Truth

September242012

“One of the great wonders of the conservative movement is how effectively they’ve constructed this inverted narrative in which the rich are victims, and the poor are perpetrators. They’ve managed to convince tens of millions of decent Americans—many of them poor—to ignore any evidence that contradicts this worldview. You can jump up and down and scream, ‘Hey, the Americans who don’t pay income tax are dirt poor, or serve in the military, or are aged!’ Or, ‘Listen, the top ten percent of our country controls 75 percent of our wealth, while the bottom half controls 1.1 percent!’ These are factual statements. But they don’t register. The reality conservatives cling to resides in their hearts. The poor wind up poor not because they lack access to opportunity—to good education and good jobs—or because they lose their jobs, or get sick, but because they’re parasites. The rich are rich not because they were born that way, not because they’ve rigged the system in their favor, or because they’re ruthless or unethical, but because they’re braver and more noble than the rest of us.” Steve Almond (via azspot)

(via other-stuff)

Rich Republicans Wealthy GOP

July192012

Romney Says GOP's Not 'Party of the Rich,' But 'of Those Who Want to Be Rich'

At a fundraiser at a country club in Mississippi this evening that was expected to raise a record-breaking $1.7 million, Mitt Romney defended the Republican Party against its reputation as the “party of the rich” explaining that really, it is a party focused on helping the poor.

“We’re accused, by the way - in our party - of being the party of the rich,” Romney said. “And it’s an awful moniker, because that’s just not true. We’re the party of people who want to get rich. And we’re also the party of people who want to care to help people from getting poor. We want to help the poor.

(Source: craneyum)

Rich Republicans Wealthy Republicans

June242012

amprog:

Your Cartoon of the Day!

By Ann Telnaes
From the Cartoonist Group.

These cartoons represent the opinions of their authors and not necessarily the official position of the Center for American Progress.

Rich Republicans Minimum Wage Livable Wage GOP

May122012

“Hello one percent! More power to ya!”

Sarah Palin today at a hedge fund conference in Las Vegas.

CLASSIC

(via think-progress)

(via politicsplus)

Rich Republicans

May72012

“I get speaker’s fees from time to time, but not very much.”

—Mitt Romney, who earned $374,000 in speaking fees in one year according to his personal financial disclosure (January 2012)

(Source: gop-circus)

Rich Republicans Mitt Romney Wealthy 1% GOP

December202011

Jobs with Justice, a partner of walmart Watch, is holding its annual Scrooge of the Year competition, and guess who made the short list?

Heir to the Walton fortune, consummate 1%er, and Chairman of Walmart’s Board of Directors Rob Walton!

Join Walmart Watch in voting for Rob Walton as the Scrooge of the Year. Under Rob’s leadership this last year, Walmart announced it would be slashing health care coverage for hundreds of thousands of Walmart employees and their families. And Walmart executives and the Waltons have yet to meet with and address the concerns of those who work for them, such as scheduling (especially during the holiday season).

Christmas isn’t an excuse to pick a man’s pocket every 25th of December, but you wouldn’t know it to ask Rob.

So let’s vote Rob as Scrooge. Maybe he’ll get some ghostly visitors and change his ways, because 1.4 million Walmart Associates don’t deserve to be treated like Bob Cratchit.

Best Holiday Wishes,

Walmart Watch

(Source: jwjblog.org)

Wal-Mart Rich Republicans Scrooge GOP Rob Walton Walmart

September32011

Rich Lifestyles of the GOP’s Starve-the-Poor Presidential Candidates

With housing foreclosures at an all-time high, the top tier of Republican presidential candidates is living high on the hog.

According to a May 2010 Associated Press investigation, Texas Governor Rick Perry “has spent almost $600,000 in public money during the past two years to live in a sprawling rental home in the hills above the capital.” Texans are forking up over $10,000 a month to cover Perry’s rent, which includes “utilities and upkeep to house Perry in a five-bedroom, seven-bath mansion that has pecan-wood floors, a gourmet kitchen and three dining rooms.”

The AP breaks down the costs:

His 6,386-square-foot rental sits on more than three acres and was advertised in 2007 for sale at $1.85 million. Perry’s state-paid expenses at the home include $18,000 for “consumables” such as household supplies and cleaning products, $1,001.46 in window coverings from upscale retailer Neiman Marcus, a $1,000 “emergency repair” of the governor’s filtered ice machine, a $700 clothes rack, and a little over $70 for a two year subscription to Food & Wine Magazine. Maintenance on the heated pool has cost taxpayers at least $8,400, and the tab for grounds and lawn maintenance has topped $44,000, the records show. All told, taxpayers have spent at least $592,000 for rent, utilities, repairs, furnishings and supplies since Perry moved in.

While charging the Lone Star state a steep fee to maintain his fancy abode, Perry has kept busy slashing funds to public education and the social safety net to solve his state’s budget woes. In 2011 alone, he cut $4 billion from public education and $4.8 billion from Medicaid to fill a $27 billion two-year budget gap (even as one in four Texas children are living in poverty).

He also put in place a state tax structure that redistributes wealth from the working class to the rich, a conclusion reached in a recent analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

This article also looks at the enormous wealth and lavish lifestyles of Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul.

Republican Speaker John Boehner’s Monthly $2,000 Tab

When John Boehner rose from Minority Leader to Speaker in January, he not only expanded his staff and his paycheck, he more than doubled the expense-account check he cashes each month. {Paid for by our tax dollars.}

As Minority Leader, the Ohio Republican had received a direct payment of $833 each month from taxpayers to cover “official expenses for leaders,” the same monthly total then-Majority Leader Steny Hoyer received.

But Boehner now receives a monthly $2,083.33 direct payment for expenses, according to the most recent expenditure reports from the Clerk of the House. Because the total of the expense payment is the same each month, it is apparently not reimbursement for individual itemized expenses.

Boehner’s office offered no details about how his monthly check is spent. Spokesman Michael Steel would only say, “This money is used in appropriate ways for expenses related to his official duties.”

Beginning in January, Hoyer, now the Minority Whip, saw his monthly expense check drop to $527, and the Maryland Democrat in March stopped accepting it entirely. […]

Republican money wasteful spending John Boehner GOP rich Republicans