How the super rich convince people that they are making them poor for their own good Dave Kelley

1. How the super rich convince people that they are making them poor for their own good Dave Kelley 10/2/2010

2. Top 13,400 households receive more yearly income than the bottom 96 million Americans Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich – and Cheat Everybody Else by David Cay Johnston

4. Adam Smith

5. Why are people angry?

8. When was the last time a poor person hired you?Tea party sign in Akron, Ohio

9. www.cbpp.org

10. www.cbpp.org Income from wealth: interest, dividends, rents & capital gains

11. www.cbpp.org Income from wealth: interest, dividends, rent & capital gains

12. What two thirds believe Government gives tax breaks and special favors to the rich while neglecting working families and the middle class. Government doesn't do enough to control the greedy, unethical behavior by corporations and CEOs. Unfair trade agreements are making it harder for Americans to keep good jobs. When corporations are profitable the benefits are not shared with workers but only go to the top.

13. There is a need for a narrative to overcome reality They are coming to steal your wealth – and destroy your family. Government is corrupt and inefficient. Do not feed it. Lowering taxes increases revenue and energizes the economy. If you tax the rich or regulate companies you will retard job growth. Our economy is stalling because of high taxes and a bad business environment.

14. Narrative continued The free market is a force of nature guided by an “invisible hand.” Disturb it at your own peril. The free market is God's gift to mankind providing untold freedom and prosperity. Free markets reach points of equilbrium where everyone is happy. Markets are self correcting – until they are not. The government is rather superfluous to the economy and only the private sector creates jobs and prosperity.

15. Innoculate against reality Communists, socialists, progressives, unions, preachers discussing economic or social justice are your enemy. America is at its most critical juncture in history.

21. When your friends can't explain why they voted for Democrats, give them this list. They can then pick a reason. 10. I voted Democrat because I believe oil companies' profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene but the government taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% isn't. 9. I voted Democrat because I believe the government will do a better job of spending the money I earn than I would. 8. I voted Democrat because Freedom of speech is fine as long as nobody is offended by it. 7. I voted Democrat because I'm way too irresponsible to own a gun, and I know that my local police are all I need to protect me from murderers and thieves. 6. I voted Democrat because I believe that people who can't tell us if it will rain on Friday can tell us that the polar ice caps will melt away in ten years if I don't start driving a Prius.

22. 5. I voted Democrat because I'm not concerned about the slaughter of millions of babies through abortion so long as we keep all death row inmates alive. 4. I voted Democrat because I think illegal aliens have a right to free health care, education, and Social Security benefits. 3. I voted Democrat because I believe that business should not be allowed to make profits for themselves. They need to break even and give the rest away to the government for redistribution as the democrats see fit. 2. I voted Democrat because I believe liberal judges need to rewrite the Constitution every few days to suit some fringe kooks who would never get their agendas past the voters. 1. I voted Democrat because my head is so firmlyplanted up my ass that it is unlikely that I'll ever have another point of view.

24. Our narrative Their form of predatory, “Gotcha Capitalism,” has failed to deliver. Been there, done that. Our only real freedom is to shop which is not comforting when you don't even have the money to do so. Americans share at a time of need. Take back the wealth stolen from American families. The “unearned increment” in which an American hedge fund manager earns more in his sleep than 72 average workers in a year.

27. Narrative continued Big money controls Congress, the White House, the courts and the fourth estate, the media. How is it possible that a person running over a highway worker is fined $7,500 but a child downloading a song for personal use could face a $500,000 fine? Money and the power to create it belong to the people – not to the bankers who have become parasites on the real economy. Pass the American Monetary Act. Overlooked but essential element: the Supreme Court must no longer be allowed judicial review of laws passed by the people. FORCE STARK CHOICES. SHIFT TAXES. WORKERS' DIVIDEND. MILITARY WASTE.

28. Fictional candidate promises to: Eliminate ALL estate taxes Eliminate ALL corporate taxes Eliminate ALL capital gains taxes Privatize “elements” of Social Security Reduce regulations on private sector Freeze the minimum wage Balance the federal budget Support NAFTA, CAFTA & trade deals

29. Oher positions: “ I am a free enterprise advocate who believes that lower taxes can encourage economic growth. Raising taxes stifles growth, weakens the economy and puts more people out of work. Our economy works best when individuals have more of their income to spend, and businesses have money to invest and add jobs....I have seen firsthand the devastating effects of economic collapse in other countries throughout the world and under those situations , the people who create jobs are by far, the most import and treasured asset.”

30. Candidate believes: Saving GM had bad consequences because it weakened its domestic competitors... “The government needs to stay away. To energize the economy, the private sector does not want or expect the government to intercede in manufacturing, banking and health care, but rather to stay back and set the ground rules.”

31. Candidate also proposes to: Oppose “using government funds to stimulate and improve the economy” Oppose a “publicly-administered health insurance option” Support “monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits”

32. Positions continued “Fundamental to increasing our competitiveness is our necessity to decrease government overhead.” “...some reports are now indicating that average government salaries have risen to levels that are higher than the private sector. When coupled with benefits packages that substantially outperform the the private sector, we have to realize that we have a problem. It is now far more lucrative to have a government job than a private sector job...This inbalance needs to be corrected, and the shift to non-value overhead must be reversed. We must have smaller government and we must reduce spending, not increase taxation, to close the gap.”

33. Candidate on Iraq & Afghanistan “It is now widely held that the Iraq War was questionable. We probably should not have invaded, in spite of the constant and onging provocation from the Iraqi leadership. It was expensive, and we lost the goodwill of most of the rest of world.” On Afghanistan: “”We have every right to defend ourselves and we should press this engagement to its end. Non-support of this conflict is not an alternative. We are committed and we need to finish.”