Is Government Inherently Corrupt?

Conservatives believe government is inherently corrupt. They believe government cannot be trusted to do anything really important except for national security, oh yeah, and regulate women’s bodies. Oh, and also stifle access to the voting booth. And I guess on those two issues, conservatives actually are right, government is corrupt. Well, more specifically, certain people in government do corrupt things, like play master of the uterus.

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The Supply Side Lie

Post war until roughly the 1970s, increases in income in all quintiles more or less moved together. The bottom quintile increased with the top quintile. Since the 70s, the top two quintiles continued to grow, with the top quintile actually accelerating (although to be fair, it corrected/adjusted during the Great Recession, but only modestly). But since the 1970s, the bottom three quintiles have been pretty much flat.

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Boilerplate Republican: It Will Kill Jobs

Republicans say no to many things, like a minimum wage increase, or increased taxes, or sensible regulations to safeguard the public (I’m talking to you West Virginia), on the premise that it will hurt businesses, therefore resulting in job losses. But they need not prove these claims, its good enough for Republicans to simply posit them as truths. Of course this is all boilerplate stuff for Republicans. Good at coming up with “common sense” excuses for why we can’t do something or why something is bad, not so good with coming up with the evidence to support the claim.

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Economic Inequality Is A Clear And Present Danger To American Democracy

The phrase “clear and present danger” is the standard by which freedom of speech can be abridged. As the saying goes, nobody has the right to shout “fire” in a theater. The United States Supreme Court began citing this standard in 20th century rulings, reaffirming that freedom of speech stops at the point where it puts pubic safety in peril. The idea is controversial, but it should be understood that constitutional rights are not absolute. Whether you agree with this standard as it applies to freedom of speech, is of little importance here. It only matters that you understand what it means, because economic inequality is a clear and present danger to American democracy.

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Pew: Most Republicans Believe Poor Just Aren’t Working Hard Enough

This should come as no surprise, but a Pew study released today shows most Republicans believe you are poor because you choose to be poor. Or in other words, the poor are simply not working hard enough. This of course echoes the sentiments of Kevin O’Leary, who I wrote about yesterday. He’s the fat cat who said it’s “fantastic” that 85 people own the same wealth as 3.5 billion people (half of Earth’s population).

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VIDEO: Canadian Businessman Says It’s ‘Fantastic’ 85 People Have More Wealth Than Billions In Poverty

Canadian Businessman, TV host, and “Asshat of the Year” winner (and that’s impressive because it’s still only January) Kevin O’Leary says that it’s “fantastic” that the richest 85 people have more wealth than half the population on planet Earth. The video is worth watching just to see the reaction by O’Leary’s co-host, Amanda Lang.

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