Lastly I want to thank you for proving my point. I said that people like you will make excuses as to why they are not rich rather then examine themselves as the cause of the situation they are in. And low and behold you provided said list of excuses. For the next exercise, give me a list of 10 things that you are responsible for concerning your ability to gain wealth.
Wow, looks like I hit a nerve with this one. I was asked to provide a list of “ten things the rich do to keep the poor down” not a discourse explaining how each of the 10 items on my list keeps the poor in their place. I think my list may have been taken a little too literally and I don’t think there is a silver bullet like the Dread Scott decision.
The wealthy have learned a thing or two about PR since the days of Marie Antoinette telling the masses to eat cake when they had no bread (BTW that’s “cake” as in what is caked on to the inside of an oven, not cup cakes”. So they tend to be a little more concerned about the public appearance of their actions these days.
I will try to convey the concept behind each of the items on my list so that they are not taken quite so literally:
All Volunteer Military
I do support national service, only imperial powers require an All Volunteer military which includes non citizen. The reason is that the military can be used to further personal goals of the political leadership rather than interests of the nation. The reason for the outcry against the Vietnam War was the result of conscripted military being used to promote the interest of political and economic elites. With a Volunteer army questions about how the military is employed become much less vocal as military personnel are thought to have “volunteered”.
I think the reaction to reservists and national guardsmen’s resistance to deployment shows how far this “they signed up for it” mentality has been disseminated to the US public.
Cost of private university tuition
Not tuition costs per se, but the legacy program that insures marginally competent children of the wealth are insured seats at the nationÂ’s most prestigious universities. Why should anyone attending Harvard Law need to take the NY state bar exam more than 3 times?
Payroll Taxes
The payroll tax is clearly regressive as it is caped for individuals earning more than 102,000. After 102,000 the amount in taxes paid is reduced in proportion to an individualÂ’s income. It also only impacts individuals that work for a living, not those that benefit from the fruits of employee labor.
It was intended to provide a form of minimum social insurance through the forced savings of a portion of employee wages, but as the nation is in a state of perpetual debt the Social Security Trust fund is meaningless.
Religion
Convince people that their reward is in heaven and that they need to obey dogma has been keeping the peasants since the dawn of history. For over 1,000 years the church was the most powerful land owner in Europe and even today religious institutions manage billions of dollars in assets. I donÂ’t see mainstream US religious institutions as having any interest in convincing poor parishioners that they deserve a fair shake from their masters.
Fox News
Rupert MurdockÂ’s PR machine
Wal-Mart
Not just Wal-Mart but the Wal-Mart model of business labor relations employed by many large retail/service based corporations in the U.S. Under the model there is a 2 pronged attack on the working poor. First, make every effort to discourage and prevent any form of organized labor including terminations & the treat of deportation.
The second prong is using a “net benefit analysis” in complying with state and Federal labor laws. Basically the company determines the cost of paying any DOL/State penalties associated with breaking labor laws with the costs of compliance. In most cases the cost of compliance would be higher so the decision is made to ignore the law and just pay any penalties that accrue for violating workers rights under the law.
The Terror Scare
Massive government spending within the Military Industrial Complex which based on the premise that “the Terrorists are everywhere” and may attack at any time on one hand, and using contractors to provide labor at the lowest cost on the other. The terror threat is worth spending $$$$ on Kevlar, but not on hiring the most qualified people for the job.
The national debt
The wealthy can insulate themselves from the negative impact of the national debt (interest rates, inflation, etc.) and it allows them to reduce taxes while increasing spending on products for which they receive the profits.
Minimum deposit amounts on CDÂ’s
The better deal an investment is, the higher the minimum funding requirement.
Public primary and secondary schools.
Being from the west I thought this was a non issue, until I moved to NY and discovered that, public schools are for blacks and poor kids while everyone else goes to a private school.
