Considering just half of Americans own a combined total of two percent of the national wealth, while one percent owns 70%, I do believe all those cries of "Class War!" are a bit late.
Now, this isn't an accident. It isn't "natural". It is the result of deliberate political choices and decisions that have created this huge disparity in wealth. Which means, of course, that we can make different decisions that reset the imbalance.
To my mind, this isn't an ideological issue. It's not something on which different people of different political parties can line up in rough opposition. This is, at heart, an issue of justice. Some among the most wealthy Americans have already made clear they have no opposition to the modest tax increase that would occur if the Bush-era tax cuts expired.
What kind of society do we wish to be? Do we wish to be one in which fewer and fewer people control more and more wealth, therefore access and power? Or, do we create conditions where wealth not only increases in sum, but also in a more equitable fashion? These are the questions that this information forces upon us.
It isn't about capitalism. It isn't about class warfare. It is about living in a society in which all human beings have a place, including access to the tools to live a more full life.
