Quote:
Originally Posted by mosholu
I think we all can agree that the pension system for many municipal employees needs to be changes on a going forward basis. People should not be able to retire after 20 years and collect a pension for the rest of their lives. Based upon what I have read on this board this is agreed. While the top earners may pay 38% I think you have to look at how much their income has increased over the last 20 years to put this in the proper context. At the end of this post I will put a link to an article citing how much the upper strata of income has gained over the last few years. The American citizens have bailed out the financiers and indirectly the hedge funds and allowed them to continue to make massive amounts of money. It is only fair and equitable that they pony up and contribute to bringing our country back to stability.
Who Rules America: Wealth, Income, and Power |
lotta interesting stuff at that link...
As the very phrase "power structure" suggests, it is not easy to change power arrangements, even in a country where people have won freedom of speech and the right to vote. To start with, it is necessary to understand the intricacies of a power structure and how it was constructed in order to change it -- that's where the power structure research discussed in other parts of this site comes in. The following articles include analysis of the successes and failures of social change movements in the U.S. as well as advice for progressive activists on how to move forward.
What Social Science Can Tell Us About Social Change
It's necessary to know what works and doesn't work, and what role activists can play. So the centerpiece of this section describes what can be learned from the social sciences about creating greater equality.
The Left and the Right In Thinking, Personality, and Politics
This is an essay based on research in psychology and social psychology that brings together ideas and findings that may shed some light on the differences between leftists and rightists.
Stop Blaming the Media!
Activists spend an enormous amount of time worrying about, dissecting, and criticizing the media as a major source of their problems, but this document suggestions that the media are not that influential and can, in fact, be used constructively by activists on many occasions.
Bridging the Gap Between Liberals and Leftists: Where Douglas S. Massey's New Liberal Vision Falls Short
Massey claims that many centrist Americans will vote for candidates who stand up for their liberal principles, but I don't think they'll be willing to bet on a divided and contentious set of liberals and leftists who cannot develop new strategies to work together in the face of their ongoing failures in bringing about greater equality and access to markets. Liberals cannot do it alone, and leftists have to refocus their energies.
Introducing Social Change to Future Elites
Social change may require change-oriented elites on the inside as well as activists on the outside. Social psychologist Richard L. Zweigenhaft -- with whom I have co-authored several books -- explains this point in a wonderful talk he gave at an elite private school in 2006. He then follows up with a paper originally published in Radical Teacher in 2009.
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we could...just for giggles...confiscate all of the wealth of the top earners at whatever level you determine will make you feel good and then proceed to run the government for a few months, barely put a dent in the debt and deficit and point fingers and scoff at the formerly wealthy as they writhe in misery and allow the Obama types prove that they are the "ONES" that truly know how to run and manage a fair and equitable society with massive expanding social programs and noone to fund them or create wealth and jobs...
Atlas Shrugged
ooooooh...we can turn all of their mansions and vacation homes into affordable housing apartments and homeless housing...not sure who will pay the property taxes though...oh, well, I'm sure the towns and cities can get by without the money