· December 3, 2012

Why Raising Taxes on the Wealthiest Americans Is Not Class Warfare

A common throw away line from conservatives in the fiscal cliff debate is that progressives or Democrats are “waging class warfare.” The trash is truly where that line belongs. The fact is that aside from a few years during the Clinton era in Washington, the economic game has been more than rigged for special interests and corporations at the expense of working Americans. There are many facts to illustrate this, here are just two:

• Corporate profits in the U.S. have recently hit an all-time high. This comes just after the worst recession since the Great Depression and in the midst of several years’ worth of sluggish growth for the overall economy. Even with the last three U.S. recessions, corporate profit margins have been in a fantastic uptrend since the early 1980s.
• Wages in the U.S. are at a historic low as a percentage of the overall economy. Wages in the U.S. have been on a downtrend since 1970. Compared to the parabolic rise in corporate profits since the end of the Great Recession, wages have continued to slide.

Innovation Ohio has recently joined other progressive organizations in Ohio to form Ohio Action Coalition. The coalition is supporting President Barack Obama’s policy stand in the current debate on whether to extend the Bush Tax Cuts for only those earning less than $250,000 or more per year. Some of our language is very direct: End the Bush Tax Cuts for the Wealthy, read signs on podiums and elsewhere at Ohio Action Coalition events. The class warfare chant starts from the right wing, but it’s a fact that the wealthy have benefited the most from our current system. It’s not class warfare, it’s tax fairness. At this point in time, the shrinking middle class in Ohio cannot afford a tax increase. The top two percent can. h/t to Business Insider for the idea for this post.