To Have and Have Not

Clearly, conservative efforts since 1981to flatten tax rates have done little more than help those not in need. As a 1990 Congressional Budget Office study concluded, "...from 1980 through 1990, the poorest 20 percent of Americans have seen their real income drop 3 percent and their net federal tax rate go up by 16 percent. Families in the poorest fifth have an average pretax income of $7,725. Meanwhile, the richest fifth - families with an average pretax income of $105,209 - have had close to a 32 percent increase in their income, and a 5.5 percent cut in their net federal tax rate...."

Consider that in 1990, incomes of over $1 million dollars were reported by 65,000 Americans. What's more, the $6.14 trillion in wealth among America's top 1 percent outstripped the wealth among America's bottom 90 percent. Nine out of ten Amercians, combined, have less than the other one. With an informed electorate backing enlightened politicians, this level of material inequality would be unsustainable. Eventually the same goes for an uninformed electorate and unenlightened politicians, but this has the downside of explosive violence.

CEOs are not by definition bad people. It's not suggested here that for grins they skewer babies or kick ducklings. Many are conscientious citizens who indeed work hard and contribute their time and money to a better community. But they're human, with basic human frailties such as greed, which must be kept under check by law to ensure a fair and peaceful society. Isn't that what the law is intended to do, regarding the less prosperous?

Americans have for years inveighed against the welfare class reaping disproportionate benefits from the labor of others. Let's apply the same logic to CEOs.

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