Quote of the Day -- On Wealth Inequality and Inequity

"Advocates of capitalism are very apt to appeal to the sacred principles of liberty, which are embodied in one maxim: The fortunate must not be restrained in the exercise of tyranny over the unfortunate." --Bertrand Russell

Said so many years ago but still so applicable today. Hear this, Mr. Bezos? Waltons?

Remember Noblesse Oblige?

Remember noblesse oblige? Remember when people with money, wealth cared, actually cared about and for those with less? Cared for and about the imporverished?

It would be nice, so nice if that would come back. Besides being the right, "Christian" thing to do, if that matters to anyone, it also happens to make the nation stronger.Hey, we can hope. You hear that, Mr. Bezos? Mr. Zuckerberg? Walton family? Etc?

Quote of the Day -- On Fair, Living Wages

Imagine Indeed

Imagine if Republicans put the same energy into doing good, positive things for the people and nation that they do fighting good things for us all. Imagine if they stopped only working to help the already-wealthy, corporations, their own political party and themselves

We Need to Tax the Rich -- Here's Why

Yes, we need to tax the rich. Robert Reich spells out why and then how, too. This would be an excellent way to support and fix our infrastructure. Just look around the city, at, say, Ward Parkway, Wornall Road, 63rd Street, all across town and you can see how and where we need this. Let's do this, America.

The Cold Insanity of Our US Capitalism

Know This About Republicans, America

The Republican Party, every member of Congress in the Republican Party, voted against the COVID Relief Plan to help America and Americans just now during this, the most deadly international pandemic in the last more than 100 years. Do you know what they ARE working on and for just now, presently? They have the chutzpah to be working to pass a repeal of the estate tax. It would only benefit the top .1% of the already-wealthiest Americans.

Seriously.From an article at Truthout today: The legislation was unveiled on Tuesday by Senators John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) and John Thune (R-South Dakota) and has been co-sponsored by 24 other Republican senators, or about half of all Senate Republicans, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), according to a Kennedy press release. Rep. Jason Smith (R-Missouri) has also introduced similar legislation in the House. The federal estate tax’s current top rate is 40 percent, but thanks to exemptions that grow every year, an estate in 2021 would have to be worth $11.7 million for individuals and $23.4 million for married couples before the estate tax kicks in. The exemption was previously around $5 million but was doubled by then-President Donald Trump in 2018. Because the threshold is so high, an estimated less than 0.1 percent of estate tax returns will pay the federal estate tax for 2020. In other words, Republicans are fighting for a repeal of a tax for the richest 0.1 percent of dead people. These people, these Republicans are not for you and me, America. Well, they aren't for you and me unless you're already wealthy, anyway. And they're blatant about it, too.

GOP Platform

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Republican Party platform.

God help us with these people.

Quote of the Day -- On the Rich and Poor

 

Robert Reich @RBReich

I will never accept a system that enables billionaires to add $1,100,000,000,000 to their wealth during a pandemic but doesn’t raise the $7.25 minimum wage for over a decade.

Tax the rich. Raise the wage. Now.

Who Actually Benefits From a Higher Minimum Wage?

The facts.

Also--

Bolstering Reconciliation Case, Study Shows $15 Wage Would Boost Federal Budget By $65 Billion

Quotes of the Day -- On Rich and Poor

 I just discovered this writer.

“All charities would disappear from earth once the governments start taxing the rich 90% of their income and investing that revenue in public essentials – such as, groceries, housing, healthcare and education.”

“Till luxury becomes a thing of the past, equality will remain a thing of the future.”

“In a truly civilized society there wouldn't be any billionaire, nor will there be any homeless, for all the revenue generated through taxing the rich would be distributed among the people through welfare initiatives.”

― Abhijit Naskar, Good Scientist: When Science and Service Combine

And the rich would still be rich, rest assured. 

They would do without nothing.

Either Instead of or Along With Defunding Police, Let's Do These

Either instead of or along with defunding police, for a much better, stronger society, let's do the following, instead. I've been saying this for years.

Time to 'Reinvest in People' and 'Cut Weapons of War': Barbara Lee Unveils Plan to Cut Up to $350 Billion From Pentagon

We pay more out, year after year, than any other country, far and away, for what we call "defense." We buy bombs and weapons and have bases all over the world.

You'd think we were still fighting World War II.

And we just keep increasing how much we shell out for this "defense."

It's insane. It's not rational. It's certainly not moral nor necessary. It's not making us stronger, either, as a nation. This businessman said this correctly and it was 3 years ago.

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma says the US wasted trillions on warfare instead of investing in infrastructure

And keep this in perspective, too, before anyone says it would weaken us as a nation.

