Sen. Bernie Sanders: Changing Our National Priorities

from HuffPost:



Sen. Bernie Sanders
Changing Our National Priorities
Posted March 7, 2008 | 02:48 PM (EST)


There are three major trends in American society that must be addressed when the Senate next week debates the federal budget. First, the United States has the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any major nation in the industrialized world, and the gap between the very rich and everyone else is growing wider. Second, it is a national disgrace that we have, by far, the highest rate of childhood poverty of any major country on earth. More than 18 percent of our kids live in poverty. Third, year after year, we have had record-breaking deficits and our national debt will soon be $10 trillion. That is a grossly unfair burden to leave to our kids and grandchildren. It also is economically unsustainable.

I plan to offer an amendment that addresses these issues, to change our national priorities, and to move this country in a very different direction than where we have been going in the last seven years.

According to the latest available statistics from the Internal Revenue Service, the top 1 percent of Americans earned significantly more income in 2005 than the bottom 50 percent. In addition, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently reported that the wealthiest 1 percent saw total income rise by $180,000 in 2005. That is more than the average middle-class family makes in three years. The CBO also found that the total share of after-tax income going to the top 1 percent hit the highest level on record, while the middle class and working families received the smallest share of after-tax income on record.

Meanwhile, while the rich have become much richer, nearly 5 million Americans have slipped out of the middle class and into poverty over the past seven years, including over 1 million of our children.

We have a moral responsibility to put children ahead of millionaires and billionaires. That is why, during the Senate's consideration of the budget resolution, I will offer an amendment to restore the top income tax bracket to 39.6 percent for households earning more than $1 million a year. ....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/changing-our-national-pri_b_90450.html

On the one hand, you have the affluent
who live in gated communities or secure
and privileged areas, send their kids to
good schools or private schools, and
function in ownership and management
positions. These are the haves and the
havemores.

Then you have the immigrants, who live
mostly marginalized lives struggling to
make a living and take care of their
families here and back home.

Then you have the minorities of the
ghettoes, projects, and poor neighborhoods
who attend poor performing schools and
live in their own world of poverty and
crme and drug-dealing.

It's these people who are virtually
invisibilized or else depicted in ways
that are stereotypical or false. It is
truly hell to be poor, and it would do
a lot of rich, spoiled haves and havemores
good to be forced to become a part of the
society at large, including the poor and
the immigrants.. instead of being allowed
to lead insulated lives of privilege and
callow carelessness about the lives of others.

Sue

But I would take that top rate up to at least 51%.

In the years after ww-2 that rate was 90% and yet the wealthy still managed to get by. Good ole Ike reduced it, and subsequently it kept going down til now. I can assure you if you asked any person making 25 or 30 k if they would be willing to pay a higher rate to make 1 million, they would surely agree. Don't forget last I heard there where 8000 millionaires that paid NO taxes last year. By the way back then <1950> there was a law that anyone charging over 10% interest was committing a crime called usury.

not in terms of economic justice, but in terms of what the elite would acquiesce to.
I want the highest rate that will not cause a Versailles reaction.

And of course I t hink it would be ideal if we did not wait until we are in mid 1933, economy wise, to establish it.