These competing movements exists because there are two ways to look at our current economic situation:
1. Too many people are living off the government because 47% of people don't pay federal income tax.
Conclusion: The poor are lazy.
2. Our current economic system isn't working because 47% do not make enough money to pay federal income tax.
Conclusion: The poor are victims.
I would like to break this down with a metaphor so we can see which of these conclusions is right.
Picture all the money in our economy as a pie. A nice big beautiful warm American Apple Pie. If the amount of money in our economy was contracting, then we could argue that productivity is dropping and we are creating less wealth. In this case we could understand why there are so many poor. There are more people making a smaller pie. People are becoming less productive (or lazy if you prefer). But this is not the case. In the 2nd quarter of 2011 our economy grew 1.3%. So our pie is growing, but some people are getting bigger pieces than others. This is normal in capitalism: winners and losers as they say. But if we were to sort all the pieces of our American Pie from biggest to smallest and take the top 1% of all pieces, they would add up to 40% of our pie. Twenty five years ago, that figure would have been 33%.
So if you are one of the 53%, where is more of your money going - the rich or the poor? The answer is in the pie, my friends. Some poor people are lazy, and they should put on a pair of oven mitts and help out if they are capable. But even more of them are victims. They're cleaning the oven, kneading the dough, and producing the sweet apple filling. And they are getting very little in return. Forty seven percent of people not paying taxes is not a premise. It is a symptom.
I am one of the 53%. But I am also one of the 99%. And I'm hungry for some pie that I helped bake, damn it!
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ReplyDeleteWell written. I would like to add that pie is a limited resource and we should all learn to manage our consumption better. If one chooses to make bad choices and immediately devour the first piece rather than planning for future needs, one should not plead ignorance and expect another piece. Also, sufficient pie cannot be made when valuable ingredients are being given away for free, loaned to those who will never repay, or that are not even available yet. And in a capitalist world, showing up to help make the pie will not guarantee you a piece. Those who have taken calculated risks and who are providing in more ways than baking it deserve to have bigger pieces. With incentive and personal accountability, we will not need to worry about shrinking pieces. This is American Pie we are talking about.
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