurts the rich far more than the poor or middle class
while
sales tax hurts everyone equally but many claim it is recessive.
income tax hurts the middle class the most and then poor while rich are unscathed because they know how to avoid 90% of the tax-eg loopholes compared to their income.
the thing is most people do not even know which 1% they are talking about I would assume the 1% of 1%.
they need to make a clear distinction.
because the 1% of 1% use tax loopholes to dodge taxes and file for bankruptcy while they keep their real wealth hidden in tax havens.
the middle class would LOVE to be able to do what the 1% of 1% can do to evade tax.
unfortunately the middle class doesn't have enough wealth to make it feasible otherwise everyone would be doing it.
unfortunately the 1% of 1% put in loopholes to exclude everyone but themselves from the taxes they put into place and bribed politicians to
trick the leeching class into thinking that the laws really help them.
but in fact they are using the leeching class to trick the middle class to siding with them so they can push forward idiotic laws to destroy themselves.
So stupid. Yet so effective
Since you are such an expert, maybe you can list some specific examples?
It's more like the top .05 percent..the top 1 percent includes doctors and a lot of small business owners. People are fed up with the top 1 percent because they're income keeps going up but everyone else's has stagnated or gotten lower. It's not supposed to work like that. If the stock market is sky rocketing and the top 1 percent income is going up, everyone else's should be to. At least that's what Reagan said.. There's clearly a problem somewhere. The people that control the stock market are the true war wagers against the working class and middle class and most of those people are in the top 1 percent. That's why they want to keep wages as low as possible. Most people would be happy to pay more taxes if they were paid more.
Last edited by wanderlust76; 02-01-2015 at 11:24 PM..
It's more like the top .05 percent..the top 1 percent includes doctors and a lot of small business owners. People are fed up with the top 1 percent because they're income keeps going up but everyone else's has stagnated or gotten lower. It's not supposed to work like that. If the stock market is sky rocketing and the top 1 percent income is going up, everyone else's should be to.
It is, but far too many don't realize it because too many Americans are ignorant about economics and their own pension/retirement accounts.
Quote:
"This shift of business ownership from rich people to working people may be the greatest economic transformation since the Industrial Revolution.
...So what does all this mean? Well, for starters, it should lead to an end of complaints about the profits of corporations and allegations about 'greedy corporations.' After all, much of that profit now goes toward the current and future retirement incomes of working people."
Everyone who contributes to or benefits from an IRA,401K, pension fund (public employee, union, or private sector),mutual fund, annuity, or whole life insurance policy, etc.,DEPENDS on corporate profits. Just so you understand, I'll reiterate... they DEPEND on corporate profits.
How anyone fails to connect the dots on how so very many Americans' retirement plans (pensions, IRAs/401Ks, annuities, etc.) absolutely depend on corporate profits is beyond me. Don't people have critical thinking skills anymore?
When people in the popular press, the OWS crowd and those on the left talk about "The 1%", they muddle the conversation, as only the top of the 1% are truly wealthy.
Going by the numbers on the above chart, there are about 314 Million people in the USA with less than $100 Million, and about 2441 people with more than $100 Million. Talk about those 2441 people, and you've got my attention. 2441 of about 314 Million is about 0.078%
But somehow, those on the left talk about those ultra wealthy, and then levy taxes on the merely affluent. $500K/year certainly isn't hurting, but it is far from the domain of the wealthy.
A complex tax code favors those with assets over those that don't have them. It favors existing players over new comers. It is easy for the supper wealthy to game in their favor.
I'm for a simple tax code.
A flat tax on personal income at what ever % needed to balance the budget and repay 1% of the peek national debt a year, with everyone getting the same dollar value of a return. Everyone argues that a flat tax is harder on the bottom. But a simple tax code is even.
No inheritance tax. The existing players know how to get around it, the new comers don't and so they get hit.
SSI tax applies to everyone with a higher tax rate on the top end.
The minimum wage goes up 5% a year. The FED targets 2% inflation. That should put the burden from inflation on the top not the bottom.
A complex tax code favors those with assets over those that don't have them. It favors existing players over new comers. It is easy for the supper wealthy to game in their favor.
