White Privilege, White Entitlement and the 2008 Election

[alienlovechild 75]

I guess you should go back and read up about what US Presidents do in office.

The history and development of the U.S. doesn't rest on what the president wants. Remember I was talking about an entrenched underclass that's seen a lot of government programs in action and yet the underclass remains.

And of course, you also need to show where the culture of poverty will be perpetuated by nonexistent tax increases.

Buy a newspaper. Even Obama acknowledges tax increases but only on the top 5% of earners. Exactly how is a $1000 tax break to taxpayers is going to do more than help WalMart for a fiscal quarter and still lift the poor out their current state?

[rocks 494]

I guess you should go back and read up about what US Presidents do in office.

The history and development of the U.S. doesn't rest on what the president wants. Remember I was talking about an entrenched underclass that's seen a lot of government programs in action and yet the underclass remains.

And of course, you also need to show where the culture of poverty will be perpetuated by nonexistent tax increases.

Buy a newspaper. Even Obama acknowledges tax increases but only on the top 5% of earners. Exactly how is a $1000 tax break to taxpayers is going to do more than help WalMart for a fiscal quarter and still lift the poor out their current state?

the point is that the tax increase on the extreme rich is not on the very poor, unlike mccain's proposals. it's going to help more than mccain's $19 tax cut... what can you buy with that? a lot less than you can with $1000.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

When the economy is bad - taxes tend to go up, in one way or another.

Politicians can try to keep people sweet by making out that we should always be trying to cut taxes - but it just isn't reality.

Sometimes you do have to pay more - which is why its so important not to get caught up in the image game and actually vote for politician's who behave in a responsible way. If the machinery of govt was managing things correctly we should have never gotten into this predicament to begin with. And for all the talk of personal responsiblity - it seems few people want to be held accountable for the repercussions of their vote choices.

In 8 years we've gone from a president who left office under the cloud of a sordid sex scandal (but left the economy in credit) to one who is soon to leave office with the country embroiled in two massively expensive wars, and with the country's (and indeed - the world economy) on the brink of a massive recession.

Ain't democracy great...

Edited October 7, 2008 by Paul Daniels

[HAL 9000 96]

I guess you should go back and read up about what US Presidents do in office.

The history and development of the U.S. doesn't rest on what the president wants. Remember I was talking about an entrenched underclass that's seen a lot of government programs in action and yet the underclass remains.

And of course, you also need to show where the culture of poverty will be perpetuated by nonexistent tax increases.

Buy a newspaper. Even Obama acknowledges tax increases but only on the top 5% of earners. Exactly how is a $1000 tax break to taxpayers is going to do more than help WalMart for a fiscal quarter and still lift the poor out their current state?

Strange. When the wants are the potential establishment of programs that are targeted and designed to follow up (something previous programs completely lacked) to actually combat the endless cycle of poverty, and people vote for it, it tends to allow one to conclude that their establishment and implementation are done so out of a voter's mandate. Not the whims of a President. Having had Bush in office we should be able to tell the difference between attempting to follow through on a voter mandate versus just following through on what that one person in office seems to think is 'right.'

So yeah. Look up that Washington Post graphic about taxes and their break down according to both candidates' proposals. I do agree- tax breaks for the middle class increase solvency for those that receive them. Nothing surprising about that. But here's the cookie- those tax breaks increase solvency for many out there to be able to nudge upwards by using that cash for actual upward mobility via education, etc. Obama also has other proposals to address those mechanisms of poverty elimination. But again, their implementation will depend on how quickly we leave Iraq ($$) and how quickly the beneficiaries enter tax brackets that provide a return on the investments given to them via tax cuts and other government services designed to eliminate poverty.

As for those top 5% that make upwards of $250K- and many of them wayyyy upwards of it to the point where even that newspaper graphic points out they's still make a tax break up to about $600K in income... you still have increased revenues by being more proportionally taxed to the surplus income instead of the other way around.

Again... to break that entrenched underclass you mention- there have to be accountable benchmarks in place for the programs to work. I doubt that in a period of financial crisis we're going to have money thrown at people (money that has never really been thrown anyway). Somehow I really, really doubt that Republicans and Democrats will simply stand idle while an Obama Administration squanders money on Americans that need it. I mean, at least most Democrats decided late in the game to limit the squandering of American funds in the Middle East for no apparent reason other than to throw a Hail Mary pass towards a fictitious military victory that is less and less possible.

I guess you should go back and read up about what US Presidents do in office.

The history and development of the U.S. doesn't rest on what the president wants. Remember I was talking about an entrenched underclass that's seen a lot of government programs in action and yet the underclass remains.

And of course, you also need to show where the culture of poverty will be perpetuated by nonexistent tax increases.

Buy a newspaper. Even Obama acknowledges tax increases but only on the top 5% of earners. Exactly how is a $1000 tax break to taxpayers is going to do more than help WalMart for a fiscal quarter and still lift the poor out their current state?

the point is that the tax increase on the extreme rich is not on the very poor, unlike mccain's proposals. it's going to help more than mccain's $19 tax cut... what can you buy with that? a lot less than you can with $1000.

