Wednesday Chronicle: Income Mobility

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Subscribe to The Patriot Post — It's Right and It's FREE: click here. Chronicle · November 2, 2011 The Foundation "To cherish and stimulate the activity of the human mind, by multiplying the objects of enterprise, is not among the least considerable of the expedients, by which the wealth of a nation may be promoted." --Alexander Hamilton Editorial Exegesis Is there income mobility? "Consider these data compiled by the Federal Reserve and put in a chart by the American Enterprise Institute's Mark J. Perry in Tuesday's Examiner. The data showed that fully 56 percent of those who in 2001 were in the lowest 20 percent quintile of income earners had moved up to a higher income quintile. At the opposite end of the spectrum, 66 percent of those who in 2001 were in the highest quintile of income earners dropped at least one quintile by 2007. And, as Perry notes on his Carpe Diem blog, lest anybody think the period spanning those years might not be representative because of the housing boom that triggered the Great Recession of 2008, data cited by the Fed point to the same pattern of high income mobility from 1996 to 2005. Fully 57.5 percent of those in the top 1 percent of income earners dropped to a lower quintile by 2005, while 57.8 percent of those in the lowest quintile in 1996 moved to a higher one by 2005. Since the Occupy Wall Street protestors took up residence in New York's Zuccotti Park, Americans have been repeatedly assaulted by Democratic politicians, academics and members of the liberal mainstream media bewailing the growing income inequality in the country. ... But such a static analysis misses entirely the more relevant question that has long been at the heart of the American economic miracle: To what degree can individuals change their economic status through their own labor and without having to overcome obstacles to their efforts by law or custom? ... The income mobility data above surely make clear that the right answer is not increasing federal taxes on the rich or expanding government regulation of business." --The Washington Examiner Does your wealth come from hard work or government redistribution? Upright "Obama's ceaseless attack on the 'rich' and his effort to divide Americans on the basis of their income and wealth can best be seen as a diversion, an attempt to distract Americans' attention from his failure to address our interrelated economic malaise and fiscal crises. ... Obama blames the rich for problems he's causing, despite the absence of causal relationship between the distribution of our national income and wealth and the economic and debt problems we face. Why? Simply because that's what demagogic community-organizing, Marxist-leaning Alinsky disciples do -- and it's disgraceful." --columnist David Limbaugh "In truth, if the Obamavillians want jobs, their interests run counter to those of the unions, which are far more interested in maximizing pay and benefits for people who already have jobs. When forced to choose between layoffs and reductions in compensation, unions almost always opt for the former. And whereas unions are devoted to seniority, many denizens of Obamaville are so junior that they have yet to land entry-level positions. Unions must really be in trouble if they are looking for support in such an unpromising crowd." --Wall Street Journal columnist James Taranto "What should the West do about the gross violations of human rights so prevalent in North Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere? My short answer is to mind our own business. The only case in which we should interfere with Middle Eastern affairs is when our national defense or economic interests are directly threatened. That is, for example, if Iran were to meddle with Middle Eastern oil shipments or if we discovered good evidence of its building nuclear weapons, then we should militarily intervene. What they want to do to one another is none of our business." --economist Walter E. Williams Insight "Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." --English author George Orwell (1903-1950) "It's easy being a humorist when you've got the whole government working for you." --American humorist Will Rogers (1879-1935) The Demo-gogues Broken record: "The only way we can put hundreds of thousands of people, millions of people back to work is if Congress is willing to cooperate with the executive branch and we are able to do some bold action. Like passing the jobs bill. That's what we need. And that's why I'm going to keep forcing these senators to vote on a common sense, paid for jobs proposals, and I'm going to need you to help send them the message. ... But listen, we're not going to wait, though. We're not waiting for Congress." --Barack Obama Says the Blame-Thrower-in-Chief: "I'm less interested in allocating blame then just making