Quote of the Week

Income Lift?


In a compelling article by David Cay Johnston, in Sunday's edition of The New York Times, "Corporate Wealth Share Rises to the Top," there are some hard, and fast figures proving that the rich are getting richer, and the poor poorer. Not surprisingly, as a result of a trend, in this administration, to cut taxes on capital, concentration of corporate wealth rose significantly among the wealthiest 1% of Americans. Conversely, for 99%, or the rest of us, there was a marked, and substantial, decline.

What might ultimately prove to be the quote of the week, if not of the century, the article quotes Trent Duffy, a White House spokesman: "We want to lift all incomes, and wealth. We are starting to see that the income gap is largely an education gap." So, it's not that this government, under Bush, has been working sedulously to cut capital gains taxes, estate taxes, challenge "quotas" (affirmative action) in employment, and university admission, and to raise tuition such that only the privileged can get a higher education, they add insult to injury by suggesting that it is education, and not their antediluvian, trickle down policies that put 99% of us in the basement while they play ping pong with our earnings in the master's quarters! White House spokesman, Mr. Duffy, is right about one thing---an educated consumer is their worst customer.

And I thought that only scum rises to the top--not money!