Eugene Robinson: Have and Have-Not Nation

[babylonsister]

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/have_and_have-not_nation_20111028/

Have and Have-Not Nation

Posted on Oct 28, 2011

By Eugene Robinson

snip//


Indeed, the CBO report says that even the poorest households saw at least a little income growth. Why is it any of their business that the high-earners in the top 1 percent saw astronomical income growth? Isn’t this just sour grapes?

No, for two reasons. First, the system is rigged. Wealthy individuals and corporations have disproportionate influence over public policy because of the often decisive role that money plays in elections. If the rich and powerful act in their self-interest, as conservative ideologues believe we all should do, then the rich and powerful’s share of income will continue to soar.

Second, and more broadly, the real issue is what kind of nation we want to be. Thomas Jefferson’s “All men are created equal” is properly understood as calling for equality of opportunity, not equality of outcomes. But the more we become a nation of rich and poor, the less we can pretend to be offering the same opportunities to every American. As polarization increases, mobility declines. The whole point of the American Dream is that it is available to everyone, not just those who awaken from their slumbers on down-filled pillows and 800-thread-count sheets.

So it does matter that as the pie grows, the various slices do not grow in proportion. We’re not characters in one of those lumbering, interminable, nonsensical Ayn Rand novels. We believe in individual initiative and the free market, but we also believe that nationhood necessarily involves a commitment to our fellow citizens, an acknowledgement that we’re engaged in a common enterprise. We believe that opportunity should be more than just an empty word.

[LiberalEsto]

1. But mobility hasn't decreased.

There's plenty of DOWNWARD moblity.

[rfranklin]

2. What Republicans fail to realize is that the American Dream for many is modest by their standards..

Most are contents with being able to feed and house their families, pay their bills and get health care. They don't need Bentleys or solid gold toilet seats or 40,000 square foot mansions.