sure that we're taking every step we need to, to move the economy forward." --Barack Obama Right back to throwing blame: "People are right to be frustrated. We see a Congress that is dead locked. I have to say I've done everything I could to try to reach out to the Republicans in Congress. We tried to reduce the deficit in a balanced way. So we agreed to over a trillion dollars worth of cuts, [but] let's make sure the wealthy Americans are paying their fair share and closing some loopholes, and it got rejected." --Barack Obama The BIG Lie: "Thirty million Americans, including a lot of people in Florida, are going to be able to get health care next year because of that law." --Obama on ObamaCare Redistribution of wealth: "The middle class and those who aspire to it have been sacrificing for the better part of 30 years right now and have seen their income go down and the share of taxes that they pay has been significant and so I think that right now what we need to create fairness [and] ask those who have benefited so much from things that we have all paid for -- for roads and the education of their workers and all the things that we all pay for -- I think it's time for them to pay their fair share. This isn't about revenge. This isn't about punishment. This is just about fairness." --Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) Not learning from mistakes: "I know others disagree, but we have very lax laws when it comes to guns. My concern ... is that there's been a lot said about Fast and Furious, and perhaps mistakes were made. But I think this hunt for blame doesn't really speak about the problem. And the problem is, anybody can walk in and buy anything." --Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) arguing for a national gun registry, ironically, no sooner than Canada moved to abandon their own We Depend on You "We should never despair, our Situation before has been unpromising and has changed for the better, so I trust, it will again. If new difficulties arise, we must only put forth new Exertions and proportion our Efforts to the exigency of the times." --George Washington The Patriot Post's 2011 Annual Fund support campaign is under way. Our team of writers, editors and support staff depend on your financial support so that we may continue to offer The Patriot Post, free of charge, to the kind of grassroots leaders that make our country great. As with other mission-based, donor-supported organizations, we raise most of our budget in the last two months of each year. At latest accounting, we still must raise $321,344 before year's end. If you have not already done so, please take a moment to support us today with a secure online donation -- however large or small. If you prefer to support us by mail, please use our printable donor form. Dezinformatsia Media narrative: "Republicans won the 2010 Congressional elections. They were supposed to come to Washington and make a deal with the Democrats, one favorable to their side and the people who voted for them, but a deal nonetheless. ... The Tea Party Republicans rejected a consensus. They deserve the whack they're now getting in the polls. Nine percent of the country approves of the job Congress is doing. Got it, Mr. and Mrs. Tea Party? You are less popular -- not just less than Jimmy Carter, not just less than Barack Obama -- but any president in history." --MSNBC's Chris Matthews Hoping for peril: "There are people in the streets, here in New York ... [and] in other cities around the country and around the world. Does the Republican Party, if they ignore the Occupy Wall Street group, do they do so at their own peril?" --NBC's Matt Lauer Sometimes the truth is hard: "The conservative view, as you know, is, 'Look, we're one of the only countries in the world literally propping up the housing market.' You've got two of the big mortgage giants in the country guaranteeing 90 percent of the mortgages. They are now, in effect, owned by the federal government. We're not allowing the market to bottom itself out and for the true correction to happen. Is that just harsh conservative orthodoxy talking?" --NBC's David Gregory Belly Laugh of the Week: "[I]n fact, Obama stands to the right of Ronald Reagan on issues like entitlement reform: no other President of either party has proposed raising the retirement age for Medicare. ... What Obama is supporting are not policies that divide America, especially on the major economic issues, but a sane, moderate program of action that a significant majority of Americans favor. ... To ask the President not to support those policies, as forcefully as he can, defies not only reason and best politicial [sic] practices, but also the best interests of this country." --Time Magazine's Joe Klein Newspulper Headlines: Out on a Limb: "2012 Election Will Be a Referendum on Obama, Whether He Likes It or Not" --The New Republic website You Call That