Approximately thirty years ago, an actor-turned-god told the American people that government was their enemy and was single-handedly responsible for their economic plight, and it started the neo-conservative movement that is ravaging the country today. Ronald Reagan convinced many Americans that if the wealthiest citizens in the country got all the breaks they would allow miniscule amounts of their wealth to trickle down to the peasants who would in turn pay more taxes to feed the wealthy’s low tax rate.
When Bill Clinton was president, he raised the wealthy’s taxes to a level that is 3% higher than it is today and the economy made a recovery that has stood as the most prosperous era in recent memory. When George W. Bush took office in 2001, he immediately took the budget surplus President Clinton left and turned it over to the wealthy with repeated assurances that the rich would let some of their crumbs trickle down to working Americans who paid for his two wars and gave the rich tax breaks.
Now the economy is once more near the brink of disaster and Republicans are refusing to raise taxes on the wealthy; all the while they help corporations send Americans’ jobs overseas to avoid paying taxes on the foreign income. So what is the Republicans answer to save the economy and create jobs? They are still trumpeting that tired canard that if the rich keep their tax breaks and regulations are eliminated, the job creators will get the economy working again.
The problem with telling the same nonsense story ad nauseum without positive results is that even the staunchest Republican supporters and working-class Americans become weary of being fooled and understand the conservatives are lying now like they have been since 1981.
Americans are finally speaking out and telling Republicans that their plan of helping the rich at the expense of economic stability, jobs, and welfare of the people is bogus and will never improve the economy. Although the media is remiss in reporting the backlash against Republicans’ economic malfeasance, it does not mean Americans are not angry that they are struggling to survive Republican attacks on the middle class.
Corporate entitlements, union busting, outsourcing jobs, and oil subsidies may work out well for corporations, but they are killing what is left of the American middle class.
