It’s class war, but not the way some claim

It’s class war, but not the way some claim

When progressives called for tax increases on the top income earners in the U.S., conservative Republicans scream “class warfare.” Class war is a reality in America but not in the way conservatives claim.

During the past 30 years, the conservative tax, trade and labor policies of the federal government have resulted in a huge upward redistribution of wealth to the wealthiest Americans. In 2007, The New York Times reported that “the top 300,000 Americans collectively enjoyed almost as much income as the bottom 150 million Americans. Per person, the top group received 440 times as much as the average person in the bottom half earned, nearly doubling the gap from 1980.”

I recently came across one particularly shocking example of how the American corporations are waging class war against the working class — for profit, of course. On a recent flight, I came across a half-page advertisement in the airline’s magazine promoting capital investment in low wage labor in China. The company that took out the ad was ITI Manufacturing, a Houston-based corporation. In the ad entitled “Overseas Manufacturing Isn’t As Scary As You Think”, ITI claims that it: “will help you to take advantage of low overseas labor cost — without sacrificing the quality or reliable supply of your product.”

Notice the words “low overseas labor costs.” Class war is being waged in America by the transnational corporations. The war was greatly intensified by Ronald Reagan. His program of limited government, deregulation, privatization and “free trade” has dominated the public discourse for 30 years.

The choices we face today are very clear. Either we raise taxes on those who can most afford it or we take another step in driving down the standard of living for the working people by cutting social programs and public education. Either way, it is class war.

Tom Suhrbur

Glen Ellyn