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Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Germany
America: 'Land of Inequality'
"U.S. society
hasn‘t been fair for some time: Those who have nothing don’t stand a chance. … Among
industrialized nations, the U.S. has one of the most unfair systems of
taxation, a system that shamelessly favors the rich."
By Reymer Kluever
Translated By Stephanie Martin
January 26, 2012
Germany
- Sueddeutsche Zeitung - Original Article (German)
The Barack Obama of the 2012
presidential election is different from the one four years ago: The conciliator
is no longer in demand. Instead, what is needed is a class warrior who stands
up for social justice. This may be un-American, but it is nonetheless
necessary. For in the face of a tax system that is unfair in the extreme and
shamelessly favors the rich, many U.S. citizens have experienced a profound
loss of confidence: namely in the belief that everyone has the chance to make
his or her own luck.
Four years ago Barack Obama
took office as a conciliator. The Americans had voted for him in the hope that
he would narrow the conspicuous gulf that had opened up in the early years of
the new millennium: The deep animosity between the country’s two political
camps and the huge chasm between the profiteers of the boom years and the rest
of society, in which more and more people are threatened with social decline.
Since then everything has changed.
The hope that surged for
Obama is long gone. Therefore this time around, a different Obama will stand for
election. This was abundantly communicated during his State of the Union
address to Congress. In 2012, it is Obama the class warrior who will stand for
election.
He’s lobbying for a more
equitable distribution of wealth in the U.S. - something that to European ears sounds
like a given, but that is (no longer) taken for granted in the U.S. “If you
make more than $1 million a year, you should not pay less than 30 percent in
taxes.”
For more than a decade this
has no longer been the case in the United States: Those who earn the most are
expected to pay a smaller percentage of their income than the average earner. In
America this is also considered unfair, as evidenced by all the polls. Obama is
focusing his campaign on two simple questions: How fair should American society
be? And what must be done to minimize inequality?
The Issue of Fairness
The question of fairness has
long been fermenting in American society. The protests of the Occupy Wall Street
movement have just brought the issue to the fore of public attention. For years
now, the lines outside soup kitchens in American cities have been growing,
houses in the suburbs have been standing vacant because their former owners
could no longer pay the interest on their loans, and hundreds, sometimes thousands,
have been waiting in front of school gyms because inside, an army of medical
volunteers is offering care. At the same time the income of society’s top one
percent has skyrocketed by 275 percent. U.S. society hasn‘t been fair for some
time: Those who have nothing don’t stand a chance.
Even protests by the Tea
Party had a lot to do with the frustration over what is perceived as a lack of
fairness: That the state gives people money to help them out of a difficult
situation, be they welfare recipients or Wall Street CEOs by way of a bailout,
while no one supports the average earner. These questions touch on the very
foundations of the country, because Americans have always been guided by a
deep-seated optimism and the belief that in their country, everyone has a chance
to make their own luck. Confidence in this central belief has been shaken.
This also explains why there
is a strange longing for supposedly simpler times. The Republican candidates
make use of this nostalgic reflex when they suggest the (completely illusory) possibility
of returning to the gold standard. But in his speech, Obama also celebrated the
post war period - a period during which Americans created “the strongest
economy and middle class the world has ever known.”
And that is not simply an
idealized view. In the decades after the Second World War, the distribution of rises
in production in the U.S. economy and gains in income were fairly evenly
distributed. That didn’t begin to change until the late seventies. Since then, income
disparity in the U.S. has grown - and that growth was particularly rapid in the
nineties.
Americans Want to See Action
This desire for action can also
be seen in Europe, and especially Germany. But nowhere have the societal
disparities become as great as in America. There are many reasons for this,
including a lack of investment in public education. The result has been the creation
of an army of unskilled workers suited only for low-income jobs. But another
factor may be key: Among industrialized nations, the U.S. has one of the most
unfair systems of taxation, a system that shamelessly favors the rich.
Posted by
WORLDMEETS.US
In America, those who live
off of investment earnings only have to pay a 15 percent tax. Even in America,
where social envy is not much of an issue, this is considered disproportionate.
Otherwise, multimillionaire Mitt Romney, who is hoping to replace Obama, would
not have been so reluctant to release his tax returns (which is the usual
practice in the U.S.).
And yet, it is by no means
certain that Obama’s new message will catch on. Americans want action. They are
asking themselves what their president has achieved after more than three years
in office. And they primarily see record levels of unemployment and a sluggish
economic recovery. They wonder why Obama didn’t do more to combat social
inequality and why he’s only now discovering his class warrior within. The
president still has to answer these questions. His second chance depends upon
it.
SEE ALSO ON THIS:
Liberation, France: It is 'Yes We Can' in America Once More
Liberation, France: Finally, Obama Chooses Combat Over Conciliation
FAZ, Germany: U.S. Republican 'Civil War' Proving Hopelessly Divisive
Der Tagesspiegel, Germany: The Republicans: Right Where Obama Wants Them
Nachrichten, Austria: Newt: America's 'Hypocritical Moralizing Apostle'
Diario de Cuyo, Argentina: Chavez and Obama: A Common Electoral Challenge
China Daily, China: Republican Race
'Hijacks' China-U.S. Relations
Diario de Cuyo, Argentina: Chavez and Obama: A Common Electoral Challenge
News, Switzerland: Romney's Core Presidential Competency: 'Shameless Lying'
Samidoon, Palestinian Territories: 'Thank You Newt: Your Insolence is Required!'
Le Quotidien d’Oran, Algeria: Gingrich's 'Fervent' Wish: 'Final Solution' for Palestinians
FTD, Germany: U.S. Republicans Must Expunge 'Radicalism' and Choose Romney
Komsomolskaya Pravda, Russia: Putin is Better than Goldman Sachs
Liberation, France: Democracy Crippled: Economics Replaces Separation of Powers
El Pais, Spain: Occupy Wall Street: Will it Help or Hinder Reelection of Obama?
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