Saturday, January 17, 2015

Cui Bono

There's so much uncertainty in the world, it's good to return to simple, proven rules whenever possible in finding one's way through things, one of which is: who's making out here? Not smooching, obviously, though there's that angle as well, but getting rich and benefiting in other ways.

I think I remember once, in reading the Church Fathers for a class--it was another life--running into some axioms for judging true and false prophets or preachers. Two indications of unrighteousness: they steal your money or sleep with your wives--reasonable sounding criteria.

If a little sexist. Luckily there's an easy answer to this, the issue of self interest, in our situation. With the advent of Reaganomics we were repeatedly reassured that the Republicans weren't intending to institute the greatest upwards redistribution of wealth in the history of the world.

Well, they have accomplished that anyway, and damn efficiently, one must say. What's truly remarkable is that they can deny it at all--that it has happened or that they caused it. It has happened and they caused it. J'accuse. They've convicted themselves through their defensiveness.

Why would they bother if they weren't guilty? I will vote for any Democratic presidential candidate who will insist on enforcing this charge. And I here propose a new marginal tax rate on the rich, 110%, branded "confiscatory plus," to help right the wrongs. They've had their party. It's time to pay the bills.

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