In U.S., 67% Dissatisfied With Income, Wealth Distribution - Gallup & PEW 1/27/14

Go to story   State of the Nation

... President Barack Obama spoke about income disparities in a Dec. 4, 2013, speech, saying he wanted to prioritize lowering income disparity and increasing opportunities, particularly for the poor, during the rest of his second term. He most likely will return to that topic in his State of the Union speech at the end of the month. Gallup's Jan. 5-8 Mood of the Nation survey included a question asking Americans how satisfied they are with income and wealth distribution in the U.S. Few, 7%, report that they are "very satisfied" with the distribution, while 39% of Americans say they are "very dissatisfied." ...

#99% #47% WI 1848 Forward: In U.S., 67% Dissatisfied With Income, Wealth Distribution #Elites - #Gallup & #PEW #1% 

#99% #47% WI 1848 Forward: In U.S., 67% Dissatisfied With Income, Wealth Distribution #Elites - #Gallup & #PEW #1% - Fast Forward #2024 #election still true 

The world's 85 richest people own as much as the 3,500,000,000 poorest people: OXFAM Report via NPR

World Population Projections   (underline are links to source)

Oxfam: World's Richest 1 Percent Control Half Of Global Wealth

... Other key findings in the report:

— The world's 85 richest people own as much as the poorest 50 percent of humanity. 

— 70 percent of the world's people live in a country where income inequality has increased in the past three decades. 

— In the U.S., where the gap between rich and poor has grown at a faster rate than any other developed country, the top 1 percent captured 95 percent of post-recession growth (since 2009), while 90 percent of Americans became poorer.

#Immoral #Elites #1% WI 1848 Forward: World's 85 richest own as much as 3.5 BiLLion poorest: #OXFAM Report - #NPR - 7 billion world pop

#Elites #1% WI 1848 Forward: World's 85 richest people own as much as the 3,500,000,000 poorest: #OXFAM Rep. - #NPR - 7 billion world pop

Advice for Chris Christie from Thomas Jefferson

I think Tom was a "liberal progressive" ....

“The purpose of government is to enable the people of a nation to live in safety and happiness. Government exists for the interests of the governed, not for the governors.”

― Thomas Jefferson

Chris Christie documents reveal anger, chaos over bridge scandal

#99% #47% #OWS #VoterID WI 1848 Forward: Advice for Chris #Christie [ #1% #Elites #Inequality] from Thomas #Jefferson http://wi1848forward.blogspot.com/2014/01/advice-for-chris-christie-from-thomas.html?spref=tw

Walker's War on the Elderly, Rural, Middle Income and Poor of Wisconsin - Raise Sales Tax

September 2017 ... Walker budget cuts Homestead Tax Credit ... how's that for "Tax Reform" !

12/26/2015 ... Be aware -  anytime Walker takes something away from one group, say your School Board, County Board, Teachers or state employees he is lowering the common denominator.  Others not in those groups have less control of their lives.  Your benefits or privileges are affected too.

