Class warfare

Dear Editor:House Speaker John Boehner has called President Obama's tax proposals "class warfare." We're not supposed to talk about "class warfare." Why not? It's always in the background to a certain extent, and came out in the open with the inauguration of George W. Bush in 2001. And in case you haven't noticed, the rich are winning. One of their weapons is the "trickle down" theory, the argument that making the rich richer will somehow help those below. How has that worked? Under the Bush economic program, which is still the Republican mantra today, Forbes reports that there are more rich and they are richer. Welfare rolls report that there are more poor and they are poorer. Obviously the real economic flow has been "trickle up" rather than "trickle down." And when the poor and middle classes didn't have enough left to pass up to the rich, the system crashed anyway. When consumer spending began to increase, it was hailed as a sign of recovery. In reality, it was not just a sign, it was the cause. When an item moves off the shelf, the store has to replace it, so the factory gets a new order. When enough of that occurs, the factory hires more people, who in turn go to stores and make purchases. The rich, no matter how rich, can only use so many products. The real "job creators" are consumers. It's the rest of the public that drives the economy, and the economy can't do better than the average family is doing. The frequently used slogan, "A rising tide lifts all ships," is actually a lie. Those that are firmly anchored to the bottom simply get swamped, and we've seen a lot of that. These have been difficult times. Sacrifice is asked of those seeking education, those needing health care, veterans needing rehabilitation and job training, and workers needing improved mobility through infrastructure. Everyone needs to sacrifice except the wealthy. Talk about entitlements! David Mathews Downey

********** Published: May 17, 2012 - Volume 11 - Issue 05