If we cut our defense budget in half---cut it IN HALF---we'd still, still outspend and overspend EVERY OTHER NATION IN THE WORLD.  Still.

Then, after that, how about we STOP INCARCERATING SO MANY AMERICANS.

Check this out.

United States Still Has Highest Incarceration Rate 

in the World

We incarcerate more people THAN ANY OTHER NATION.

Put that into perspective.

China has approximately 1.43 billion citizens.
India, 1.353 billion people.

We, the US?

We have a paltry 329 million people.

But we jail more fellow Americans than ANY OTHER NATION, to repeat.

How is this not insane?  It's completely, totally unnecessary. Again, obscene and immoral.

Here's a thought.

Instead of jailing so many people, how about we take that money and, oh, I don't know. INVEST IN THEIR SCHOOLS, instead?? Invest in health care? Invest in social programs?  Take care of our people instead of throwing them away?

Check out this one statistic:

America Spends Much More on Prisoners 

Than Students

The U.S. spends more on prisons and jails than it does on educating children – and 15 states spend at least $27,000 more per prisoner than they do per student, according to a new report. (link below)
And along with this incarceration is the fact that, since the end of the Civil War, we, the United States, have also disproportionately incarcerated FAR more African-Americans as a percentage of our population.

Black Americans incarcerated five times more 

than white

Let's stop this insanity. Let's stop this ugliness. Let's stop this waste and stupidity.

Let's do this, America. 

Let's invest in our people.

We'll be far stronger, all of us, because of it.

One of Missouri's Biggest Cities Takes a Hit

An article hit the interwebs early yesterday.

These 5 Cities Have Lost Half or More of Their Populations Since 1950

And sure, I figured Buffalo, New York might be on there.

And Pittsburgh.

And Cleveland.

And very likely Detroit, and maybe it at number one.

But check out what major American city was, in fact, in the number one spot on this list and has lost half or more than half of its population since 1950

What the report had to say--

1. St. Louis

> Decline from 1950 decade peak: -64.7%
> 1950 population: 856,796
> 2018 population: 302,838

With a population of 856,796, St. Louis was the eighth largest city in the country in 1950. The city’s population has steadily declined since then to just over 300,000 in 2018, ranking as only the 64th largest city in the United States. Like other cities with long-term population declines, adverse socioeconomic conditions are prevalent in parts of St. Louis. East St. Louis, for example, is far and away the most dangerous city in Illinois and one of the most dangerous cities in the United States. Also, one in four people living in St. Louis live in poverty, well above the national poverty rate of 14.6%.

While St. Louis may not be booming, certain aspects of the city do show signs of renewed prosperity. Relatively high immigration from Asia has helped offset some of the out-migration. The city’s sports teams, the Cardinals and the Blues, do very well, which can help support population and economic growth. And, plenty of universities and large companies still operate and thrive in the city.

That’s depressing.

And sure, it's not Kansas City but hey, it's Missouri. It still hurts.

The Star Has It Right Today About Any Possible Panhandling Ordinance

Yes sir and ma'am, I think our Star newspaper has this correct today.

Kansas City's panhandling proposal 

would wage war on the poor

Not only is this obviously and logically an abridgment of people's First Amendment Rights, as the Star so rightly points out, but what, exactly, are we attacking here? What are we, as a city, trying to correct?

If they're out there, possibly humiliating themselves, begging, after all, frequently either in boiling hot or freezing cold temperatures, and harming no one, what's the problem? As a supposed "Christian nation", why wouldn't we leave them alone? Where's the harm? Or are we just ashamed we have poor in our midst and don't want to be reminded? Or, worse, we don't want outsiders, visitors, seeing we have poor?

What is it, exactly, Kansas City?

They inconvenience us while we sit at the traffic lights?

The writer/author Studs Terkel once said he intentionally kept money on him in case he crossed paths with anyone asking for help. He said he knew it was tough out there and they didn't do this because it was fun. Or easy.

But we'll have none of that in our evirons, eh, Kansas City?

How dare they be poor. Or mentally-challenged. Or to have made poor decisions. Or whatever.

Right?

50 Years Ago Today

50 years ago today, June 5, 1968, Robert Francis Kennedy, RFK, Bobby Kennedy was shot and ultimately, killed, in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California, after addressing a campaign rally after his win there, that day, in the California primary.

Herewith, a few of his quotes, a few of his most memorable quotes. Back from a time when those with more tried to help those with less.

Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total; of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.

There are people in every time and every land who want to stop history in its tracks. They fear the future, mistrust the present, and invoke the security of a comfortable past which, in fact, never existed.

Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

Some men see things as they are, and ask "Why?". I dream of things that never were, and ask "Why not?".

