Republicans constantly argue that for America to prosper taxes on the wealthy need to be cut drastically and the working poor basically thrown to their own devices since the GOP would dismantle the social safety net. And all too often, Europe is held up as the bogeyman for what might befall America if the GOP policies aren't implemented. Truth be told, we should want to be more like Europe which now has more opportunity for upward mobility than the United States. Moreover, with largely national health care systems, European don't need to go without preventive care or live in fear that a serious illness will drive them into bankruptcy. Talking Points Memo looks at the reality of where we are as opposed to the disingenuous claims of greed driven Republicans and their Kool-Aid imbibing followers. Here are some story highlights:
In his widely trumpeted speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation Wednesday, Republican budget guru and liberal bogeyman Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin rejected the notion that wealthier Americans should pay higher taxes to sustain or broaden a social safety net for poor and middle class workers and retirees.
Instead, he argued, policy should be geared toward allowing high earners to grow the economy, and to facilitate upward mobility for the working class. America, he argued, exemplifies the latter model while European economies illustrate the perils of the former.
That is what they do in class-riven Europe, he said, where “Top-heavy welfare states have replaced the traditional aristocracies, and masses of the long-term unemployed are locked into the new lower class. The United States was destined to break out of this bleak history.” Turns out that is — not true.
There are a lot of data available on this issue, but the clearest chart comes courtesy of the Economic Mobility Project, which looked at the correlation between parent and child income in various countries. Turns out in America, you’re more likely to stay rich if born rich, and stay poor if born poor, than you are in most European countries.
These findings are more striking when put in comparative context. There is little available evidence that the United States has more relative mobility than other advanced nations. If anything, the data seem to suggest the opposite.”
The entire report on America's declining upward mobility can be found here. As is the case with the Christianists, if a Republican's lips are moving, nowadays the best approach is to assume that they are lying. It's unlikely that you'll be proven wrong.
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