Is Mind-Boggling-- And Growing-- Wealth Disparity Destroying American Democracy?

I had to laugh when I read how John Birch Society and Tea Party financiers, the notorious Koch family, made their fortune working with right-wing bogeyman Stalin. "The secretive oil billionaires of the Koch family, the main supporters of the right-wing groups that orchestrated the Tea Party movement, would not have the means to bankroll their favorite causes had it not been for the pile of money the family made working for the Bolsheviks in the late 1920s and early 1930s, building refineries, training Communist engineers and laying down the foundation of Soviet oil infrastructure. The comrades were good to the Kochs. Today Koch Industries has grown into the second-largest private company in America. With an annual revenue of $100 billion, the company was just $6.3 billion shy of first place in 2008. Ownership is kept strictly in the family, with the company being split roughly between brothers Charles and David Koch, who are worth about $20 billion apiece and are infamous as the largest sponsors of right-wing causes. They bankroll scores of free-market and libertarian think tanks, institutes and advocacy groups. Greenpeace estimates that the Koch family shelled out $25 million from 2005 to 2008 funding the 'climate denial machine,' which means they outspent Exxon Mobile three to one. Now they're helping to finance the Republican Party war against working families, an effort Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chairs Raúl Grijalva and Keith Ellison are greatly concerned about. After the video of Rachel Maddow explaining last night how badly Republicans are on all matters economic, there's a letter Grijalva and Ellison sent out yesterday:

I want to take a moment to update you on our fight against the Republican Party’s war on working families.

Yesterday, I was on a conference call with my colleague, Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chair Representative Keith Ellison, and Wisconsin Senate Democratic Leader Mark Miller to let our nation know that we Progressives stand united for our working families in the face of Republican intimidation.

What we are witnessing in Wisconsin and other states is a struggle that speaks to the broader hardships confronting America’s working families. Unemployment is near 10%, banks are foreclosing on families left and right, and irresponsible Republican policies are bankrupting our governments. Rather than promoting true fiscal responsibility and enacting sound economic policies that curtail excess spending and rein in outrageous tax cuts for big corporations and the ultra wealthy, the GOP continues to do the bidding of the rich and big business.

Right now, our progressive brothers and sisters throughout America face a defining moment as the Right Wing pushes its assault on working families to new heights. Under the guise of “fiscal responsibility,” the GOP is once again putting corporate power ahead of people power. Their fraudulent claims are merely a cynical cover for their true intention: to destroy the American people’s right to organize and advocate for their rights as workers.

This is about much more than workers versus management.

This is about fundamental decency.

This is about the integrity of the relationship and the covenant that we, as a society, have with the people who teach our children, care for us when we get sick, and perform essential services that keep our communities functioning.  

This is about ensuring we have a robust middle class and prevent our nation from dissolving into a few wealthy folks at the top resting on the hard work of the people who made them rich.

This is about Progressives standing united against the Republicans’ assault on workers’ fundamental rights.

From Wisconsin to Indiana and Ohio, Republican leaders have shown their cards. They will stop at nothing to strip workers of their right to organize and negotiate a fair wage and give corporations and radical Republican governors the upper hand in breaking the back of the working man.

This Saturday, February 26th, at state capitols and cities across America, join your fellow Progressives in a show of solidarity for the Wisconsin workers and declare that the Republican war on working families must stop.

To find a rally near you, click here.

When the working man cannot speak up for his rights and fair wages in a strong, unified voice, the rich get richer and working families suffer.

Together, we must fight back against the Republicans’ attempts to strip workers of their rights, their decency, and their humanity.

Yesterday Dave Gilson and Carolyn Perot did an intense look at income disparity in America in charts, like the one up-top and the one below (good for bookmarking). "A huge share of the nation's economic growth over the past 30 years has gone to the top one-hundredth of one percent, who now make an average of $27 million per household. The average income for the bottom 90 percent of us? $31,244."



A quote from the best member of the Senate, Vermont's Budget Committee champion, Bernie Sanders: “At a time when this nation already has the most unequal distribution of income at any time since 1928, and after Republicans just passed huge tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, it is hypocritical that they now want to balance the budget by cutting desperately-needed programs for hard-working Americans. Democrats must fight back and say no to continued attacks on working families.”

And a great new protest song... give it a listen: