Take a moment and study that graph to the left. That graph provides a lot of information with two very simple lines. It tells you why the Occupy Wall Street movement exists. It tells you why the GOP has focused on an agenda of doing everything possible to cut taxes for the rich at the expense of everyone else and probably more than that if want to get into the details of history.
The graph tells the story of how income has grown since post-World War II from 1947 to 2007, just as the economy was on the verge of imploding yet again. The blue line represents the median income of 99% of Americans. The orange line is the income of the remaining 1%, the millionaires and billionaires of this country. Most of who work on Wall Street. Now noticed how from 1947 to 1985ish, the income increase was more or less steady. Statistically they were right on top of each other, with a difference of .5% here and there. In effect the country rose together. Then in the 80s that orange line changed dramatically as it started to climb. This corresponded with the rise of "Reaganomics".
Reaganomics aka trickle-down theory basically says the more money you give the rich, the more it will help everyone else. The problem with the theory is it doesn't account for what happens if the rich do not actually spend their money but just sit on it. The easiest way to give rich people more money is to tax them less. Which the US has been doing for the last thirty years. There was one exception, during the Clinton years when their tax where increased. The result wasn't a hit to the economy but a period of huge growth, in part by the internet boom. That is why the line just sky rockets. Basically increasing the rich's taxes didn't harm them at all and had a positive impact on the economy (the opposite of what the GOP sells every day). During this same period the blue line enjoyed a modest increase too so everyone benefited, just the 1% more than the rest. A dip then occurs because the tech bubble burst of 2000.
Cain's 9-9-9 Plan is Much Love for the Rich If you just hear the plan without thinking about it, the 9-9-9 plan sounds good. The 9 numbers sounds so good with 9% corporate tax, 9% income tax, and 9% sales tax. It’s already a fact that for whatever reason, people believe prices that end in 9 are a better deal than those that don't so there is that reason he picked the number. However, once you look deeper it’s not so hot. For one, most businesses will not have to pay that 9% due to various tax shelters and the like that exist. Cain does nothing to address that. As for the income tax, that means that not only will 9% of every dollar you earn be taken away, it also means that another 9% will be taken away for every dollar you spend. On top of the state, county and city taxes you already pay. This also means that deductions go out the door so benefits of being married or having kids cease to matter. But still, seems like a good idea, and it could be as far as simplicity of paying taxes. However, as the chart shows, it really is just a boom for the rich. The bottom 80% will pay more in taxes under the plan. The next 19% will pay a decent amount less, the top 1% a 10x less than that with the top .1% experiencing around a 100x less boom to the bottom line. It hard to picture in text, but the picture makes it painfully clear. Once again, the GOP proves their only priority is the top 1%.
15 Facts About Wealth Inequality in America For years now the GOP are selling a pretty simple story - for the country to succeed all of us must sacrifice to keep the top 1% rich happy. Happy rich people means one day they might create jobs and give us raises instead of doing the layoffs that have become the norm. For some reason, this argument has worked on 50% of American's even though this flies in the face of the human condition and all of history. For those with brains, hit the link for 15 facts, supported by data (not party specific data) that supports the notion that while everything is getting better for the top 1%, the other 99% continue to get screwed. Sad facts include the reality that top 1% has 33.8% of our nation’s wealth, own 50.9% of our stocks & bonds, and have had their wealth grow year after year while other bottom 80% has dropped year after year. In addition, average earning have hovered around $18.50 an hour for 50 years while in same period the rich's portion of USA's income has grown while everyone else's has shrunk. This is why the Occupy Wall Street exists.
Muammar Gaddafi is Dead After 42 years of a crazy and ruthless dictatorship, the ex-leader of Libya is finally dead. He has been hiding for weeks now as his government was overthrown in favor of Democracy but he was continuing the fight in pockets throughout the country. That fight essentially came to an end when he was found in his hometown of Sirte. It will be interesting to see how Libya develops from here. I suspect it will continue to be a problem for western countries for quite a while. Regardless, the people of Libya should be applauded. They chose their own destiny and sacrificed their lives to achieve it. That is something any lover of democracy should stand behind, regardless of where it occurs.
Mark Hamill Retires the Joker After 19 years of performing the voice of The Joker, Mark Hamill has officially retired the role with the release of Batman: Arkham City video game. He had previously the decision earlier this year but in a tweet verified the decision. For me he is the definitive version of the character, providing just the right amount of crazy menace in his voice.
Iraq War Ending Before ChristmasPresident Obama confirmed today that American troops are leaving Iraq by the end of the year. The decision was actually part of a 2008 agreement signed by President Bush but the press conference today reiterated the intention to uphold that promise. Like many, I was concerned that we would delay ending the war as it has proven very lucrative to military based companies that pay a lot of money to Congress to keep the money flowing. I am sure the GOP will lambast the decision as being premature as they tend to get the most money from those corporations.
Today Apple announced the death of Steve Jobs. He died today after a multi-year fight with pancreatic cancer at the age of 56. His influence on the technology we take for granted cannot be underestimated. The personal computer (Windows or Apple) all have his stamp on it from his efforts in the early 80s with the world's first personal computer, the Apple II. Simple innovations like the ubiquitous use of the mouse are in part due to his influence. He made not have invented the technology, but he helped make it part of our daily lives.
That influence spread to all desktops, all laptops and moved into the music market with the iPod and its knockoffs, the tablet market with the iPad where all competitors’ are still trying to catch up. He changed how music and movies are brought to us over the internet thanks to iTunes. The movie industry and animation we all have fond childhood memories were forever changed with the founding of Pixar Animation Studios that have made some of the best animation movies in history with films such as Toy Story, Wall-E, and Up.
The technology he helped develop is often the foundation of every movie we watch, every special effect we enjoy, every piece of music we hear, every graphic design we see and every video game we play. You name a modern piece of computer technology and Steve Jobs probably directly or indirectly influenced it in some form or fashion.
Not many people can claim to have truly influenced and changed the world regardless of race, religion, age or country. But Steve Jobs could. The world lost a giant today.
iPhone 4S RevealedToday Apple held its press conference, minus Steve Jobs, to announce the next iteration of their iPhone and iPod lines. Unlike the hype from the blogosphere, the result is just an incremental improvement to the existing devices. Almost all the improvements are software related, in part due to the iOS 5 getting released on October 12th. For the iPod line, the Nano is getting around a $30 price drop and a minor software update. The iTouch will get the new iOS 5 update.
As for the main event, the result is same looking phone with faster dual-core chip (so better gaming experience), same RAM (so unlikely to feel that much faster even if technically it is), slightly improved internet download speeds (but only if on AT&T), new camera (8 megapixels with 1080p video camera) and about the same battery life.
Take a moment and study that graph to the left. That graph provides a lot of information with two very simple lines. It tells you why the Occupy Wall Street movement exists. It tells you why the GOP has focused on an agenda of doing everything possible to cut taxes for the rich at the expense of everyone else and probably more than that if want to get into the details of history.
