The Squeeze

When I was a newbie to the world of finance, as a programmer at the Bank of New York, I had a boss that said something that set me back on my heels.  He expressed the elitist feeling that paying higher taxes to keep the lower classes mollified was not such a bad thing.  I guess that this quid pro quo had never entered my mind at this point in my life ... but of late I have thought about it more and more.  Clearly limousine liberals reflect this notion to a fair-thee-well ... while at the same time hiring lawyers and tax accountants to minimize their actual tax burden.

And what is the result of this "let 'em eat cake" attitude?  To use Senator Elizabeth Warren's phrase (herself a plutocrat) "the middle class is getting hammered."  This is because they do not have the benefit of all the tax avoidance schemes of their betters ... or access to politicians to write new ones ... nor do they receive much of the largess directed to their poorer brethren. I have written before about the squeeze being put on the middle class ... please read: Middle-Classness and pay particular attention to the chart in the referenced Washington Post story.  If this growing divide is obvious to the statisticians, it must also be obvious to the politicians.

Anyone who can add two and two must also see that Obamacare is also constructed to put pressure on middle Americans.  Something like 80% of those signing up on the health care website are being placed in expanded Medicaid (read free or heavily-subsidized health insurance) while the upper classes are either now being exempted from this law by our fearless leader ... or already have no-sweat Cadillac coverage. The ones again getting squeezed are individuals in the middle class who, having lost their existing coverage, are now being forced to pay higher premiums, higher co-pays, higher deductibles  ... or all three.  This law's true intent is now becoming evident -- income redistribution.

Let me unwind the political logic here.  If those sucking on government teats will vote Democrat ... and those well-off liberals, who share my former Bank of New York boss's attitude, will vote Democrat ... and the middle class is disappearing ... who is left to vote Republican?  All the juice will be out of the orange.

Love

Can you use an extra fifty thousand tax-free dollars?  Well our generous government has concocted a way for perspicacious individuals to claim such largess.  All you need to do is to get a “Love” form from the Department of Agriculture (USDA) within the next 88 days and, on it, claim that your deceased mother or grandmother or sister filed for a farm loan from this government agency in the 1990’s and was denied one because of her gender.  If you think I’m blowing smoke, see: The "Love" Program. And you need not worry about being thrown in the poky for concocting lies, you won’t.  Nobody will be investigated for mendacity in this program … it’s written into the law.  What you say is swallowed, er, accepted, as gospel.  So no need to fret.  Just spend a day spinning a good agrarian yarn and the government will reward you for your creative prose.

And, if you are lucky enough to have a black or Hispanic deceased close relative (or can make one up), you might also get an equal amount from the “Pigford” or “Garcia” programs also run out of the USDA.  Just think about that … $150,000 in Uncle Sam checks that are just waiting for you for the asking.  (And you wonder why we are running such monumental fiscal deficits?)

Then, when you get your check(s), all I ask is a 10% commission for this heads-up.  I think that's only fair.