1/1/2015 - MJS:  The myth of Scott Walker as a budget guru

... The process is ingenious in an underhanded kind of way. You see, if government is working smoothly and efficiently, it’s difficult to make the case that cuts need to be made. As the old adage goes, if it ain’t broken, don’t try to fix it. Republicans now realize that first you need to swing a bat at the government’s knees and cripple it before you’re allowed to put it down. If it isn’t broken, well then, break it yourself. But how do you break government without the public blaming you for being the problem? Well, that’s easy: you starve it with tax cuts. ...

~~~~~~~~~
1/22/2014 Walker's "State of the State" essentially meaningless.  Who paid the $1 billion in taxes collected that now may be distributed.  By that I mean incidence - wealthy or poor, elderly and/or rural residents?

1/24/2014 - The top 20% of Wisconsin wage earners — those making more than $88,000 a year and paying the most in taxes now — would receive 44% of the benefit of Gov. Scott Walker's latest proposed tax cuts, a new analysis shows.
The bottom 20% of state residents by income — those making below $21,000 a year and paying the least in taxes now — would receive 5% of the $504.6 million Walker wants to cut in property and income taxes, according to the review by the liberal Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy and the Wisconsin Budget Project.

Read more from Journal Sentinel: http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/headlines/top-wage-earners-taxpayers-get-biggest-benefit-from-walker-tax-cuts-b99191408z1-241905661.html#ixzz2rXvWTJZE

Scott Walker: Eliminating income tax, raising sales tax on the table


In the printed version of WSJ under the label "Tax Reform" the Wisconsin State Journal headlines "Gov. Walker eyes more cuts".  The subtitle "His administration is exploring the idea of eliminating income tax while raising sales taxes in Wisconsin".

I don't know whether this is just another trial ballon or just an illustration of Governor Walker continuing to pander to the elites and 1%.

Who would such a change harm or have the greatest impact on.

• Middle and low-income families.
• Those living on fixed incomes, i.e., pensions, Social Security, et al, (double whammy).
• Those generally living in rural counties and communities

I suspect a lot of people do not realize that those on Social Security in this state pay practically no income tax - this "perk/subsidy" was passed by Democrats and signed by Governor Doyle.

All social security benefits that are taxable for federal purposes. Up to 85% of social security benefits are subject to federal tax, but Wisconsin does not tax social security benefits. For taxable years beginning in 2008 or after, all federally taxable social security benefits are allowed as a subtraction.  page 5 of report in the link

Income tax in this state is mildly "progressive" which means the more you earn you pay at a higher tax rate by brackets.  Everybody pays on earned income at the low end.

I will probably add to my comments and observations as this "topic" continues to evolve.
____
12/21/13 some data

Governor Walker’s Tax Shift Plan Would Raise Taxes for Most

____

#WIVote  #WI 1848 Forward: #HiddenAgendaWalker >War on the #Elderly, Rural, Middle Income and Poor - Raise #SalesTax - #Walker even in leaving he sticks it to #rural WI 

#Elites #1% #WI 1848 Forward: #Walker 's War on the #Elderly, Rural, Middle Income and Poor of #Wis -Raise #SalesTax

#Elites #1% #Walker 's War #WI 1848 Forward: on the #Elderly, Rural, Middle Income and Poor of #Wis -Raise #SalesTax

#Elites #1% #Walker 's War WI 1848 Forward: on the #Elderly, Rural, Middle Income and Poor of #Wis - #WiVote

#Immoral #1% EX_GOV #Walker 's War WI 1848 Forward: on the #Elderly, #Rural, Middle Income and #Poor of #Wis - #WiVote

What's up with this ad? Just benefits no costs to environment?

Although an exact number may be available all I can say is that it is played on "cable television" a lot!  I'm confident I've seen it at a least 10 times a month for at least the past several months.

What's wrong with it is that it uses our "brains" against us.  The ad has practically no substance or evidence included.  If the "farmer" and "circumstances" are real and let's assume they are it is at best a non-factual testimonial that this guy has not had any problems with raising cattle and having natural gas wells co-exist on his farm.

Their About says this -

Published on May 29, 2013

Keith has owned his farm for 30 years. With six active natural gas wells on his land, he can now grow the size of his farm, modernize his equipment and even send his grandchildren to college - all while protecting the health of the land and groundwater.

http://www.thinkaboutit.org

• Category

  News & Politics

• License

  Standard YouTube License

This kind of statement and the video narrative are what Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Prize Winner, describes as "availability and affect heuristics".

The combined use causes most of us to become "positive" about the co-existence of gas wells and farming just by hearing the narrative. We only hear and see positive things.  We are not presented with any possible risks or negative consequences.  Certainly it is being posited that somehow groundwater is being protected by the co-existence!

In Kahneman's book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, Chapters 12 and 13 go into these heuristics illustrating how they are an artifact how we sometimes think too quickly and need to carefully reflect on what we are being told.

You have to wonder why it is being "run" over and "over" again when we have strong political discussions going on about benefits versus costs of fracking, pipelines, local governmental control and environmental impact while many politicians are being "fracked" with political contributions.

Ad placed by: ANGA - America's Natural Gas Alliance

The "Think About It" tagline is also being run on NPR these days ... 12/13/2013 ... about public utilities using gas in Georgia ... not coal I assume? 1/29/2014 ... still doing it on NPR ... although there is a campaign going on to stop it now!

