The average America feels that they are, or belong to, the wealthiest 1%
“John Steinbeck once said that socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.”
I think one of the earliest moments in my political awakening was, while watching a TV debate between two local politicians, I remember remarking to my friend that the older guy seemed to be more reasoned, etc. (I was like 8 or 9). The head of the household overheard this, and - this was in a trailer in a very depressed area of the country, mind you - all of us were quite poor - turned beet red, and shouted, HE WANTS TO RAISE MY TAXES!!!
That is the source of so many problems in this country. These people really do think they are going to be living like kings and queens if it wasn’t for “taxes”.
Maybe not like kings and queens, but it would certainly help create equality. Having lived in several European countries for many years, it’s quite unreal to see the enormous inequality in the US being mostly defended by the people who would benefit the most from its dismantling.
This is the problem with American politics and American economics.
The average America feels that they are, or belong to, the wealthiest 1%
“John Steinbeck once said that socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.”
I think one of the earliest moments in my political awakening was, while watching a TV debate between two local politicians, I remember remarking to my friend that the older guy seemed to be more reasoned, etc. (I was like 8 or 9). The head of the household overheard this, and - this was in a trailer in a very depressed area of the country, mind you - all of us were quite poor - turned beet red, and shouted, HE WANTS TO RAISE MY TAXES!!!
That is the source of so many problems in this country. These people really do think they are going to be living like kings and queens if it wasn’t for “taxes”.
The funny thing is, that they could be living like kings and queens if everybody did pay their taxes
Maybe not like kings and queens, but it would certainly help create equality. Having lived in several European countries for many years, it’s quite unreal to see the enormous inequality in the US being mostly defended by the people who would benefit the most from its dismantling.
This is the problem with parties that only win by fear mongering. Their dishonesty results in our progress being held back.