Whether were talking about a young woman who spent the Lions share of her life in a dance studio dedicated to one day standing in the light…
..or a group of talented young singer’s ardently competing to be number one?
It is as American as apple pie to want to succeed in your chosen field, whether you’re a member of a graduating class from the Diablo Valley Dental Assistance College…
..or a hard bitten weathered “war horse” from the Democratic party fighting tooth and nail to socialize America.
According to Webster: “so·cial·ize,” (in context) To place under government ownership or control; To convert or adapt to the needs of society.
In a free society, and/or, in a Constitutional Republic as set forth (in writing) by our founding fathers, “government” is an extension of the people, ..not the other way around.
Liberals and socialists talk a great game, however when you take the time to ponder what they actually deliver…
..you get less service at a higher premium.
Fewer jobs…
..and more empty promises.
Taking a moment here, (to step into my plagiarizing shoes), to “borrow” from Newsmax.com…
With President Barack Obama calling income inequality “the defining challenge of our time,” much attention has been focused on the topic of late.
But the deepest level of income inequality in America is in one of the country’s bluest states.
“The most profound level of inequality and bifurcated class structure can be found in the densest and most influential urban environment in North America “Manhattan,” writes Joel Kotkin.
(Joel Kotkin).
Joel Kotkin, is the executive editor of (NewGeography.com) and Distinguished Presidential Fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University.
In 1980, Manhattan (New York County) ranked 17th among U.S. counties in income inequality. It is now the worst among the nation’s largest counties.
The most commonly used measure of inequality is the Gini index, developed by Italian statistician Corrado Gini.
It ranges between zero, which would be complete equality (everyone in a community has the same income) and one, which is complete inequality (one person has all the income).
Manhattan’s Gini index was at 0.596 in 2012, higher than South Africa’s index before apartheid ended.
If Manhattan were a country, it would rank sixth highest in income inequality out of 130 nations, according to Kotkin.
In 2009, New York’s richest 1 percent earned one-third of the entire city’s personal income, “nearly twice” the proportion for the rest of the nation.
A recent Brookings Institution study found that the big cities with the most pronounced levels of inequality are those with the highest costs: New York, San Francisco, Boston, Miami, Los Angeles, Oakland, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.
(Washington Post writer – Charles Lane).
One factor fueling urban inequality is the federal tax code regarding home ownership, which helps upper-income Americans the most, according to a Washington Post editorial by Charles Lane.
Tax deductions for mortgage interest are projected to cost the Treasury $70 billion in fiscal 2014, while property tax deductions will cost $31 billion.
Home-sale capital gains up to $500,000 are also tax free, and they will likely cost the Treasury $52 billion this year.
About 73 percent of mortgage-interest deductions go to the top 20 percent of earners, and 30 percent go to the top 1 percent, according to Lane.
Yet most lower-income earners don’t take advantage of the mortgage-interest deduction because they don’t earn enough to itemize deductions on their federal returns.
(Sidebar).
Question: In America where equality has always been “our” (battle cry), “especially from by our politicians,” why is there a division in America’s (tax code) that allows the wealthy (a perk) that is denied to others based on their lack of income?
According to Webster: “fa·vor·it·ism,” The display of partiality toward a favored person or group.
Continuing…
Some of the country’s worst inequality can also be found in rural areas, according to a study by University of Washington geographer Richard Morrill cited by Kotkin.
The worst rural inequality is likely in the agricultural areas of California.
The Golden State is now home to “One Hundred and Eleven Billionaires,” by far the most of any state,” Kotkin writes in an article that first appeared at Forbes.com.
California Billionaires “personally” (hold assets) worth $485 billion dollars, more than the entire GDP, (grossed domestic product), of all but twenty-four countries in the world.”
Yet California has the highest poverty and homeless rate in the country, adjusted for housing costs.
In 2012, with approx. (twelve percent) of the U.S. population residing in California, the illustrious Golden State accounted for one-third of the country’s welfare recipients.
(Source, NewsMax.com)
Returning to my (more comfortable), conservative, and/or, “common sense” slipper’s, I did a quick, albeit (unabridged) interview with California’s lovable mascot “Barney.”
First question: With one hundred and eleven Billionaires in California, ..why is there so much poverty in California?
Second question: Isn’t California one of the most socialized liberal states in America?
Third question: How can California be one of the wealthiest states in the nation at the same time it’s one of the poorest?
Fourth question: Can you tell me who told you to blame all of California’s problems on the Republicans?
Fifth question: Aren’t Jerry, Nancy, Diane and Barbara all liberal Democrats, ..and aren’t they the people in charge of controlling California’s budget?
Last question: With the Golden State controlled by the “left” and, in such (abject poverty), why don’t the folks in California turn to the right?
In parting, for those of you who may not be aware, Bill and Hillary Clinton reside in New York…
Truth forges understanding, I’ll be back tomorrow
Crusader Rabbit…
pearlsofprofundity 