The class war on behalf of the obscenely rich is becoming more ridiculous by the day.
One reason for this is the minions of the obscenely rich never pay a price for advocating feudalism, or for calling Woodrow Wilson’s progressive income tax "communism." They feel protected, safe behind their castle walls.
Time to tear down some castle walls starting with those of Jeff Bussgang and the so-called AlwaysOn Network. (Bussgang, I should note, is a dot-com millionaire who is now a partner at IDG Ventures, IDC’s venture capital arm.)
Bussgang’s latest piece, whining that his people will suffer if their own gains in the funds they manage are taxed like income instead of the half-price 15% rate, almost made me toss my cookies this morning:
On the one hand, it is galling that Steve Schwarzman’s butler pays a
higher tax rate than he does. On the other hand, raising taxes on such
a critical part of corporate America that is so intricately linked to
our capital markets, industrial competitiveness and technology
innovation clearly isn’t going to help our global competitive
advantage.
Who benefits more from government do you think, Steve Schwarzman or his butler? Who benefits more from our military, our order, our infrastructure, the products of our schools? Who benefits more from the stability which guarantees your wealth stays yours?
Who benefits more, proportionally? Whose income is more tied to the rule of law, and the protection afforded by police? C’mon. Even Tom Wolfe, who has spent most of his lifetime sucking up to the ultra-rich, seems to have gotten that memo.
The excess which 40 years ago lay on the streets of San Francisco now lies 40 miles south, on Sand Hill Road. Wake up and smell the patchouli, Bussgang. You’re soaking in it.
If you answered Schwarzman’s butler to the earlier question you’re a wanker. If you claimed
Schwarzman would stop working if we taxed him like his butler, you’re
an idiot. If you claimed Schwarzman would move to Dubai if we taxed him
like a person, you’re a tool.
The largest private equity managers today are taking home over $1 billion per year.
And they expect this to be taxed as capital gains rather than income?
They threaten to, what, go on strike if their demands aren’t met?
Please. (Stephen Schwartzman picture from Dealbreaker, which bills itself as a Wall Street tabloid.)
A reckoning is coming, around the world, between these new
international lords and the basic principles of government. You can’t
see it now because, for those bozos, it’s still 1929. The continued
U.S. deficits, war spending, and Chinese debt purchases are obscuring the
reality, and preventing an economic reckoning that will drag everyone
into the soup, and force the hard questions upon all of us.
But they will come, and toadying up to the lairds isn’t going to keep those questions from being asked, or answered in a way which responds to
democracy rather than kleptocracy.
The idea, spouted not just by AlwaysOn but by all the apologists for
malefacting wealth, from Larry Kudlow to The Wall Street Journal
editorial page to Forbes Magazine, that this money will somehow "trickle
down" has been proven to be a lie in this decade. It never trickles
down. The butlers never get a raise — they’re replaced by Filipinos.
It is fine to work hard, and earn money. It is not fine for you, having
earned it, to ignore the needs of the larger society, or to pretend
that if you’re called upon to act as a member of that society it will
destroy the economy.
The fact is there has been a class war going on during this decade, a
class war on behalf of the ultra-rich, the mega-rich, and the
super-rich against everyone else on the planet, a class war these few
have been winning, concentrating more-and-more of the world’s wealth
into fewer-and-fewer hands.
Democracy, not the Democratic Party but democracy, will demand an adjustment. And if these whiners want to call that class war (and they will) they will have to reckon that they started it.
Actually, this current class war has been going on for more than a decade. Like many wars it was started with rational, if not necessarily good, intentions. Also like many wars, those intentions have fallen by the wayside as it becomes more about supporting dogma and less about and tangible accomplishment. When did this current class war start? I’d say probably around the time that the civil rights war had clearly been won — say the mid to late Seventies. Clearly, however; the feudalists made very significant gains thanks to the Republican domination of Congress from 1994-2006. Still, they didn’t do too badly with the Democratic Congresses under Carter and Reagan and they look to still be doing fine with this current Congress. The reason for this consistent success is that their greatest tool is lobbying and greed for that source of campaign funding knows no party bounds.
Actually, this current class war has been going on for more than a decade. Like many wars it was started with rational, if not necessarily good, intentions. Also like many wars, those intentions have fallen by the wayside as it becomes more about supporting dogma and less about and tangible accomplishment. When did this current class war start? I’d say probably around the time that the civil rights war had clearly been won — say the mid to late Seventies. Clearly, however; the feudalists made very significant gains thanks to the Republican domination of Congress from 1994-2006. Still, they didn’t do too badly with the Democratic Congresses under Carter and Reagan and they look to still be doing fine with this current Congress. The reason for this consistent success is that their greatest tool is lobbying and greed for that source of campaign funding knows no party bounds.