Quote:
Originally posted by smooth
wonderwench: are you arguing that the "poor" are represented by elected officials and that the top 1% wage earners are a minority*? That is, that the interests of the top 1% wage earners are not reflected in the policies of our government?
|
One can argue and provide evidence for both views. In terms of mass voting, the wealthy are a minority. Take a city such as Berkeley or a state such as CA. Measures and initiatives are passed based upon popular vote, many of which have tax or government debt implications. I would classify these as the "bread & circuses" of the majority. Conversely, the wealthy always have the power of influence and personal pull in order to affect legislation; perhaps we can deem this aspect "guns & butter". Neither situation is ideal, but pick your poison. Would you rather have an incentive for capital to be productive or to encourage redistribution of wealth which is usually channeled to consumption rather than productive investment?
Quote:
If so, I find your claim strange. Wealth is persistently correlated with voting behavior. Wealth also grants access to public officials in all sorts of ways. This thread was started about a dinner party that one had to pay $10,000 dollars to attend. Hillary was speaking to her constituents--and they weren't firemen, police, or steel workers. They certainly weren't a room full of single women trying to raise children while looking for gainful employment.
BTW, why is it that raising children is not looked upon as a job in itself? I hear people castigating women who stay home on welfare to raise children (I'm not going to deconstruct this myth in this thread--I'll just pass on it for the sake of my point), when in reality it seems that is exactly what they should be doing--staying home and taking care of their children.
Unless of course you think the wealthy children are going to grow up and become the factory workers it might behoove you to support the raising of an industrial army. Maybe you don't want impoverished parents reproducing. In that case, you might need to reconsider your stance on immigration...someone has to do the menial labor and it isn't going to be Chelsea...contradictions abound.
|
I do not believe anyone should have children they are not in a position to financially support. There is a high correlation between children raised in single welfare mother households and inadequate education, leading to a perpetuating cycle in the next generation.