You Say "Class Warfare" Like It's a Bad Thing

Ever since President Obama has (finally!) shown signs of taking a stand against Republican rapaciousness, the airwaves have been abuzz with cries of "class warfare."  "Class warfare," according to GOP congressman Paul Ryan, "may make for really good politics, but it makes for rotten economics."

Rotten economics?  Worse than what we have now?

Here's a thought: If the Republicans and the uber-rich are so scared of class warfare, maybe they shouldn't have declared it.  Because as anyone with a scintilla of sense--at least anyone not constrained by a desire to maintain the status quo--understands, class warfare was declared long ago.

It was declared by those who crafted major bailouts for obscenely overcompensated bankers without so much as a pinky-swear that these recipients of public largesse foreswear 7-figure bonuses or use a significant portion of these funds to help out beleaguered homeowners.

It was declared by those who clamor to repeal a well-intentioned if imperfect healthcare reform bill that aims to insure millions of people for whom even a curable disease may mean financial catastrophe, while enjoying a generous, taxpayer funded healthcare plan for themselves.

It was declared by the representatives of a party whose presidential candidates would not even agree to a hypothetical deficit-reduction plan that called for one dollar in revenue (tax) increases for every ten dollars in spending cuts.

Of course these people want to keep the general public from recognizing that war has been declared.  Let's face it: They're hopelessly outnumbered.  If people get angry enough to accept the declaration of war, what makes the superrich and their political lickspittles think they can actually prevail?

The only reason that there hasn't (yet) been blood on the streets is the stubborn belief among the citizenry--ingrained in us from our youth--that America is a "classless society."  Sure, some people are rich and some are poor, but everyone is equal.  The socioeconomic strata into which one is born is no more fixed than one's imagination.  As long as people believe that, they don't want to engage in class warfare: They want to fraternize with the enemy.

But as millions of people--well-educated people, as well as the perennial "underclass"--find it harder and harder to make ends meet, to put food on the table, to stretch a paycheck beyond the bare necessities, to find gainful employment despite months or years of searching, they find it harder and harder to reconcile their misery with the ideal of a classless society.  They--we--know we're struggling, and we know who is to blame.

Class warfare?  They started it.  Bring it on.