Wealth disparity and what it means for America

Income concentration.

Is the U.S a plutocracy?

The inequality that matters.

Two thoughts worth sharing:

"We mean not just rule by the rich, but rule by and for the rich. We mean, in other words, a state of affairs in which the rich influence government in such a way as to protect and expand their own wealth and influence, often at the expense of others. As the introductory essay to this issue shows, this influence may be exercised in four basic ways: lobbying to shift regulatory costs and other burdens away from corporations and onto the public at large; lobbying to affect the tax code so that the wealthy pay less; lobbying to allow the fullest possible use of corporate money in political campaigns; and, above all, lobbying to enable lobbying to go on with the fewest restrictions. Of these, the second has perhaps the deepest historical legacy."

"Scandalous as it may sound to the ears of Republicans schooled in Reaganomics, one critical measure of the health of a modern democracy is its ability to legitimately extract taxes from its own elites. The most dysfunctional societies in the developing world are those whose elites succeed either in legally exempting themselves from taxation, or in taking advantage of lax enforcement to evade them, thereby shifting the burden of public expenditure onto the rest of society."

Why WikiLeaks is not the problem

Not a big fan of Ron Paul, but he asks some great questions.

Clueless Americans #1

Obama cut taxes by $116 billion and nobody noticed.

What percentage of our budget goes to foreign aid?

It's the Economy Stupid #2

It's an actual Filibuster! None of this death by minority cloture bullshit; a real live filibuster, and on a deserving topic.

This is the GOP's deal, they are willing to create $700 billion in new deficit spending, to give millionaires an average of $140,000 in tax cuts per year. How do the poor and middle class get fooled into supporting this national robbery of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich??? I just don't get it.

It's the Economy Stupid #1

Chart of the Day"

Repeal DADT!

Today our worthless U.S. Senate again let politics get in the way of reason. Not only is it discriminatory and against everything America is supposed to stand for, but it weakens our national security. Don't Ask Don't Tell reduces our military readiness and ruins productive careers for no reasons rationally related to qualifications or performance on the job. In just the past week, we have three high-profile examples:

First, Army Capt. Jonathan Hopkins was involuntarily discharged under DADT. He was ranked No. 4 overall out of the 933 graduates of his West Point class in 2001 and later endured three difficult tours in Iraq and Afghanistan where he earned three Bronze Stars, one for valor.

Second, Cadet Katherine Miller resigned from West Point and is transferring to Yale. She was ranked No. 9 overall in her class of more than 1,100 cadets. She wrote that in "attempting to adhere to [the DADT policy] and retain my integrity, I am retrospectively convinced that I am unable to live up to the Army Values as long as the [DADT] policy remains in place."

Finally, Air Force Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach filed a last-ditch federal lawsuit to block his imminent discharge after almost 19 years as a fighter pilot. Suffice it to say of Fehrenbach that, in addition to his having earned nine air medals during 88 combat missions in the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq, he was personally chosen to defend the skies over Washington after 9/11.

After spending multimillions of dollars to educate and train these outstanding people, why are we now firing them or forcing them into resigning? When will we hold bigoted dinosaurs who call themselves leaders responsible for undermining both our freedoms and security?