https://www.salon.com/2019/01/29/gop-rejects-bill-to-give-back-pay-to-federal-contractors-wants-to-repeal-estate-tax-instead/GOP Senators apparently consider it more important to give a huge tax break to less than 2,000 families than give federal contractors the back pay they missed while Trump had the US federal government shut down to try to get his vanity project.
None have signed onto Democratic efforts to guarantee said back pay, while they are attempting to repeal the estate tax, which impacts less than 2,000 families and would cause wealth inequality in the US to become even more severe, and would essentially be a huge giveaway to a few thousand people who did absolutely nothing other than be related to the right people, and in particular did nothing to earn that money--money that was earned because of public services like roads and electrical grids, protected by public services like fire departments, police departments and, more distantly, the military, and partly provided by people using public services like Social Security.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of Americans support ideas like that proposed by Rep. Ocasio-Cortez to raise the federal marginal tax rate on people making at least $10,000,000 per year to 60% or 70%. (As Warren Buffett noted, if marginal tax rates put you off from going into business, you'd be bad at business--or something similar; I'd have to look up his exact quote.)
The Prime Minister made much play last night with the rights of the individual and the dangers of people being ordered about by officials. I entirely agree that people should have the greatest freedom compatible with the freedom of others. There was a time when employers were free to work little children for sixteen hours a day. I remember when employers were free to employ sweated women workers on finishing trousers at a penny halfpenny a pair. There was a time when people were free to neglect sanitation so that thousands died of preventable diseases. For years every attempt to remedy these crying evils was blocked by the same plea of freedom for the individual. It was in fact freedom for the rich and slavery for the poor. Make no mistake, it has only been through the power of the State, given to it by Parliament, that the general public has been protected against the greed of ruthless profit-makers and property owners. The Conservative Party remains as always a class Party. In twenty-three years in the House of Commons, I cannot recall more than half a dozen from the ranks of the wage earners. It represents today, as in the past, the forces of property and privilege. The Labour Party is, in fact, the one Party which most nearly reflects in its representation and composition all the main streams which flow into the great river of our national life.
Right now I feel like I would have to change very little of Clement Attlee's quote to make it applicable to modern US politics.