Texas family plagued with ailments gets $3M in 1st-of-its-kind fracking judgment

April 27, 2014

#Fracking #1% #Elites #Politics WI 1848 Forward:What's up with this ad? Just benefits no costs to #environment ? #47%

Market Economy versus Market Society: Inequality and Civic Decisions - TED - Michael Sandel

Here's a question we need to rethink together: What should be the role of money and markets in our societies?

That quote is from the first line of a TED talk by ... I recommend it ...

Michael Sandel: Why we shouldn't trust markets with our civic life


He makes the very important distinctions between Market Economy and Market Society!

Over the past three decades, we have lived through a quiet revolution. We've drifted almost without realizing it from having a market economy to becoming market societies. The difference is this: A market economy is a tool, a valuable and effective tool, for organizing productive activity, but a market society is a place where almost everything is up for sale. It's a way of life, in which market thinking and market values begin to dominate every aspect of life: personal relations, family life, health, education, politics, law, civic life. (bolding added)


Sandel gives two reasons for being worried about letting a Market Society come about.  I agree with him that we have been letting this happen.  One reason has to do with "inequality", e.g., a small group of people have a lot more money or wealth than most, by far the majority, of the people.

But when money comes increasingly to govern access to the essentials of the good life -- decent health care, access to the best education, political voice and influence in campaigns --when money comes to govern all of those things, inequality matters a great deal. And so the marketization of everything sharpens the sting of inequality and its social and civic consequence. ... (bolding added)

The second reason is that "social goods" served in a market society by market thinking is that our view of the "social goods" are changed.  I would translate this into potentially affecting our morality and ethics.  How should "social goods" be distributed? By need, by lottery, or by ability to "pay?"

There's a second reason apart from the worry about inequality, and it's this: with some social goods and practices, when market thinking and market values enter, they may change the meaning of those practices and crowd out attitudes and norms worth caring about.

Sandel does not directly address market regulation or management or control but it is implicit.  Any one who approaches this topic with a clear mind has to continue to question and consider "markets", how are they functioning and are they an appropriate way to allocate resources.

Watch the video. Read the transcript.  I only summarize his ideas.

04/05/2014

Consider this story in the context of the Supreme Court giving those with money a "bullhorn" to shout their views while the rest of us can only cup our hands.

Moyers - Is Net Neutrality Dead? 5/2014 New Threat ! PBS   ... let it not become "one of those things you can't afford!"

Another perspective -- EQUALITY -- click to listen -- 12 minutes

The Declaration of Independence: The Ultimate Self-Help Guide

So my night students got the kernal of the Declaration a lot faster than any other students I’ve seen. What the Declaration offers is a certain kind of rigor of analysis. What’s your diagnosis of your circumstances? What do you propose to do about it? How do you justify it? Three steps. So I think they found it very empowering. What was the different kind of course they wanted to set? How would they justify it.

And another point ---

Supply-chains can be a major point of catastrophe - especially during pandemics! 


#Inequality and #Civics Decisions WI 1848 Forward: #TED - Market Economy vs #Immoral Market Society == #Walker WI 

#Inequality #Immorality WI 1848 Forward: #TED - Market Economy vs #Immoral Market Society == #Trump - Who is he for? 

#KimmelTest #TheKimmelTest WI 1848 Forward:   #MarketEconomy vs #Immoral #MarketSociety == #Trump -Who is he for? 

#TRUMP #Inequality & #Civics Decisions - Market Economy vs Market Society:  #TED - Michael #Sandel -- #Immoral Market Society - where #Elites Trump & Radical #GOP are taking us ... you can't have it if you don't have the $$$  #Medicare  #PANDEMIC #MASK 

Letter(s) to Governor Walker - Two Author's Different Journey

The Struggle Goes On: 6/10/2015  Don’t Cut Long-Term Care, Save It The elderly and disabled deserve better By Steven Salmon

Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposes to privatize the long-term care system, which would have dire consequences for people with disabilities and the elderly.

It would lower care attendants’ wages, making the care profession undesirable as a job. There is already a shortage of care attendants when the care profession is one of the fastest growing jobs in America. Doesn’t Wisconsin need jobs?

Walker’s plan would eliminate a client’s right to interview, hire and fire their attendants. In the long run the governor’s new long-term care plan would create waiting lists for the elderly and the disabled, costing the state more revenue. Inevitably, people with disabilities and the elderly would end up living in institutions hiding these special people in closets. Is this how Wisconsin treats the disabled?

Update: Second Letter March 19th, 2015 - Can Home Health Care be Saved ...See Isthmus article, March 19-25, 2015,Vol. 40, No. 11, Madison, Wisconsin 

page 23 - A tale of perseverance by Mary Ellen Bell

Steve,

You are an inspiration to all. Keep up the good fight and enjoy your well deserved vacation! Nearly 20,000 views on your video. Keep telling your story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2civMfWcfs

On Wed, Mar 18, 2015 at 10:01 PM, Steven Salmon <stevensalmon@charter.net> wrote:

Please read an Isthmus article today about a CP author who uses Morse code to write since he is unable to use his hands.  In fact he edited two manuscripts in three months.  One manuscript is a middle grade represented by the Purcell Agency and the other manuscript is an adult fiction.  Amazing! 

