Transcript zDavid-Kelley - American Monetary Institute

How the super rich convince
people that they are making them
poor for their own good
Dave Kelley
10/2/2010
Top 13,400 households receive more yearly
income than the bottom 96 million Americans
Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit
the Super Rich – and Cheat Everybody Else by David Cay Johnston
Adam Smith
Why are people angry?
When was the last time a
poor person hired you?
Tea party sign in Akron, Ohio
www.cbpp.org
Lowest Quintile, 1.80%
Second Quintile, 4.10%
1979
Middle Quintile, 6.70%
Fourth Quintile, 10.50%
Top 1%, 37.80%
Highest Quintile, 76.50%
www.cbpp.org
Income from wealth: interest,
dividends, rents & capital gains
Lowest Quintile, 0.60%
Second Quintile, 1.60%
2003
Middle Quintile, 4.30%
Fourth Quintile, 6.10%
Top 1%, 57.50%
Highest Quintile, 85.80%
www.cbpp.org
Income from wealth: interest,
dividends, rent & capital gains
What two thirds believe
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Government gives tax breaks and special favors to
the rich while neglecting working families and the
middle class.
Government doesn't do enough to control the
greedy, unethical behavior by corporations and
CEOs.
Unfair trade agreements are making it harder for
Americans to keep good jobs.
When corporations are profitable the benefits are
not shared with workers but only go to the top.
There is a need for a narrative
to overcome reality
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They are coming to steal your wealth – and
destroy your family.
Government is corrupt and inefficient.
Do not feed it.
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Lowering taxes increases revenue and energizes
the economy.
If you tax the rich or regulate companies you will
retard job growth.
Our economy is stalling because of high taxes and
a bad business environment.
Narrative continued
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The free market is a force of nature guided by an
“invisible hand.” Disturb it at your own peril.
The free market is God's gift to mankind providing
untold freedom and prosperity.
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Free markets reach points of equilbrium where
everyone is happy.
Markets are self correcting – until they are not.
The government is rather superfluous to the
economy and only the private sector creates jobs
and prosperity.
Innoculate against reality
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Communists, socialists, progressives,
unions, preachers discussing
economic or social justice are your
enemy. America is at its most critical
juncture in history.
When your friends can't explain why they voted for Democrats, give
them this list. They can then pick a reason.
10. I voted Democrat because I believe oil companies' profits of 4%
on a gallon of gas are obscene but the government taxing the same
gallon of gas at 15% isn't.
9. I voted Democrat because I believe the government will do a
better job of spending the money I earn than I would.
8. I voted Democrat because Freedom of speech is fine as long as
nobody is offended by it.
7. I voted Democrat because I'm way too irresponsible to own a gun,
and I know that my local police are all I need to protect me from
murderers and thieves.
6. I voted Democrat because I believe that people who can't tell us if
it will rain on Friday can tell us that the polar ice caps will melt
away in ten years if I don't start driving a Prius.
5. I voted Democrat because I'm not concerned about the slaughter
of millions of babies through abortion so long as we keep all death
row inmates alive.
4. I voted Democrat because I think illegal aliens have a right to free
health care, education, and Social Security benefits.
3. I voted Democrat because I believe that business should not be
allowed to make profits for themselves. They need to break even
and give the rest away to the government for redistribution as the
democrats see fit.
2. I voted Democrat because I believe liberal judges need to rewrite
the Constitution every few days to suit some fringe kooks who
would never get their agendas past the voters.
1. I voted Democrat because my head is so firmly planted up my ass
that it is unlikely that I'll ever have another point of view.
Our narrative
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Their form of predatory, “Gotcha Capitalism,” has
failed to deliver. Been there, done that.
Our only real freedom is to shop which is not
comforting when you don't even have the money
to do so.
Americans share at a time of need.
Take back the wealth stolen from American
families. The “unearned increment” in which an
American hedge fund manager earns more in his
sleep than 72 average workers in a year.
Narrative continued
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Big money controls Congress, the White House, the
courts and the fourth estate, the media. How is it
possible that a person running over a highway worker
is fined $7,500 but a child downloading a song for
personal use could face a $500,000 fine?
Money and the power to create it belong to the people
– not to the bankers who have become parasites on the
real economy. Pass the American Monetary Act.
Overlooked but essential element: the Supreme Court
must no longer be allowed judicial review of laws
passed by the people.
FORCE STARK CHOICES. SHIFT TAXES. WORKERS'
DIVIDEND. MILITARY WASTE.
Fictional candidate promises to:
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Eliminate ALL estate taxes
Eliminate ALL corporate taxes
Eliminate ALL capital gains taxes
Privatize “elements” of Social Security
Reduce regulations on private sector
Freeze the minimum wage
Balance the federal budget
Support NAFTA, CAFTA & trade deals
Oher positions:
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“ I am a free enterprise advocate who believes
that lower taxes can encourage economic growth.
Raising taxes stifles growth, weakens the economy
and puts more people out of work. Our economy
works best when individuals have more of their
income to spend, and businesses have money to
invest and add jobs....I have seen firsthand the
devastating effects of economic collapse in other
countries throughout the world and under those
situations , the people who create jobs are by far,
the most import and treasured asset.”
Candidate believes:
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Saving GM had bad consequences because it
weakened its domestic competitors...
“The government needs to stay away. To
energize the economy, the private sector does not
want or expect the government to intercede in
manufacturing, banking and health care, but
rather to stay back and set the ground rules.”
Candidate also proposes to:
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Oppose “using government funds to
stimulate and improve the economy”
Oppose a “publicly-administered health
insurance option”
Support “monetary limits on damages
that can be collected in malpractice
lawsuits”
Positions continued
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“Fundamental to increasing our competitiveness is our
necessity to decrease government overhead.”
“...some reports are now indicating that average
government salaries have risen to levels that are higher
than the private sector. When coupled with benefits
packages that substantially outperform the the private
sector, we have to realize that we have a problem. It is
now far more lucrative to have a government job than a
private sector job...This inbalance needs to be
corrected, and the shift to non-value overhead must be
reversed. We must have smaller government and we
must reduce spending, not increase taxation, to close
the gap.”
Candidate on Iraq & Afghanistan
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“It is now widely held that the Iraq War was
questionable. We probably should not have
invaded, in spite of the constant and onging
provocation from the Iraqi leadership. It was
expensive, and we lost the goodwill of most of the
rest of world.”
On Afghanistan: “”We have every right to defend
ourselves and we should press this engagement to
its end. Non-support of this conflict is not an
alternative. We are committed and we need to
finish.”