Well said.

When the economy is bad - taxes tend to go up, in one way or another.

Politicians can try to keep people sweet by making out that we should always be trying to cut taxes - but it just isn't reality.

Sometimes you do have to pay more - which is why its so important not to get caught up in the image game and actually vote for politician's who behave in a responsible way. If the machinery of govt was managing things correctly we should have never gotten into this predicament to begin with. And for all the talk of personal responsiblity - it seems few people want to be held accountable for the repercussions of their vote choices.

In 8 years we've gone from a president who left office under the cloud of a sordid sex scandal (but left the economy in credit) to one who is soon to leave office with the country embroiled in two massively expensive wars, and with the country's (and indeed - the world economy) on the brink of a massive recession.

Ain't democracy great...

Oh yes... priorities.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I just think its funny that people who vote for these politicians don't seem to hold themselves to account when elected officials make bad decisions (like starting a war on two fronts).

Raising taxes is like stealing the family bible for a lot of people - yet in the best tradition of "Personal Responsibilty^TM" they don't seem willing to connect the dots between the people they vote for and the subsequent state of the country.

Edited October 7, 2008 by Paul Daniels

[rocks 494]

I just think its funny that people who vote for these politicians don't seem to hold themselves to account when elected officials make bad decisions (like starting a war on two fronts).

Raising taxes is like stealing the family bible for a lot of people - yet in the best tradition of "Personal Responsibilty^TM" they don't seem willing to connect the dots between the people they vote for and the subsequent state of the country.

i have come to the conclusion that if someone votes republican it is for one of two reasons. either they don't think they should pay their fair share of taxes or are badly educated.

*waits for the abuse*

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Pretty much all the charge of "elitism" is (and it only comes from one side of the fence) is a slam on educated people.

[rocks 494]

Pretty much all the charge of "elitism" is (and it only comes from one side of the fence) is a slam on educated people.

i agree. insult me because i read more than you, thanks republicans

[IAMX 3,055]

White Privilege, White Entitlement and the 2008 Election

A BUZZFLASH GUEST CONTRIBUTION

by Tim Wise

For those who still can’t grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.

White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because "every family has challenges," even as black and Latino families with similar "challenges" are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.

White privilege is when you can call yourself a "fuckin’ redneck," like Bristol Palin’s boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll "kick their fuckin' ###," and talk about how you like to "shoot ####" for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.

White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.

White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don’t all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you’re "untested."

White privilege is being able to say that you support the words "under God" in the pledge of allegiance because "if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it’s good enough for me," and not be immediately disqualified from holding office--since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the "under God" part wasn’t added until the 1950s--while believing that reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals.

White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you. White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto was "Alaska first," and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she’s being disrespectful.

White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor--and people think you’re being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college--you’re somehow being mean, or even sexist.

White privilege is being able to convince white women who don’t even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because all of a sudden your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a "second look."

White privilege is being able to fire people who didn’t support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.

White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God’s punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you’re just a good church-going Christian, but if you’re black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you’re an extremist who probably hates America.

White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a "trick question," while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O’Reilly means you’re dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.

White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism is, as Sarah Palin has referred to it, a "light" burden.

And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren’t sure about that whole "change" thing. Ya know, it’s just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain.

White privilege is, in short, the problem.

A BUZZFLASH GUEST CONTRIBUTION

Tim Wise is the author of White Like Me (Soft Skull, 2005, revised 2008), and of Speaking Treason Fluently, publishing this month, also by Soft Skull.

http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/contributors/1755

Wow. This article is just awesome.

These observations are 100% spot on.

[mawilson 2,133]

i have come to the conclusion that if someone votes republican it is for one of two reasons. either they don't think they should pay their fair share of taxes or are badly educated.

It's sort of true. The Republican party has its support base mainly among

1) the "soccer mom / joe sixpack" types who tend to be anti-choice, anti-gay-marriage, NRA card-carrying white christian conservatives, and

2) "the powers that be" - a group of very wealthy and powerful people whose views drive American policy. They have interests in keeping a conservative state at home and an aggressive imperial force abroad.

[rocks 494]

Wow. This article is just awesome.

These observations are 100% spot on.

isn't it? it's everything i believe too. it's nice to know we aren't alone with these thoughts.

[SpiritAlight 1]

Did anyone have any doubts as to rampant white privilege????

Bah!

Thanks for that article...although I admit I only read a bit of it and could not go on.

[rocks 494]

Did anyone have any doubts as to rampant white privilege????

Bah!

Thanks for that article...although I admit I only read a bit of it and could not go on.

i've seen people on here saying that white privilege isn't an issue. of course they are probably all white, rich, men.

[Amby 490]

I'm a rich white man and I see no issue with this

[Heracles 417]

Whereas, if you were to provide examples of "Black Privilege", you would immediately be accused of being racist, a member of the klan, or worse.

There are hundreds of examples out there. If anyone thinks that poor whites have greater privileges than minorities in this country, well they need to get their head out of their ###.

These observations are 100% spot on.

Gezz we couldn't see this response coming.