I miss having more intelligent, altruistic, well-educated, well-spoken, thoughtful, introspective people in and leading our government, don't you? I miss having more people who realize that helping the middle- and lower- and working-classes strengthens not just them but the wealthy, as well. It strengthens the entire nation.

Frankly, I miss the entire concept of "noblesse oblige."

Quote of the Day -- On Health

"It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society."

--J Krishnamurti

Missouri Republicans: It's Class Warfare, All Right

There is a terrific article out just now at Daily Kos on our own state of Missouri and the Republicans' fight for "Right to Work" laws.

Not only are their efforts unfair to the point of obscene, working to cut the wages of working Missourians, but if they get this, it will hurt Black Missourians and their paychecks even harder.

What “right-to-work” in Missouri means for black workers

A little from the article:

The passage of a so-called “right-to-work” (RTW) law in Missouri would hurt black workers the most, according to two new fact sheets by EPI’s Valerie Wilson and Julia Wolfe. As Wilson explains, “Contrary to how the phrase sounds, these [RTW] laws actually restrict the rights of workers by cutting the financial support going to unions, thus limiting the ability of unions to help workers bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions.” The authors find that black Missourians would be disproportionately harmed by RTW, as they are more likely to be covered by a union contract than other workers. The authors also find that wages of black workers in Missouri and other non-RTW states tend to be higher than wages of black workers in RTW states.
As Warren Buffett so famously and rightly said, "There's class warfare, all right, but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war, and we're winning."

Thanks, as ever, Republicans!

All you are is consistent.

Wouldn't it be great if, one day, and one day soon, very soon, the articles on Missouri and Kansas could and would be positive and for the people instead of what we've been getting for the last at least 10 years or so?

Wouldn't that be nice?

Link:

Read the fact sheets 

Quote of the Day -- From a Founding Father

With this, it seems clear he, Founding Father Thomas Paine, could no way be a member of the present day Republican Party.

What Have Poor People Ever Done For This Country?

So many in America call out the poor as "moochers" and the programs for them as unnecessary and even wasteful. They say having these "welfare programs" keep them poor and "enables" them to be and stay poor.

Being Sunday, I think it an especially good day to examine just what and who the poor are and what, exactly, they do.

What Have The Poor Ever Done For Us

1. They built it. The country was literally built on the backs of poor immigrants and slaves. To this day, construction workers are some of the hardest working people in the country, yet their average wage is only $50,000 per year, which includes management. People that maintain the roads driven by the wealthy (and everyone else) are paid only $30,000 per year.
2. They care for our children. The average nanny is paid only about $30,000 per year, usually without benefits.
3. They teach our children. The average teacher makes around $45,000 a year, which might not sound poor, but for that salary, most positions require advanced degrees.
4. They make the world beautiful. It would be difficult to determine the average salary of an artist, but very few of even the most talented artists achieve financial success.
5. They inform and entertain. Writers, actors and filmmakers are just as likely to live in poverty as visual artists.
6. They create. Inventors are often poorly paid for their inventions, if paid at all.
7. They are entrepreneurs. Two thirds of startup businesses fail. Many of them fail because they were simply out financed (think the big coffee chain moving on to the same corner as the independent coffee house).
8. They keep our world clean. People that do the dirtiest jobs are notoriously some of the least paid, yet can you imagine a world without people emptying our trash and cleaning our toilets?
9. They keep you alive. Without poor people, produce would rot in the fields. There would be no goods on the shelves. There would be no store clerks to sell them to you. Most Americans would most likely starve.
10. They fight for our country. The average starting salary of enlisted personnel is about $30,000 per year.
11. They save the world. Many of history’s most selfless people live their lives in or near poverty. They join the Peace Corps. They work for or start charitable organizations.
12. They pay their taxes. Much is made of the statistic that between 40 and 50 percent of people don’t pay federal income tax. That is typically because they are too poor. But even if they don’t pay federal income tax, they pay taxes. They pay Social Security taxes. They pay state taxes. They pay the identical sales tax on food and clothing as their wealthy brethren. They pay identical gasoline taxes as their more fortunate counterparts. Unlike the wealthy, taxes deeply impact the well being of the poor, yet, unlike the wealthy, they are unable to take advantage of the loopholes that were designed to specifically benefit the wealthy.

What have the poor ever done for this country?

Everything.

Of course, we can debate the definition of the word, “poor”, but the fact is that the gap between the people that have the most and the people that have the least is growing. People are not becoming less valuable. They are simply getting paid less.

Links:

U.S. inequality keeps getting uglier

Growing wealth inequality 'dangerous' threat to democracy: experts

Economic Inequality: It's Far Worse Than You Think - Scientific American

Quote of the Day -- Sunday Edition