The re-election of Barack Obama was amazing feat to behold. Populism won out over greed and disingenuous attempts to equate wealth and financial success with business acumen and righteousness. One would think the religious right component of the Republican Party and hardcore Tea Party auxiliary would look to the Bible for guidance. Yet it doesn't seem to occur to right wing pundits that every day people deserve to access the American dream. The voices of the least among us simply don't matter much to lobbyist driven Republicans.
Avarice is a deadly sin. Thousands of scripture passages point to the virtue of helping the poor. Yet the prevailing right wing wisdom blames the poor and glorifies greed as necessary to ensure the economic future of society. America has already gone too far down the road of confusing exploitation with healthy economic growth. The Cato Institute and a legion of other misnamed self-serving apologists comprise an entire dystopic infrastructure. Their mission is nothing more than helping rich bastards take even more of what they don't deserve.
To his credit, the President made a common sense case based on obvious truths abandoned by the right wing greed elite. Sensible tax rates and regulation are absolutely critical to making the American Dream a reality. "Re-distribution" and "Class warfare" have been accusations leveled at Progressives seeking to ensure a fair chance for everyone. In reality, we have had 30 years of reverse Robin Hood wealth re-distribution coupled with erosion of environmental and labor protecting regulations.
As a result the gap between rich and poor is historically large. Upward mobility is behind that of most of Western Europe and Canada. All of this is happening while rich folks are making out like bandits. Cutting taxes has indeed made the situation worse. Job creation and tax rates were higher under both Reagan and Clinton.
Children growing up must learn to get along with others. They may learn to collaborate, cooperate and pursue solutions that work everyone. Alternatively they may pursue a me-first agenda. Parents, teachers and other role models play a pivotal role in shaping development during these formative years.
Billionaires like the Koch brothers seem to have missed some key lessons in their socialization. Playing the capitalist game better than everyone else or inheriting wealth from a rich parent ought not entitle you to deny opportunity to anyone. If equal opportunity every succumbs to greed we will have lost our soul as a nation. The election of November 6, 2012 was a solid victory for everyone trying to access the American Dream. We need to make sure that the cost of opportunity is not dictated by those fortunate enough to have the wealth necessary to buy our government.
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