Who Speaks Up For The Middle-Class?
Robert A. Levine 10-21-11
In America, who speaks up for the middle-class? What group or groups defends the interests of
the majority of the populace as the economy falters, jobs disappear, and the government programs that provide them peace of mind, such as Medicare and Social Security, are under attack. The rich and the poor have their advocates in and out of government, but ordinary citizens have no strong voice articulating their needs. Every power center in and out of government claims to represent middle-class interests, but even a cursory analysis shows that this isn’t so.
Wages are stagnant or decreasing. Workers have to pay more in co-pays and deductibles for health insurance and contribute more to pension plans and 401Ks. Middle-class families pay a greater percentage of their incomes in taxes than the wealthiest Americans. In 2010, CEOs at major corporations earned more than 343 times the income of average workers. (In 1980, it was forty-two times.) A recent article in the New York Times noted that the 400 wealthiest Americans were worth more in total than the bottom 150 million. And the top 1 percent had more in assets than the bottom 90 percent.
Given America’s precarious economy and the degree of inequality, where are the advocates for changes that would benefit the middle-class? The Republicans main concerns are the budget deficits and national debt rather than how to put Americans back to work. And they refuse to
consider raising taxes on the most affluent to fund a job plan. They are more attuned to the needs of the oil, pharmaceutical and financial industries than to those of ordinary citizens. The Democrats don’t want to raise taxes on hedge fund managers and private equity executives, allowing much of their income to be taxed at capital gains rates of 15% instead of 35%, costing the government billions in revenue. (Is it a coincidence that Democratic leaders receive large campaign contributions from these sources.) And the Democrats have been unable to devise plans that would alleviate the mortgage crisis, heeding the objections of the banks instead of providing relief for suffering homeowners.
Government agencies originally created to protect consumers and promote the public interest have also not been looking out for the middle-class. The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) has been more protective of the financial firms for which they have oversight than of the small investor. The Federal Housing Finance Agency didn’t do its job monitoring lenders prior to the recession, allowing mortgages that were doomed to fail damage the economy. And the bank regulatory agencies and the Federal Reserve have been more interested in assisting the banks than in helping consumers. There’s also the FCC, FDA and the Federal Trade Commission, all safeguarding special interests over American citizens. And of course, the Minerals Management Service did not really manage BP and the oil drillers in the Gulf of Mexico.
Partisanship and/or corruption currently drives government policy in virtually every area, with the special interests and lobbyists in control rather than the voters. The middle-class desperately needs a white knight to ride to its rescue and change the way the government functions; an organization that will serve the public interest instead of the special interests. It is not an unattainable fantasy. Salvation can be found by establishing a centrist third party whose elected officials refuse to take money from the special interests and instead opt to raise funds from small donors over the Internet. This party’s guiding principle in governing will be pragmatism rather than partisanship, with no constraints imposed by ideological dogma. A centrist third party can be successful if enough citizens see it as a credible alternative and are willing to lend it their time and money.
http://www.robertlevinebooks.com/
Resurrecting Democracy
In America, who speaks up for the middle-class? What group or groups defends the interests of
Wages are stagnant or decreasing. Workers have to pay more in co-pays and deductibles for health insurance and contribute more to pension plans and 401Ks. Middle-class families pay a greater percentage of their incomes in taxes than the wealthiest Americans. In 2010, CEOs at major corporations earned more than 343 times the income of average workers. (In 1980, it was forty-two times.) A recent article in the New York Times noted that the 400 wealthiest Americans were worth more in total than the bottom 150 million. And the top 1 percent had more in assets than the bottom 90 percent.
Given America’s precarious economy and the degree of inequality, where are the advocates for changes that would benefit the middle-class? The Republicans main concerns are the budget deficits and national debt rather than how to put Americans back to work. And they refuse to
Government agencies originally created to protect consumers and promote the public interest have also not been looking out for the middle-class. The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) has been more protective of the financial firms for which they have oversight than of the small investor. The Federal Housing Finance Agency didn’t do its job monitoring lenders prior to the recession, allowing mortgages that were doomed to fail damage the economy. And the bank regulatory agencies and the Federal Reserve have been more interested in assisting the banks than in helping consumers. There’s also the FCC, FDA and the Federal Trade Commission, all safeguarding special interests over American citizens. And of course, the Minerals Management Service did not really manage BP and the oil drillers in the Gulf of Mexico.
Partisanship and/or corruption currently drives government policy in virtually every area, with the special interests and lobbyists in control rather than the voters. The middle-class desperately needs a white knight to ride to its rescue and change the way the government functions; an organization that will serve the public interest instead of the special interests. It is not an unattainable fantasy. Salvation can be found by establishing a centrist third party whose elected officials refuse to take money from the special interests and instead opt to raise funds from small donors over the Internet. This party’s guiding principle in governing will be pragmatism rather than partisanship, with no constraints imposed by ideological dogma. A centrist third party can be successful if enough citizens see it as a credible alternative and are willing to lend it their time and money.
http://www.robertlevinebooks.com/
Resurrecting Democracy
