The Little People

OK, so we’re not going to starve our citizens to death after all.

Yeah, America!

The richest nation in the history of the universe has deigned to feed its citizens. We will, however, be skyrocketing everyone’s insurance premiums, or forcing them to go without insurance at all, because… wait, why are we inflicting this suffering on so many people again?

Oh, that’s right. So the top 1% can get more money.

In Trump’s first term, his only legislative victory was a tax break for the rich. That was it for four years. So far in round two of nightmare land, his only legislative victory has been a tax break for the rich.

I sense a pattern.

While the administration has done nothing to lower the cost of living or make the life of an average American even remotely better, Republicans have succeeded in priming conditions for the world’s first trillionaire and throwing one hell of a Great Gatsby-themed party.

Yes, it’s an amazing time to be rich. Consider that Trump’s tax law has fueled a surge in the purchases of private jets.

I’m sure you snagged one, right?

Consider also that for many of our uber-wealthy, “one floating villa is not enough,” so they are buying massive yachts and then smaller, “shadow yachts [to carry] the jet skis, helicopter and submarine” as well as the “smaller boat that zips you into Monaco in time for lunch” in what is essentially a yacht for your yacht. 

Wow, if the economy continues at this pace, it’s just a matter of time before all that wealth trickles right down to you. Definitely. 

Except it doesn’t actually work that way. As we all know, decades of research has proven that cutting taxes for millionaires accomplishes exactly one thing: It makes rich people richer.

Supply-side economics does nothing for the general population, and it may be the single most destructive idea in modern American politics.

The truth is that with the wealth gap becoming an insurmountable chasm, we are creating a “vast American underclassincreasingly dependent on the top 1%.” 

And that’s precisely how the richest Americans want it to be. Republicans are fine with this.

Sure, many Americans continue to be whiny babies about some imaginary concept called “affordability.” But they don’t understand how crucial it is to our nation’s well-being for a trust-fund nepo baby to be happy about buying his fifth mansion.

Now, let me regale you with an anecdote that illustrates how topsy-turvy the country’s economic system has become.

A friend who works in corporate American told me that he was at a company event where the top partners in his firm, millionaires all, blew astronomical amounts of cash on food and drink. It was all on the company dime. 

The problem was that when the bill came, the bean counters at the company demanded answers on how a handful of dudes spent that much money on themselves. The excuse, which the company accepted, is that the waiters at the event were irresponsible in serving the partners when they were so clearly inebriated. Those working class bastards took advantage of the tipsy millionaires.

In essence, unbelievably wealthy guys doing $300 shots blamed the waiters for their over-indulgence. And this came across as perfectly valid.

Clearly, to prevent this horrible abuse from ever happening again, there is only one solution: We have to give those rich guys bigger tax cuts.