Yet Another Poll Shows… Plutocracy Stupid, Democracy Smart

Yet another poll is out, showing that the public wants taxes raised on the rich and on Wall Street and the giant multi-national corporations, and does not want cuts in the things We, the People do for each other. Other polls show the public wants cuts in military spending, and increases in spending on infrastructure and other job-creation, economy-growing investment. And, in fact, if we did these things the deficit problem — caused by tax cuts for the rich and increases in military spending — would be fixed. So why do Washington deficit-reduction plans always do the opposite?

From today's Progressive Breakfast,

Yet another poll shows strong support for raising taxes on the wealthy, opposition to Medicare and Social Security cuts. W. Post: “The Post-ABC poll finds that 78 percent oppose cutting spending on Medicare as a way to chip away at the debt … 72 percent support raising taxes [on family income over $250,000] … “

Meanwhile, in DC the insider story is that the “Gang of 6” is “closing in” on a “deficit deal.” In all likelihood it will (they all do) end up being about cutting taxes for the rich and cutting the things We, the People (government) do for each other and cutting investment in the things that make our economy grow: infrastructure, education, science, job-creation, etc…

Serious People

Another popular DC-insider deficit plan is called “Simpson-Bowles.” This plan was put together by a right-wing Republican, former Republican Senator Alan “three hundred million tits” Simpson and a Wall Streeter, Erskine Bowles, a member of the Board of Directors of Morgan Stanley. This plan (they all do) cuts taxes for the rich and cuts the things We, the People (government) do for each other. It is put together by “serious” people so it is considered “serious.”

Poll after poll shows one thing, DC plan after DC plan does another. The public isn't considered “serious.” Republicans and Wall Streeters are considered to be “serious.” In fact, things the public wants and needs are not considered at all in today's DC. Democracy is not “serious.”

Democracy vs Plutocracy

In January I wrote about this phenomenon in, Sen. Conrad Plutocracy Plan Vs. Democracy Deficit Commission. Back then the deficit plan was (they all do) to cut taxes on the rich while increasing them on everyone else, and cut Social Security, even though Social Security has nothing whatsoever to do with the deficit. I wrote,

This is what happens when Wall Street and conservative Republicans design a plan: give even more to the already-wealthy few, gut what our government does for We, the People.

Here is the real deficit commission that you would expect to see if we were a democracy instead of a plutocracy: It would have 100 members:

• 98 of the 100 members would make less than $250,000 a year.
• 50 of the members would come from households in which the total income of all wage-earners is less than $50,221.
• 17% of the commission members would be un- or underemployed, and would be wondering why they are on a deficit commission instead of a jobs commission.
• 19 people on the commission would receive some form of Social Security benefits, 12 of those as retirees. And on this deficit commission they get to talk when the ones making over $250K propose cutting Social Security.
• 43 of the commission members would have less than $10,000 saved up for retirement. 27 of those less than $1,000.
• The commission would include the right proportion of factory and construction workers, and people who work in a kitchen, and waiting tables, and teaching, and nursing, and installing tires, and all the other things that people do except, apparently, those on DC elite commissions. (People who do manual labor get an extra vote each on what the retirement age should be.)
• Include people who are on active duty in the military – the people who said they don’t need that expensive plane, but couldn’t get body armor.
• 60 members would not have college degrees.
• 13 members would be receiving food stamps.

What The Public Wants Is Smart

And guess what, when you take a poll, you are measuring what the public wants. A poll shows what would happen if the deficit plans were drawn up by regular people. And polls show they want tax increases on the rich and cuts in military. They want jobs programs and infrastructure investment and investment in the things that grow the economy. They want a Medicare-For-All health care plan, and in fact other countries have proven this solves the long-term health care cost problem.

Plutocracy Stupid, Democracy Smart

Here's the thing: what the public wants actually would fix the borrowing. And what the plutocrats want would make it worse. The deficit is the result of tax cuts for the rich, increases in military spending, spending on the recession and long-term cost increases in health care. So fixing that means putting taxes back where they were before the deficits, realizing that the Soviet Union is gone, investing to grow the economy, and implementing a Medicare-For-All plan like the rest of the world has.

And that is what polls show the public wants to so.

So maybe the public isn't that stupid after all. Maybe democracy can work. The plutocrats plans are stupid, because the plutocrats just greedily give everything to the plutocrats, and sacrifice everyone's future, even the plutocrats'.

Plutocracy stupid, democracy smart, fire baaaad!