Demonizing Wealth? Have You Paid Attention To Who Is Prospering Lately?

I’ve written about this topic before in response to an article comment, and I’m going to write about it again in response to another comment. — There are a number of average Americans willing to step up to the plate and defend the wealthy. They believe there is a class war against the rich. They believe President Obama is against wealth. They believe Democrats and liberals are against success. But where does this belief come from? I have serious doubts that so many average Americans simultaneously came to this conclusion. No, they believe wealth is being demonized because wealthy powerful people are saying just that, and they choose to believe it. And I don’t know why.

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PA Rep. Daryl Metcalfe: People are “Too Lazy” to get the “ID They Need”

Daryl Metcalfe (R) - Pennsylvania Rep.Pennsylvania Representative Daryl Metcalfe (R), sponsor of PA’s voter ID law, says a lot of people are “too lazy to get up and get out there and get the ID they need.” Just as they [Republicans] have no proof of widespread voter fraud, they also have no proof that “a lot of people” are lazy. It’s simply an invented narrative, and it is pervasive on the Right.

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The Republican Solution To Everything: Spending Cuts, Tax Cuts, or Both

The United States of America is the wealthiest nation on the planet, but somehow we can’t find a way to fund important government programs that help lift people out of poverty and build a stronger foundation for our future. We have an entire political coalition that wants to cut taxes even further while attempting to make government so small it can fit in our bedrooms — right before they drown it in the bathtub (to paraphrase both The West Wing and tax pledge prophet Grover Norquist).

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Republican ideology of less taxes and small government is just selfish

So I’m just going to come out and say it: Republicans are selfish. How else to explain their policies? They advocate lower taxes, especially for millionaires, along with spending cuts that hurt people at the bottom of the economic ladder. And here’s how this works: Republicans have to tell themselves and the rest of us that it’s tough love and that they aren’t advocating these policies because they are mean, or greedy, or selfish. No, they will say everyone can achieve the American dream if they just stop taking free handouts, pull themselves up by their bootstraps, and make something of their life. OK, so add “disparaging” along with “selfish” as suitable words to describe the Republican Party and it’s policies. But I guess you have to believe they are genuine, because how could anybody live with themselves advocating such potentially destructive policies for the poor? Republicans have to believe that those who are harmed by their policies are deserving of that harm because they are freeloaders, and so the only way to solve this “problem” is to cut spending.

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You are poor because you aren’t working hard enough

Yeah, I said it. You are poor because you aren’t working hard enough. You find yourself in poverty because you lack the work ethic of the rich and successful. You are a freeloader if you are on food stamps or unemployment insurance. Why don’t you get off your ass and find yourself a job already? I’m tired of your whining. I’m tired of my tax dollars being used to support your sorry ass. Stop being a drain on society and make something of yourself. You live in America, home of the American dream. If you aren’t wealthy, you only have yourself to blame.

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