1%

As of late, a lot of political talk has focused on the 1%.  That is the top 1% of citizens who have the greatest wealth and earn the biggest incomes.  These individuals and their followers do not want this conversation to take place.  Their viewpoint when it comes to conversations about wealth/income inequality is to label these conversations as “class warfare”.  They all allude to the talk about this issue as being driven by envy.  To the contrary, the conversation should focus on inequality in both income and wealth.  However the talk should not be about how much, but how.  How the tax laws and other government largess has favored the top 1% to the exclusion of everyone else.  The talk should also be about how election laws have been interpreted by the courts to allow the top 1% to use their wealth to influence elections.  This wealth will result in less than one-thousand citizens making such large political contributions so as to virtually buy elections and those elected who received their contributions.  There are over 70,000 pages of federal tax laws of which less than 100 pages apply to over 85% of taxpayers and the rest are used by the top 10% of individuals and corporations to avoid paying federal income tax and contribute to the costs of government.  The result of this inequality can be seen in roads and bridges that are on the verge of falling down and in the lack of education of our children who no longer rank in the top 10 in the world in their educational accomplishments to name just two areas of decline.  The election of 2012 is an opportunity for everyone not a part of the top 1% to exercise their responsibility as a citizen by voting, encouraging others to vote, and assisting those whose votes would be suppressed by the actions brought on by the top 1%.