A Billionaire Obsesses, Our Politics Regresses

[geckosfeet]

1. They are willing to spend billions for lobbying efforts to avoid paying taxes,

taxes that would have cost them much less, been more effective in deficit cutting and more stimulative for the world economy in the short, mid and long terms.

Even without generating anything close to a public groundswell, Peterson’s agenda remains alive and well on Capitol Hill. Peterson, of course, doesn’t personally deserve all the credit. His basic budget agenda — keep federal spending down — has always resonated powerfully with America’s most affluent.

The main reason: the less the federal government is investing in programs that help working families, the lower the pressure for raising taxes on America’s rich to help finance that investing.

America’s rich and powerful can’t seem to get enough of the Fix the Debt “fiscal responsibility” message. Business groups, reports the New York Times, are now paying Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles $40,000 a pop — each — for speechifying at their conferences and confabs.

....

The rich have, in effect, framed our political debate. In plutocracies, they always do. A century ago, Americans understood that reality. Their response? They made plutocracy itself their target. Someday soon, we’ll need to follow suit.

A Billionaire Obsesses, Our Politics Regresses