Paul Bucheit writes on AlterNet.org:
We’ve got to abandon our winner-take-all philosophy, to provide job opportunities for people who what to contribute to society.
The greatest misconception: The rich are being soaked.
Redistribution has not spread the wealth, it has concentrated the wealth. Conservative estimates say the richest 1% have doubled their share of America’s income in 30 years. It’s worse. From 1980 to 2006, the richest 1% actually tripled their share of after-tax income.
The real problem is tax avoidance: lost revenue from tax expenditures (deferrals and deductions), corporate tax avoidance, and tax haven losses could pay off the entire deficit. But the very rich refuse to pay. They have their own safety net in the House of Representatives.
This article represents the one-factor thinking that JOB CREATION and thus performing a job is the ONLY way to contribute to society. Bucheit chastises the wealthy but fails to define why people are wealthy and how they become wealthy. The answer is the wealthy are rich because they are OWNERS of the productive capital assets of business corporations, and have devised financial mechanisms that assure them that ALL future growth will be financed in ways that further CONCENTRATE OWNERSHIP among their tiny minority. As a nation, we must demand that our political leadership, academia and the national media address the issue of CONCENTRATED OWNERSHIP and Who Should Own America. The solutions to broadening private, individual ownership are numerous and have been developing since the 1950’s, but we have not had justice-committed leaders, especially those who want to end the corruption built into our exclusionary system of monopoly capitalism––the main source of corruption of any political system, democratic or otherwise.
For those seeking solutions, support the Capital Homestead Act at http://www.cesj.org/homestead/index.htm and http://www.cesj.org/homestead/summary-cha.htm
We need to focus on thinking in terms of WHO OWNS and how do we transform a monopolistic, greed system of capitalism into an economic democracy where EVERY American can acquire ownership of FUTURE productive capital assets and build over time a viable income-producing capital estate that will provide wealth and income to support an affluent livelihood.
It is imperative that leaders seeking new solutions cease the opportunity presented by the 2012 post-presidential election to implement effective programs for expanded ownership of productive capital, and address the problem of education on this subject.
