On May 12

By: Richard Brodsky

I'm truly opposed to name-calling, but it violates no principle to point out that Roosevelt (Teddy) called the super-rich the "malefactors of great wealth."  Actually, this is what he said:

"Too much cannot be said against the men of wealth who sacrifice everything to getting wealth. Such a man is only the more dangerous if he occasionally does some deed like founding a college or endowing a church, which makes those good people who are also foolish forget his real iniquity. These men are equally careless of the working men, whom they oppress, and of the State, whose existence they imperil. There are not very many of them, but there is a very great number of men who approach more or less closely to the type, and, just in so far as they do so approach, they are curses to the country."

We're at a point where we should give all of them the chance to declare themselves.  The struggle we're in is not to raise taxes as a goal in itself.  It's to give life  to two fundamental values:  Fairness and a society where all have access to health care, education, housing and the amenities of American life.  Today, we ask for sacrifice only from the working family, the middle-class and poor family, we exempt the super-rich from the common struggle for a decent society.  That is not fair.  Today, we price health care and education beyond the means of most families, ending generations of commitment to the American middle-class.  That leads us to a society of privilege and want, living together uneasily.  This is a fight worth fighting, and if history is a guide, we'll win.