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September 9, 2004

Class warfare lives

Now that the Democrats and Republicans have both held their conventions, it is an appropriate time to assess the underlying political philosophy of both parties. To do so one must look beyond the media hype and the personalities of the two candidates. The important question is what historical trends influence the political positions of the candidates.

There has always been a strong influence in America to establish an oligarchy of the affluent. While America rejected a monarchy, it was first believed that only property owners should have the right to vote. The rationale for this position was that public policy issues would affect the rights of property more than anything else. Therefore, the owners of property should be the ones to decide such matters.

While the franchise could not be so restricted in a truly democratic society, the mindset of the affluent still includes many with the dream of oligarchy. Their argument remains that by developing and maintaining wealth, they create jobs and opportunity for the rest of society.

This assertion failed during the Great Depression of the 1930s. President Franklin D. Roosevelt then came to power establishing the New Deal, a concept of government which asserts that the purpose of the federal government is to implement great programs for the benefit of the general public. The scale of such programs would be beyond the scope of private enterprise.

Such programs are costly. The funds to finance them would have to come from taxes. A system of progressive taxation required the affluent to pay a much higher tax rate on income above a certain level. Although these measures were resisted by the wealthy, the Second World War created a political environment in which the president had great control over the economy.

President Bush’s base is the wealthy oligarchs who want taxes cut. They can afford to pay for their families’ medical bills and substantial private school tuition for their children. They do not see why their funds should be taken by taxation to finance medical care for all and quality public education.

Bush’s “Ownership Society” theme is so clearly a call to action for the oligarchs. Those who have been able to thrive during this stumbling economy will receive tax benefits to encourage them to save for retirement or to pay for their medical costs. Those who have lost their jobs will in no way benefit from this policy.

John Kerry proposes to roll back the tax cuts for those earning more than $200,000 to finance health care. Tax hikes would help to preserve Social Security. Kerry’s theme of the “Two Americas” which he borrowed from Senator John Edwards is a restatement of the principles of the New Deal which Bush is eager to kill.

One would think with corporate greed running amok that Bush’s revival of the wealthy oligarchs would be soundly rejected by working and middle class Americans. Surprisingly, this has not happened. One possible explanation is that Americans still harbor the dream of acquiring great wealth themselves. An aspect of that dream is to identify with those who have attained it, even though their policies are not helpful to those still striving.

Then there are those who have been so defeated by the circumstances of their lives that they lack the motivation to go to the polls and vote to oust the oligarchs. The battle for working class Americans will be fought in the voting booth. Blacks and Latinos must not be missing in action.

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