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The Decline of America: A Government For the Rich, By the Rich, and Of.


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                "Wealth and Poverty in Bush's America" 
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                        by Reo M. Christenson 
              New Patriot, April 31, 1990 [Vol 3, No. 2] 

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"Maybe most people just don't care. As long as they have a job and the 
economy seems to be doing okay, the maldistribution of wealth and 
income may be of small concern to them. But maybe their seeming 
indifference only reflects ignorance of the facts. Maybe if they knew, 
they would be as indignant as I am. 

"[..] The average CEO earns 93 times as much as the average factory 
worker and 44 times as much as the average engineer (the differential 
was 41 and 19 back in 1960) The top 1 percent earns as much after-tax 
income as the lower 40 percent of American families. 

"Other statistics are just as appalling. The top 1 percent of American 
households owns 34 percent of the national wealth, up from 289 percent 
in 1973. And this same percent owns as much wealth as the lower 80 
percent of American families. 

"But the rightness or wrongness of this distribution pattern is 
clearly related to another question. Do most of the wealthy deserve 
the wealth they've gained? 

"About 40 percent of them inherited their wealth. Others have become 
wealthy by devising slick advertising campaigns for beer, cigarettes 
or a host of products with virtually indistinguishable qualities (This 
serves the public interest?) Entrepreneurs often make a killing 
turning out product trivia that historians will cite as evidence of 
the frivolity of our age. 

"Lawyers get rich serving the rich and never asking, ``Is what I'm 
doing really worth doing?'' [..] Real estate speculators make a mint 
by an activity that has no social value whatever. Speculators on the 
stock market (as distinguished from investors in new or expanded 
enterprises) pocket millions without significantly promoting the 
public wealth. Financiers rake it in by selling junk bonds and 
arranging mergers or buyouts of dubious economic value [not to speak 
of *negative* value for the employees --Ed.] 

"Journalist Michael Kinsley has estimated that one in seven on the 
Forbes 400 list earned their wealth in socially productive ways. 

"Should these people get vastly larger after-tax incomes than 
scientists, engineers, nurses, teachers, skilled factory workers, etc? 
Do CEOs merit 93 times as much as most of their employees? What does 
your horse sense tell you? 

"[...] Perhaps the most maddening aspect of this economic deformity is 
the brazen attempt to morally intimidate any one who questions the 
privileged status of the rich. Call for higher taxes on them and you 
are accused of ``the politics of envy''. (Envy is one of the seven 
deadly sins). You are charged with trying to foment ``class welfare". 
(Which is Marxist, of course) Your are a ``leveler''. You are an enemy 
of a stable, orderly, prosperous, peaceful society. 

"[..] We are told that higher taxes on the rich would undermine 
incentive. Let's explore that. 

"Some of the more deserving rich are workaholics. They would remain 
so even if their taxes are raised. Constructive and creative minds 
would continue to exercise their creativity if marginal tax rates 
were raised; they'd be miserable if they didn't use their gifts. And 
who ever heard  of an entrepreneur with a bright idea for a new or 
improved product or service with a strong market potential who 
declined to develop it because marginal tax rates were, say, 50 
percent? [..] Finally, the nation had more rapid economic growth when 
tax ceilings were much higher than they are today. Is a more 
convincing rebuttal needed? 

"[..] The case for scandalously low taxes on the rich thus rests on an 
exceedingly fragile foundation. It looks impressive only if it is 
unexamined. And one reason it is unexamined is that so many members of 
Congress and opinion leaders are either millionaires or are 
approaching that plane. They aren't indifferent to class interest 
unless the laws of *Realpolitik* have recently been repealed. 

"America needs some Old Testament prophets to thunder against the 
gross inequalities of our day. Alas, there's not a single one in 
sight." 

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New Patriot     ("A publication of the Patriotic Majority") 
Suite 1420, 202 S. State 
Chicago, IL 60604 
Tel (312) MODEL1776 

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