The one percent have been waging a relentless class war on the 99%, so it is with great satisfaction to hear them start to squeal, and try to turn the tables.
David Moore, an 'entrepeneur and CEO' states in a Wall St. Journal op-ed, that President Obama with his relentess attacks on business and coining the phrase 'fat cats' and constant insistence that the rich pay their 'fair share' is responsible for the discontent in this country that is leading to this current outbreak of 'class warfare'.
There is no link to his op-ed as the WSJ requires a subsciption but here are a few choice quotes copied from the New Republic. The op-ed starts out with an anecdote about a homeless person refusing Mr. Moore's 'donation' of one dollar as inadequate and shouts the Wall St.Fat Cats should pay their fair share. This is President Obama's fault for bringing the phrase 'fair share' into the lexicon, insisting repeatedly since 2008 that the rich do so, and conveniently omits the fact that Obama extended the Bush Tax Cuts.
The president's incendiary message has now reached the streets. His complaints that rich people must "pay their fair share" have now goaded some of our society's most unfortunate, including one who felt compelled to refuse money because it was not enough. President Obama has become the "Great Divider" instead of the "Great Unifier" that we all hoped he would be.
My local Fox News outlet interviewed David Moore on its morning news show this morning. One of the hosts gamely tries to point out that the economy was crashed in 2008 by Wall St while being bailed out by ordinary taxpayers, to the tune of billiions of dollars and shouldn't there be some quid pro quo? Moore's response, wait for it, 'this is a free market'. Yes, a free market where only losses are socialized.
He then goes on to point out the instances where, besides personally coining the phrase fat cats', Obama constantly bashes pharmacetical companies. He knows this because a friend who is a middle manager in a pharmaceutical company told him so. Yes, we all know how Obama bashed Pharma by not allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices and made back door deals with them in the ACA.
Op-Ed Points Finger At Obama Class Warfare: MyFoxNY.com
Presidents, once elected, instantly become president of all the people. They are the ultimate parental figures who should show no favoritism while always reaching across the dinner table to keep the family together. Even when they are confident their plan is the right one, they must communicate it such that everyone in the family knows they care equally about each of them. Painting important parts of our economy and population with such a negative brush is not only un-presidential, it is destructive to the fabric of our nation.
The New Republic's Jonathan Cohn points out just exactly how Ronald Reagan did exactly the same thing, never singling out segments of the population or coining the phrase 'welfare queen' or anyting divisive like that.
Well, I remember a president famous for "painting important parts of our economy and population with such a negative brush." His name was Ronald Reagan. He campaigned for the presidency by attacking welfare queens who bought Cadillacs with their government checks. He softened his rhetoric a bit once he became president – perhaps because reporters never could verify the anecdotes he was telling – but the idea that large numbers of poor people were cheating the welfare system was a theme throughout his presidency.
Some would argue Reagan was right about the poor taking advantage mismanaged welfare systems. They may even be right. But surely Obama has at least as much reason to single out Wall Street executives who not only took advantage of regulatory laxity but also, in the process, helped to bring down the whole economy.