Daily Archives: April 8, 2011


Why We Must Raise Taxes on the Rich

Robert Reich has posted the article Why We Must Raise Taxes on the Rich on his blog and on Truthout.org

He closes with the following:

All the President has to do is connect the dots – the explosion of income and wealth among America’s super-rich, the dramatic drop in their tax rates, the consequential devastating budget squeezes in Washington and in state capitals, and the slashing of vital public services for the middle class and the poor.

This shouldn’t be difficult. Most Americans are on the receiving end. By now they know trickle-down economics is a lie. And they sense the dice are loaded in favor of the multi-millionaires and billionaires, and their corporations, now paying a relative pittance in taxes.

The President has the bully pulpit. But will he use it?

My comment on Truthout.org would have been (if only their website weren’t still suffering from the effects of the vandals):

I can forgive Obama for all his failures except one.  I cannot forgive him for failing to even make the case for the policies we need.

His silence in the face of the relentless attack from the right makes it harder for all progressives to make the case.

As a very early supporter of Obama, I have had the pleasure of quickly refusing to fund his re-election campaign.  He won’t get anything, not even a vote from me, if he doesn’t quickly repair the one unforgivable mistake mentioned above.