This is absolutely the truth. But it goes far beyond just taxes. Everything the government does favors the big over the small. It doesn't matter if its something as seemingly innocuous as building codes or zoning laws. Or even something like building roads, or things like "incorporation laws". Lets not even get started on the Federal Reserve.
Now, before we critique the government or the wealth it produces, or even whose hands the wealth accumulates into; We must first understand the purpose of government in regards to the "modern nation-state".
The truth is, all of the nation-states around the world are competing with each other for economic, social, cultural, political, and military domination of the world. This has been the case for hundreds if not thousands of years.
The reason we talk incessantly about economic growth is not because it truly benefits the individual. The reason we talk about economic growth, is because it benefits the United States government. A more powerful economy means the United States can use its economy to influence the world. Either through sanctions, or even loans. A larger economy means more tax revenue for the US government. Which means more capacity to build a stronger and more advanced military which can project American power around the world. A larger economy means better exchange rates, allowing us to more cheaply acquire resources from foreign states. And since we are the largest economy, it means the currency of the United States becomes the currency of international trade itself, the world's "Reserve currency". Which gives a significant advantage to the United States in regards to its desire for economic, social, cultural, political, and military domination of the world.
The government created corporations and assists corporations, because the only purpose of a corporation is to make as much profit as possible. And they have the size, scale, and resources to expand their markets around the world.
Basically, mom-and-pop stores aren't expanding into foreign markets. There aren't mom-and-pop stores expanding into Moscow, or Beijing, or Milan. No, the American companies expanding into foreign markets are things like McDonald's and Wal-Mart. It is Ford and Chevrolet. It is Boeing and Coca-Cola.
The government must maximize the profits of corporations, because it is corporations who are bringing in those huge revenues that can be extracted by the US government.
If we understand that the world economy is increasingly powered by finance and its speculators(IE investors). You'll see why the centers of finance around the world have become the centers of the wealth and power around the world. These financial centers are the product of their relationship to central banks, and the huge advantages that access to low-interest-rate capital gives to those who have direct access to it(IE, not people like you and me, but corporate banks and other corporate interests).
This access to cheap capital, and the protection and encouragement of the US government in regards to corporate-interests, has allowed the domination of the US economy by Wall-street. Let me remind you that the domination of Wall-Street over the economy is not the natural outcome of the free-market. Rather, it is the outcome of benefits, privileges, and protections granted to the banks and corporations for the last 200 years.
Even more problematic is that, this nearly unlimited access to capital through central banks, and the insatiable hunger for the economic growth of nation-states; Has created something many have referred to as "Neo-Colonialism". Whereby nation-states who want to maintain access to natural resources in other countries, constantly intervene in the internal affairs of foreign countries.
They normally do this by providing military assistance, military equipment, or providing loans to factions within a country who are willing to develop that countries natural resources(regardless of what it takes).
And since foreign governments can basically control who will be in power of a territory simply by giving weapons and money to whomever they want to control that piece of territory. Then in effect, foreign governments continue to control developing nations simply by fomenting Civil unrest and destroying their traditional economies. Both of those things force the governments of developing countries perpetually into debt. Which makes them increasingly dependent on foreign creditors and foreign governments.
Basically, the US government loves its corporations and bankers, and will do nothing to prevent them from trying to dominate the world through profit maximization. Even if that means to remain competitive, America has to continue lowering corporate taxes. For that matter, the US military is never used to defend America itself. It is only used to protect "American interests". Which is merely a code-word for guaranteeing America's access to foreign markets and foreign resources.
With that said, there isn't a whole lot that can be done. If America, its military, its corporations, and its banks weren't out bullying the world, it would just be someone else(IE China). That is just how the world works.
The government must maximize the profits of corporations, because it is corporations who are bringing in those huge revenues that can be extracted by the US government.
Russia had a problem back in the day. Their big collective farms didn't work. It was the small peasant farmers that fed them.
But the government has shot itself in the foot. It allowed a lot of outsourcing. That made other countries rich and ours poor. Chasing corporate profits isn't the end all be all of things economic.
I would have to think there are a lot more than 2441 people with $100 million or more.
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. There's clearly a problem somewhere. The people that control the stock market are the true war wagers against the working class and middle class and most of those people are in the top 1 percent. That's why they want to keep wages as low as possible. Most people would be happy to pay more taxes if they were paid more.
