Reading Daily Kos, I see one post after another asking our country to squeeze the rich with open calls for class warfare. But, unless you really are a Socialist, the problem is not that the top 1% has gotten richer, it is that everybody else has either not kept up or gotten poorer. Our policies should not be about “us vs. them”, they should be designed to advance the common good and create wealth for all. If you wonder why the right’s “trickle-down economics” and anti-Keynesian positions attract voters even though they are complete bullshit, you need to look at their messaging. They claim (falsely) that if you reduce taxes on the wealthy, it will create jobs for all. If you look at the left’s messaging, it has been about squeezing the top 1% to pay necessary government expenditures and support entitlement programs. It’s time to focus on what those government expenditures and entitlement programs do for the economy (and all Americans), how much we personally value them, and our willingness to roll back all of the Bush tax cuts (including our own), rather than divisively demanding that others foot the bill for unspecified programs.
I propose Democrats and Independents sign the following pledge:
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