Excellent Harold Myerson WaPoOpEd

<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8884-2004Nov23.html>

Though his reelection campaign brilliantly marketed President Bush's anti-intellectualism, the truth is that his administration has trusted more to pure theory than virtually any modern president's. The Iraq war is a triumph of ideology over the facts on the ground (it's certainly not a triumph of anything else). And, as it's currently shaping up, Bush's second term looks to be even more theory-driven than his first.

Theory certainly is driving the administration's tax policies. In his first term, Bush took an ax to the taxes on dividends and mega-estates. In his second term, according to a story by The Post's Jonathan Weisman and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, the president is looking at eliminating taxes on dividends and capital gains and creating generous tax shelters for all investment income. The theory here is that investment, not labor, is the real creator of wealth -- so the taxes on investment income will be scrapped, while those on wages will keep rolling along.

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And in the name of this theory, Bush seems willing to sacrifice much of the social compact that made America, in the second half of the 20th century, the first majority middle-class nation in human history.

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The Iraqis have already seen how the champions of American unilateralism have failed to secure their nation. Now, with the capital uber-alles whizzes unleashed for the president's second term, we'll see how far our philosopher-king can go to undermine economic security in our own nation.

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He raises some good points about how the *istas seem to be setting policy to get us to a medieval society level of serfdom, and a permanent ruling reThug class. I also find it interesting that he, like so many others, makes subtle reference to Hitler and his brand of fascism- with the quoting of "uber-alles" There is an immediate connection between that phrase and Hitler, in my mind.

Is truly scary. :scared:

When the middle class is eliminated and were all poor, scratching to eke out a living, who is going to buy all the consumer goods that the companies owned by the rich must sell to keep them wealthy? The rich are cutting their own throats!