September 22, 2006 at 08:55:36

Forbes 400 Richest Americans No Embarrassment!

SAVE AS FAVORITE

VIEW FAVORITES

By Joel S. Hirschhorn (about the author) Page 1 of 1 page(s)

opednews.com Permalink

For OpEdNews: Joel S. Hirschhorn - Writer

How do you know that economic inequality is no where near a significant political issue driving class warfare in the good old USA? When there is rampant positive news coverage of the new Forbes list of the 400 richest American citizens. No one seems angry that for the first time all 400 are billionaires. The obscene wealth and the growth in it do not motivate loud calls for a wealth tax. In the streets of America there are no mobs of unemployed and low-paid workers demanding government action and economic justice.

I wish some group would do a national poll of ordinary non-wealthy Americans to determine public opinion about this thin slice of the Upper-Upper Class. What are reactions to this news?

Do Americans feel PRIDE that the economic system has enabled these billionaires to accumulate such massive wealth?

Do they feel JOY because this news gives them HOPE that they too can become super-wealthy?

Do they heap PRAISE on Bush economic policies that have helped make more millionaires billionaires?

Are they PROUD that these billionaires have paid relatively little taxes to support the government that has helped make them super-rich?

Do they AGREE with Forbes that "the creation of wealth" "builds up the human spirit. It strengthens the national fiber."

Do Americans feel SADNESS for the many, many millionaires who did not make the list?

Do they believe that our economic system is FAIR because 261 on the list are self-made billionaires?

Are they ANGRY that the price of a natural Russian sable coat at Bloomingdale's rose 19 percent to $190,000 in 2006 and that a week at the Golden Door spa rose 11 percent to $7,500?

The biggest question of all for me is this: When will all the people who see themselves as politically active, political dissenters and "progressives" conclude that there will be no necessary political reforms until massive numbers of working- and middle-class Americans rise up in economic rebellion, ready to do battle against rising economic inequality?

Or, do even "progressives" agree with the CATO Institute that "class warfare is fundamentally un-American. It is subversive to the honored American ideal that success and reward in this nation are interlinked."

SO, WHAT KINDS OF REACTIONS HAVE YOU HAD UPON HEARING THE NEWEST INFORMATION ABOUT THE FORBES 400? LET'S HEAR FROM YOU.

www.delusionaldemocracy.com

Joel S. Hirschhorn is the author of Delusional Democracy - Fixing the Republic Without Overthrowing the Government (www.delusionaldemocracy.com). His current political writings have been greatly influenced by working as a senior staffer for the (more...)

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.

Contact Author

Contact Editor

View Authors' Articles

Book Recommendations for "Class War Economy "

Class War?: What Americans Really Think about Economic Inequality
by Benjamin I. Page

$13.00
Lowest New Price $7.98
Number of pages: 160
Publisher: University Of Chicago Press

The Coming Class War and How to Avoid It; Rebuilding the American Middle Class
by Frederick R. Strobel

$41.95
Lowest New Price $31.95
Number of pages: 209
Publisher: M.E. Sharpe

War of the Classes / Revolution / The Shrinkage of the Planet (Three Essays)
by Jack London

$12.45
Lowest New Price $7.14
Number of pages: 104
Publisher: Mondial