The 5 classes of people in the U.S.
We have five classes of people in this country.
(Tier1) The elite ruling class. These are the people who think everyone else is a moron. Therefore, they must impose all kinds of rules on us... what to eat, how much salt to use, etc. These are the same people who exempt themselves from such restrictions. Skin in the game? Senator Kerry keeps his boat in an adjacent state to avoid paying the taxes on it. Ted Kennedy's estate is firewalled to such an extent that the government will never get their pound of flesh from him. His heirs will inherit it all, as they should. Michelle Obama preaches to us about what kind of food we should eat, but scarfs down hamburgers and ribs to her hearts content. Why? Two sets of rules... the ones for us, and the ones for them.
(Tier 2) Union Workers and privileged government workers. These are the protected class. They are not good enough to be the elite, but the money extorted from these workers (dues)... sometimes up to $1,000 per year, must be funneled back to the elites to keep their war chests full. Therefore they must be protected and kept happy at all costs... even bankruptcy. Their welfare is of no concern to the elites... just the dues that they pay to corrupt unions.
(Tier 3) The have-nots, never wills, I-don't-want-to's, and legitimate people in need (a small fraction of the actual recipients of such aid). These people, while not in categories 1 or 2, still rate a lot of consideration. After all, they blindly vote for Democrats year after year to stay on the dole.... a nice symbiotic relationship. This group also includes the 47% of Americans who pay absolutely no taxes at all.
(Tier 4) The illegals... I'm sorry, the undocumented. These, while not in category 3 in stature, enjoy many of the benefits of 3, without any documentation or rules. They send over 30 billion dollars a year (untaxed) back to Mexico. They are in fact, the main export of Mexico. Yes... the main export of Mexico is people (emphasize this line like Charleton Heston in Soylent Green)!!
This group is receiving more and more respect, because after all if things go well and they get blanket amnesty, they will be part of Obama's 2012 Get Out The Vote program.
(Tier 5) At the bottom of the heirarchy? The rest of us schmuck taxpayers who have allowed all of the the above, and now must be reminded by people like Idiot Biden that "we must have some skin in the game." Despite the President's assertions to the contrary, we are all paying MORE income tax, MORE for health insurance, and if we like our current medical insurance, there's a strong likelihood that WE WON'T BE ABLE TO KEEP IT.
And penalizing the rich? The class hatred fomented by the left, of those who are successful and must therefore give more? Well the top 1% are paying 38% of Federal taxes. The top 5% is paying almost 60% of Federal taxes. The top 10% pay almost 70% of Federal taxes, while the bottom 47% pay NONE! Isn't that already redistribution of wealth?
The way I see it, prosperity as we know it is over and done with... unless we all (liberals, independents and conservatives) find common ground in common sense, and reverse the trend. In my ideal world, the hierarchy order above should be reversed, with the elites at number 5.
In the meanwhile, bend over, and look for the union label.