We seriously need some fresh new ideas presented into this polarized political climate we find ourselves in as we head to the 2012 election.
From my vantage point, I see a stalled and ineffective congress that shows absolutely no signs of leading our nation back into prosperity. I see a congress that is largely working for special interests groups as they receive hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign contributions. I also see an organized media blitz perpetuated by corporations, mega energy companies and political action committees, as they fund pundits to spread visceral messages to further divide and polarize the debate in America.
I’ve seen the initial tea party spring up from grass roots, which in the beginning had a very similar message to that of the current occupy movement now. The tea party was eventually funded and adopted by the conservative billionaire groups that began to steer that movement into a different direction than which it was originally headed. As far right wing figure heads were donating money and began speaking for the tea party, the message became corrupted and led to the eventual diffusion.
Now the occupy movement which shares 80 percent of the message of the original tea party is yet another manifestation of the deep felt disappointment directed to our leaders and the inherent corruption in government.
Will all this protesting lead to new ideas and new ways of governance? Or will they simply be an annoyance in the face of the establishment? Is there any way that we can fix our system by using the same old rules that created our economical disaster?
Our political system is a box that was created by those with money, power and influence. This system stresses the importance of the box, so that any challenges to the system are met with swift and dire consequences. This box is mostly an illusion created to keep the system safe, to keep the power and influence in the hands of those who already have it.
Allow me to provide just one example of a new paradigm that we desperately need. I say we shatter this system down to the roots and create a fair and balanced system that offers equal opportunities for all. I say that everyone who makes less than 1 million dollars a year pays zero income tax. Those who earn between 1 to 5 million are taxed 50 percent. Those 5 million and up are taxed 65 percent.
As it is, the middle class pays a higher tax rate “35 percent” compared to “15 percent” for the wealthy. The middle class is paying for the poor, and also feeding the rich by purchasing their goods or services. This defies common sense. Everyone below 1 million dollars annually have yet to reach the “American Dream”; This group of people need a slight advantage to so that they too can reach the taxable income of a million plus.
Those who make a million dollars upwards have achieved a grand level of success, and have so much more to be grateful for. After a person achieves this level of success, it is then time for them to chip into the American tax system.
Those who protect the box, will perpetuate the illusion by saying that millionaires are job creators and should not be taxed. There is only one thing that creates jobs and that is when the market has a demand for the product and has the money to purchase it. That is the primary attribute that creates jobs, and job creation has nothing to do with tax breaks.
Those who protect the box will say, if you tax the rich they will simply stop manufacturing and close shop. That too is an illusion, as the upper tax rate for $200,000 annually was as high as 94 percent in 1944, and manufacturing kept right on rolling along. Furthermore, if the rich decided to close down their shops, then that will make more room for someone in the middle class to move up a notch and take their place.