The Top Three-Tenths Of One Percent-- Billionaires On The Warpath

Bernie Sanders delivered this speech on the floor of the Senate almost one year ago. Bernie is neither a Democrat nor a Republican. He's the only actual Independent in the Senate-- and one of the only actual progressives. Can you image how pissed off Miss McConnell (R-KY) gets when he hears him saying things like "they fund the campaigns, they get what's due them"? Do you think Bernie helped inspire OccupyWallStreet when he said, "There is a war going on"?

There is no candidate for any office I would ever back who wouldn't gladly embrace Bernie's speech. I remember when I first talked to Rob Zerban, the progressive Democrat running against Paul Ryan, and I was unsure where he stood politically, he had memorized part of this speech and quoted it to me verbatim!

Big Business hasn't had a shot at Bernie since the 5 fascists on the Supreme Court gave them their Citizens United ruling. One year from now they'll have the shot-- and they plan to make the best of it. If there's one Member of the Senate we should shore up, it's Bernie Sanders. He's the only incumbent Senator endorsed by Blue America this cycle. Please listen above, and please, if you can, give at the link.

And as Bernie said in his speech, there are plenty of wealthy people as patriotic, and even christian, as the rest of us. Earlier today Greg Sargent was pointing out the millionaires who are supporting the 99% movement.

This Wall Street Journal story on a new poll finding that 68 percent of millionaires support higher taxes on millionaires is getting a lot of attention today. As Steve Benen joked: “Can the rich wage class warfare on themselves?”

What’s particularly interesting about this survey, however, is what it found about millionaire attitudes towards Warren Buffett. As you’ll recall, his “Buffett Rule” crusade against millionaires paying lower taxes than the middle class triggered an outpouring of rage on the right. Millionaires, however, don’t seem to mind what Buffett is up to:

Rich people’s opinions of Buffett remain fairly positive in the wake of his tax-me-more crusade. More than a third of millionaires and ultra-high-net-worths said they have a more positive opinion of Buffett after his tax proposal. Only 19% of millionaires and 22% of the $5 million -plus group said they had a more negative opinion of him after the proposal.
More than 40% of both groups said their opinion hadn’t changed.

In other words, Buffett’s proposal had more supporters than detractors among the rich-- though that support declines slightly as you move up the wealth ladder.

...More than 60 percent of millionaires favor increased investment in alternative energy and infrastructure projects to create jobs. It’s true that a majority of them also favors substantial cuts to social programs, but in the end, these folks are the “jobs creators.” Why are they supporting all these policies favored by the Kenyan Muslim Marxist in the White House?