Fred Burks
"As the right blames the left and the left fights the right, the people at the top have a great laugh as their wealth and economic clout increases above the rest of us by leaps and bounds. What would happen if left and right stopped fighting against each other? What if instead conservatives and liberals worked together not only to reveal how the wealthy banksters and power elite have corrupted our institutions for their own benefit, but also to restore quality education for our children and fairness under the rule of law?"
Have you noticed how the media and politicians subtly and not-so-subtly encourage us to focus on the split between left and right? People are divided into conservative and liberal camps to duke it out and see who comes out on top. When the Republicans come out on top and control political power in the US, for example, all our problems are blamed on their conservative agenda. When the Democrats then take control, our problems are blamed on their leftist policies. Yet somehow the people at the top always come out richer. It's called "divide and conquer" and is a tactic that has been used by the power elite of our world for centuries.
What would happen if instead of left and right, we chose to focus on the split between top and bottom? What if we prioritized pointing out the differences between the power elite and the rest of us? Taking the U.S. as an example, a recent Washington Post article revealed that "the top 1 percent now accounts for 23.5 percent of the national income if you include capital gains. In 1979, they only had 9.8 percent of the nation's earnings. During that same period, tax rates on the richest Americans have actually dropped. So as the economy went one way -- toward more money going to the rich -- the tax system went the other."
Talking about the effect of the recent economic turmoil, even the New York Times commented in a rare article just two weeks ago that "recessions are for the little people, not for the corporate chiefs and the titans of Wall Street who are at the heart of the American aristocracy. They have waged economic warfare against everybody else and are winning big time. The ranks of the poor may be swelling and families forced out of their foreclosed homes may be enduring a nightmarish holiday season, but American companies have just experienced their most profitable quarter ever."
A San Francisco Chronicle article pointed out that "income in America is now more concentrated in fewer hands than it has been in 80 years." BusinessWeek confirmed, "the statistics underscore two long-term trends: that income at the very top has exploded and their taxes have been cut dramatically." So as the right blames the left and the left fights the right, the people at the top have a great laugh as their wealth and economic clout increases above the rest of us by leaps and bounds.
Consider what would happen if left and right stopped fighting against each other? What if instead conservatives and liberals worked together not only to reveal how the wealthy banksters and power elite have corrupted our institutions for their own benefit, but also to restore quality education for our children and fairness under the rule of law? What if we stopped looking for enemies and instead looked for allies and friends on both sides of the left-right spectrum to build a world where all can benefit and have equal opportunities for success?
WantToKnow.info and our nonprofit mother organization PEERS have strong supporters from both the left and right. We have always been dedicated to building bridges between these two and to helping people to see that when we rise above our differences, we can more effectively work together for our common good and join in exposing all that is being hidden from the public. By joining forces, we can build a brighter future for us all.
For more excellent information on shifting the focus from left-right to top-bottom, click here and here.
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