Grand Old Plutocrats

The Republican leadership in the White House and Congress is seeking additional tax breaks for corporations and high-income individuals who may or may not pay any taxes like Trump. They are a corporate dream come true.

If you are in the middle class, you’re painfully aware of the data. Gross Domestic Product continues an upward trend and the amount paid to labor for the GDP growth continues a downward spiral. After the last recession, corporate profits have skyrocketed to new levels. This time the corporations are replacing workers with artificial intelligence, machine learning and robots.

The inequality gap between the rich and everyone else has been growing since 1970. Economist Emanuel Saez’s analysis shows that “during the years 2009 to 2012, 95 percent of total income gains were hoovered up by the wealthiest 1 percent.” Citigroup’s famous ‘plutonomy’ memos advised clients to stay away from the stocks catering to the rapidly dissolving American middle class and instead focus on sellers of luxury goods and services aimed at the richest consumers.

Warren Buffett’s quote sums it up perfectly: “There is class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”

Michael L. McCarty

Spokane