Our Economy Under BushCo

I first encountered Jim Hightower back in the mid-eighties when I was working for the National Rural Health Association and he spoke at the annual conference. He has a long and vocal career as a populist who is willing to speak truth to power. That’s undoubtedly why he has never been elected to high public office. He’s tried a few times, but the establishment just can’t afford to let loose cannons like him run around the hallowed halls of capital hill. (I know, it’s supposed to be Capitol Hill, but come on now, doesn’t capital really say it better?!)

At any rate, the April issue of his newsletter, The Hightower Lowdown, is just loaded with facts everybody should know in order to assess the effect of the Bush Administration on America’s economy. Here is just a small sample comparing how the very wealthy have fared to how the rest of us are doing:
THEN NOW
Categories: 2001 2008

THE WEALTHY
Net worth of top 1% $186 billion 816 billion
Number of billionaires 186 415
Their combined wealth $816 billion $3.5 TRILLION
Average salary of the top
500 corp. CEOs in2007 $15.2 million
Tax cuts to top 1% 2001-2007 $546 billion

YOU AND ME
Median pre-tax household income:
Overall $49,158 $48,201
Income decrease for African-Americans $2,766
Income decrease for Asian Americans $1,381
Income decrease for Hispanics $1,043
Income decrease for white households $745
(So discrimination is a thing of the past, eh!?)
Americans living in poverty 31.6 million 36.5 million
Americans USDA says are going hungry 31 million 38.2 million

Here’s another interesting little fact that Hightower offers: “The top 1% (of earners) include many more Wall Street financiers than CEOs. The 25 highest paid hedge-fund managers are earning more than the CEOs of the largest 500 companies combined. Several of these fund managers are taking home more than a billion dollars a year. And guess what? Democratic party campaigns get twice as much in contributions from hedge-fund types as do Republicans.”

So if you think voting for the Democratic ticket is going to reverse all the trends, you have probably been smoking the wrong kind of weed. Still, the contrast between the two parties with regard to their concern for the working family is still strong enough to keep me voting to throw the GOP bums out. Hopefully, we won’t find as much reason to throw the other bums out come the next election.


Be the change you wish to see in the world. -- M. K. Gandhi

Individually we have little voice. Collectively we cannot be ignored.
But in silence we surrender our power. Yours in Peace -- BR

The reason for going was to keep the crude flowing and raise a false flag abroad. – from a poem by Jack Evans titled 3500 Souls - http://www.myspace.com/paralegal_eagle