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CounterPunch
November
26, 2002
Turkeys
by PHILIP FARRUGGIO
Terrorism will never destroy this republic. No
"rogue nation" or Bin Laden or Saddam Hussein will
bring us to our knees, with 'weapons of mass destruction".
What will cause our downfall will simply be Greed.
As we sit at our family gatherings this
Thanksgiving holiday, the 99% of us who share in but 13-15% of
this nation's wealth, we should be thankful that "facts"
do not lie, and that the truth is but at our fingertips.
In Kevin Phillips excellent "Wealth
and Democracy", he states repeatedly how the 1% of our population
(owning 85-87% of Americas wealth) "feed off" we turkeys.
In the 2001 Economic Report of the President, it states that
corporate taxes in 1950 were 26.5% of total Federal tax receipts
while employee payroll taxes were 6.9% of the same receipts.
In 2000, corporate taxes were 10% and payroll taxes 31%! In the
late 1960's corporate CEO pay was around 25 times that of their
hourly workers. In 1988 it averaged to 93 times. By 1999 it was
up to 419 times!
On top of that, US workers, who in the
50's and 60's worked less hours than their Japanese & European
counterparts, now work more than workers of any other industrialized
nation. So, in essence, the 1% have gotten their elected (or
bought?) reps to make laws shifting the burden from the super
rich to the overworked.
Calling all baby boomers: think back
to your childhood. How many of you had mom home while dad "won
the bread"? During the 50's & 60's more families had
one major wage earner - many mothers worked part time. Now, Thanksgiving
2002, its a "gimmee" that both parents work or their
house or car gets repossessed. How many of you out there took
a job because "of the benefits" and sacrificed low
pay and terrible job conditions (mean, cheap bosses, no frills
workplace)?
Irony, like irons, always hurts when
hot. The irony is that during this past election cycle, as in
all others for that matter, real core economic issues (like the
aforementioned) were never made public. The media, owned and
run by the 1%, were too busy giving us the "stuffing, not
the meat"!
So, fellow turkeys, we are the 99% of
this nation - they are the minority.
Lets raise our voices and demand reform,
locally, statewide and nationally. Remember, the turkey that
runs around only looking "straight ahead" usually winds
up on someone's dinner table!
Biography: Philip A Farruggio is a baby
boomer Brooklyn NY born bred and educated (Brooklyn College '74),
Currently, he resides in Florida and is self employed as a mfg.
rep for an environmental bacteria company. Philip writes for
many publications as a free lance columnist. He has been published
on <counterpunch.com> 12 times this year alone. He can
be reached at <brooklynphilly@aol.com>
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November 23,
2002
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