How to end the class warfare argument
RTS Contributor: Josh Bernstein – A freelance political writer, who has lived in the Valley of the Sun for the past 16 years. Email Josh and also follow him on twitter here.
When Americans are divided by class and pitted against one another for political gain it tears our nation apart. The us versus them mentality that the Democrats have instilled in a large portion of this great country is troubling. All you ever hear from the left is envy, contempt, and division. The Democrats have perfected the use of the class warfare argument and have systematically driven a deep wedge into the hearts of many Americans.
This article will compare and contrast The Occupy Wall Street Movement to that of The Tea Party. Additionally, it will examine the infamous one percent versus the 99 percent and touch on the reality of who pays what in taxes. Finally, it will provide solutions and suggestions on how to eliminate the class warfare argument once and for all.
Let’s look at the Occupy Wall Street movement. The definition of occupy in a military sense is to take possession or control of a person, place, or territory through force. Occupy Wall Street was founded on the class warfare argument. Although this group first originated from an idea in Canada; it came to fruition here in America in 2011. The Occupy Movement believes in the radical redistribution of wealth and blames America’s failures on unbridled capitalism and perceived corporate greed.
According to Democratic Pollster Doug Shoen, the group’s main goal is to intensely regulate the private sector by eliminating big banks, investment firms, and big corporations. They have set up camps inside of parks, disrupted traffic in busy cities, and even blocked entrances to businesses causing chaos and commotion.
A Fordham University study found that the Occupy crowd tended to be younger and much more radical. It is mainly comprised of younger students, the disenfranchised youth, low income workers and skilled laborers, and older recently laid off corporate executives. The average age of their members is only 33 years old. The study shows the make up of the group as: 2% Republican, 25% Democrat, 11% Green Party, and 11% admitted Socialists. The other 51% had no party affiliation.
Occupy Wall Street protestors say their message is non violent and that their goal is to bring about change through civil discourse and civil disobedience. Their actions however do not match their rhetoric. According to the New York City Police Department’s records on crime statistics their members have been arrested numerous times and for different reasons. Those reasons include minor offenses such as: littering, disturbing the peace, and trespassing on private property.
Many Occupy protestors have also been arrested for more serious crimes as well. These arrests include: public intoxication, possession of drugs and controlled substances, destruction of private property, urinating in public, defecating in public, attempted rape, sodomy, aggravated assault, manslaughter, and even murder. This group is the antithesis of civil discourse and peaceful demonstration.
Now let’s look at The Tea Party. The Tea Party is the exact opposite of Occupy Wall Street. The original Tea Party was founded on an act of defiance as well. On December 16th, 1773 a group of colonists known as the Sons of Liberty decided to revolt against the repressive taxes of the British Government. To show their discontent they decided to dump numerous cargo ships of tea into the Boston Harbor. The modern day version of The Tea Party also fights against oppressive regulation and repressive taxes. The acronym for The Tea Party actually means Taxed Enough Already.
The Tea Party believes in limiting the size of government, reducing spending, and lowering taxes. They also want our lawmakers to adhere to a strict following of our constitution. They believe like most Americans that our federal deficit is out of control and the size of our government is way too big.
The Tea Party’s beliefs are also more in line with most Americans. According to a CBS News survey Tea Party members tend be a little older and a lot less radical. The average age of a Tea Party member is 46 years of age. They are typically higher income earners, possess a higher level of education, and have well established careers or private businesses. They tend to have children and grandchildren and are retired or near retirement age. They are to the left wing media’s surprise not all Republicans either. According to the CBS study 54% were Republicans, 41% were Independents, and 5% were Democrats.
Unlike the Occupy Movement, The Tea Party has remained relevant. They are more organized, disciplined, and influential than their counterparts. While Occupy miscreants are busy defecating in the park, smoking their peace pipes, and singing kumbaya; Tea Party members are running for Congress, beating establishment candidates, and winning elections.
Is the class warfare argument based in facts? Do the poor pay more of the taxes? Should the rich pay a higher share?
According to the Office of Tax Analysis, the top 5% of income earners pay 54% of all individual income taxes, but constitute for only 30% of the income. The infamous top 1% pays 34% of all taxes. Since 1990, this group’s tax share has grown faster than their income share.
How can this be?
According to our Treasury Department the reason this is happening is due to the George W. Bush era tax cuts. Those tax cuts shifted a larger share of the individual income taxes paid to higher income taxpayers. George W. Bush’s tax cuts actually helped the poor and the middle class by lessening, and in some cases eliminating altogether the tax burden on the majority of Americans. It can’t be! George W Bush and the evil Republicans actually helped the middle class and the poor?
Consider this; the top 50% of income earners pay a whopping 96% of all the taxes. The bottom 50% of income earners only pay 4% of the taxes. This means that about half of all Americans do not pay any taxes. So what are these people so upset about?
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