Post. 

Dear State of Wisconsin and Governor Walker,

My name is Steven Salmon.  A real author with severe Cerebral palsy.  I have three published books and soon to be a fourth book published.  I use Morse code to write since I can't use my hands tapping one letter at a time making my dream come true.  Forward right, Governor!  ? Your right to work is destroying home health care.  People don't want to work for eleven dollars to hour to care for the disabled in their homes. During the last six weeks I had only one interview that fell apart!  My only other attendant has picked up more hours, but he has another client and deserves a break.  CLA is at fault, but needs more revenue to pay attendants a decent wage to live to care for the disabled.  I lost one of the best care attendants that I ever had because of low pay.  No one applies for jobs at the Community Living Alliance to be care attendants.  The one On Call injured worker covering one thousand clients who can't even roll over a person in bed or run the hoyer.  My seventy five year old mother has to do everything.  Meanwhile I keep moving onward making my dream happen working after midnight.  Day after day I write wondering will I end up in a home watching TV all day.  Should I give up because the State is too cheap to care?  Giving up isn't an option.  Sorry, Governor.  I'm going to be a thorn in your side while you go mud raking across the country with the Kock's brothers' money.  You're going to fail, Governor!  I will bet a book on it!  A talented educated physically disabled person like me needs and deserves the best care that the State can provide.  I will always be just a number to the system.  Only a few see the fire burning in the distance at night. 

If I had offended someone with this email, I'm sorry.  That wasn't my intention.  I never want to hurt people like the second best attendant, my "partner" and my disabled advocates.   I'm thinking like a writer here not a disabled person.  I know a lot of people are going to read our blog in the next several weeks.  This is an opportunity to educate and inform people.  I'm helping CLA not attacking it.  Trina will agree.  I don't hear that I can't write this.  My people understand what I'm doing  with this email.  Steve www.stevenbsalmon.com.

I'll be out of the office until Monday.  I have wanted to say that!  Basketball calls.  Enjoy the article.  Ask yourself how much time I put in the article while you are reading it and that's why I  deserve the best care.  Thank you. 

The First Letter:

This letter was passed on to me by a friend of Steve Salmon.  I know Steve but not as well as my friend.  One of the things that Steve fails to mention is that he is also the star of a video in addition to being one of the most dedicated to writing and hardest working people I have ever met.  He has written six books - most of us even if we have a great story and are a good storyteller/writer find it too easy to never really start.

Here is Steve's letter including a preamble to friends.  It is followed by a video that tells more of the story!

People,

Happy Thanksgiving to you.  I couldn't pass this up!  I had fun writing it.  Maybe one of you can get it to the Governor.  I will get there someday.  Show this to people.  Thank you.  Steve

Bob,

Please post.  Thank you.  Steve 

Dear Governor Walker, 

Congratulations on your book!  That's quite an accomplishment!  Several questions that I want to ask you.  How long did it take you to write the book?  How many hours do you write a day?  How many books do you plan to write?  Did you write the book or did hire a ghostwriter?  Do you have a literary agent?  How did you get on TV?  What is the secret?  Do you have ebooks?  Is your book in bookstores?  Did you take out a grant to do publicity?  Did you self published?  It's hard being an author plus being the Governor!  

My name is Steven Salmon.  I'm the Cerebral palsy author of three published books.  Currently, I'm writing my sixth books using Morse code to write since I'm unable to use my hands.  I write each day for eight hours a day.  I have a literary agent.  I beat you on that one!  But you don't need a literary agent.  You're a publicity magnet attracting the news media everywhere you go.  The media ignores me.  I have two manuscripts ready to send out publishers, but I don't have money to do publicity.  I have to buy my own books to put in local bookstores on consignment.  You can buy autographed copies of my books for fifteen dollars at the UW Bookstore in the Wisconsin author secton.  It costs me two hundred dollars to have my books convert to ebooks.  No disabled organization will help me finance publicity.  A grant costs six hundred dollars to apply for a grant.  I can't afford that.  It makes me feel small and insignificant.  You expect disabled people to work.  Then you cut Medicaid limiting opportunities for people with disabilities.  You should be ashamed of yourself being a parent of a disabled child.  Good luck running for Governor and president.  An author will be watching trying to remind people of shameful policies.  Then you'll have all of the time to write another book.  This time write it yourself! Www.stevenbsalmon.com. 

Steven Salmon from Cristalyne Bell on Vimeo.

There is also a YouTube version that by now - April 2016 has been viewed > ~23500 times!  End of December 1, 2017 -- 30,000+ views.

11/11/11 #Medicaid: Death by a 1K Cuts or 10K or More - Making It Personal

Ltr to Gov. #Walker :Two Author's Different Journey #Medicaid #CerebralPalsy -by MorseCode - Www.stevenbsalmon.com

Ltr to Gov. #Walker :Two Author's Different Journey #Medicaid #CerebralPalsy -by MorseCode - #wwJd #99% vs #elites

Ltrs to Gov. #Walker :Home Care Being Destroyed #Medicaid #CerebralPalsy -by MorseCode - Www.stevenbsalmon.com

#Moral ? WI 1848 Forward: Gov. #Walker ’s budget war >dire consequences for people with #disabilities & #elderly

Ltr to Gov. #Walker (man of character - NOT) - #99% vs #elites #Trump :Two Author's Different #Moral Journey #CerebralPalsy - by Ghost Author or MorseCode?  #GreenBay  #Kenosha #Racine #LaCrosse #EauClaire #StevensPoint