On the news recently there have been many stories involving the new surge in anti-federalism that has stricken the nation. It started with a few protests that were then fanned by conservative media that then exploded on to the national scene as all out dissent. This conservative movement comes on the heels of the passing of yet another massive spending bill by the Obama administration. The teabag movement (as it is called) draws it's inspiration from one of the most famous acts of rebellion in our countries history the Boston Tea-Party. The parallel that they draw between this current administration and that of King George is that both impose unfair taxation and both betray their citizens social contract. While
I'm all for peaceful dissent when the government puts its' own interest above its' citizens, I feel that this movement in
particular is mistimed and politically driven.
One of the reason for having these Tea-Bag parties is to protest the rise in taxes under the Obama administration. Which would be fine except for the fact that congress has just passed the largest net tax cut in US history. But this fact alone is not enough to stop die hard tea
baggers. Many say that the increase in capital gains tax is to punish those who are hard working and
successful and to give to those who are lazy and undeserving. This is yet another string of misconceptions that have been planted into the minds of so many attending these tea bag parties.
The misconception that an increase in
capital gains tax is a punishment is utterly ridiculous. Obama has raised the capital income tax on individuals making over $250,00 a year from 15% (under the bush tax cuts) to 20% (the lowest rate in the 90's). The tax rate at 20% is lower than it was during the Reagan years. He's exempted both small businesses as well as families from having to pay the increase in
capital gains.
http://www.barackobama.com/taxes/The idea that the wealthy people in
America are the hardest working is a talking point and in fact has no merit behind it. 90% of the labor in the US is done by people who make less than $65,000 a year. That coupled with the fact that the majority of rich in
America accumulated there wealth by inheritance and not by working makes it painfully obvious that it is not the rich who have worked the hardest. There are 9.6 million people in the US who live in poverty. To conservatives many of these people are nothing more than
dependants and are seen as lazy or undeserving of any aid. While this may be true with some of these people it is definitely not true for the majority. A third of the nearly 10 million poor are children, another 1.5 million are veterans. And a sixth (1.5 million) are disabled. But that's only those who are jobless living in poverty. There is another 14.9 million who are classified as working poor.
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=...http://tinyurl.com/SummersPaperhttp://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/007611.htmlStill with all of this there are many who still attend these Tea-Bag who fight against tax increases for the wealthy and aid to the poor. Why? It's rather simple. For those people who helped organize, politicize and sponsor these events any
opposition (warranted or not) is good
opposition. To them any action taken by this current administration (positive or otherwise) must be scrutinized and they will decieve, brainwash, and rile up as many disenfranchised people as possible in order to gain their support and push their agendas.
This movement isn't about holding the current administration responsible for their actions. It is about taking the frustration felt by many people and directing where they choose for political gain.