Fair and Balanced?: "Boy Attacked by Fox in Bedroom" --Daily Telegraph (London) Agnostics Unsure How They Feel About Pope: "Pope Praises Agnostics" --National Review Online Bottom Story of the Day: "Black Voters' Support for Obama Is Steady and Strong" --The New York Times (Thanks to The Wall Street Journal's James Taranto) Village Idiots An odd defense: "Six weeks ago what was all the media talking about? ... What was the national discussion? ... The debt ceiling. The debt. The debt ceiling. The deficit. We've gotta reduce the deficit. We've gotta reduce the deficit. Over and over and over, all summer long. The debt ceiling. The deficit. The debt ceiling. The deficit. Can I ask you honestly, when's the last time in the last few weeks you've heard them talking about the debt ceiling? Or the deficit? This movement has shut down that bull---- discussion." --Flea Party spokesman Michael Moore Judicial activism is good: "Let's not forget about what it meant when my husband appointed those two brilliant Supreme Court justices and for the first time in history, our daughters -- and our sons -- watched three women take their seats on our nation's highest court. But more importantly, let's not forget the impact those decisions will have on our lives for decades to come -- on our privacy and security, on whether we can speak freely, worship openly, and love whomever we choose. That is what's at stake [in 2012]." --Michelle Obama A call to violence? "[Barack Obama's re-election] is going to require each of you to grab somebody by the shoulders and make them understand what's at stake. ... It's up to each of you to work like you've never worked before." --Michelle Obama We are the world: "I have a pretty good idea how the 21st century works and there's not a single successful country on the planet that operates on the theory that the government is the problem. Not one." --Bill Clinton Short Cuts "Sloppy words and sloppy thinking often go together, both in the mobs and in the media that are covering them. It is common, for example, to hear in the media how some 'protesters' were arrested. But anyone who reads this column regularly knows that I protest against all sorts of things -- and don't get arrested. The difference is that I don't block traffic, join mobs sleeping overnight in parks or urinate in the street. If the media cannot distinguish between protesting and disturbing the peace, then their education may also have wasted a lot of taxpayers' money." --economist Thomas Sowell "What [Obama] spoke about [last week] was tweaking the student loan program, which he now controls. ... [I]t turns out what he is offering the students is between $4.50 and $7.70 a month of relief. ... If his audience had known how minuscule is the benefit, he would have been laughed out of that auditorium." --columnist Charles Krauthammer "President Obama made new rules to lower student loan payments which don't apply to delinquent borrowers. The program is only open to people who are current on their payments. Helping people who aren't in financial trouble is what he accused Bush of doing." --comedian Argus Hamilton "President Obama invited trick-or-treaters to the White House Saturday night and they had a very scary party. They sat in a circle, turned off all the lights and the kids read the president his poll numbers." --comedian Jay Leno Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis! Nate Jackson for The Patriot Post Editorial Team (To submit reader comments click here.) Patriot News Review Obama on Bad Economy: 'I'm Less Interested in Allocating Blame' Obama: People Are Right to Be Frustrated ... at Congress Sen. Feinstein Uses 'Fast & Furious' to Make Case for National Gun Registration Officials From Terror-Sponsoring State 'Exempted From Enhanced Screening' by TSA Bank of America Nixes $5 Debit Card Fee House Affirms 'In God We Trust' More News The Right Opinion Jeff Jacoby: Occupiers, Tea Partiers, and the Tenth Commandment Thomas Sowell: Payday Loans Ben Shapiro: From Arab Spring to Springtime for Hitler John Stossel: The Stupidity of 'Buy American' Terence Jeffrey: Put Constitutional Cap on Federal Spending Tony Blankley: A Time for Statesmen Michelle Malkin: Occupy Oakland's Dangerous 'Strike' Follies Austin Bay: Greece's Papandreou Gambles on Democracy L. Brent Bozell: Protests Go Violent, but Media Stay Syrupy Jacob Sullum: File Not Found Walter E. Williams: Democracy Is Impossible Jonah Goldberg: Tim Pawlenty's Lost Chance More Opinion Grassroots Commentary Are You Whining About a $5 Debit Card Fee? A Restoration of Piety, Part I Obama's 'Snitch' Policy Threat to Us Would You Repeal All Gun Control if It Meant Smaller Government, Less Corruption? 'Gender-Segregated Marriage' Nixon's Pardon & Obama's Election, Part II: Prepare for the Coming Outrage More Commentary Policy and Analysis Heritage Foundation Insider Heritage Foundation Research American Enterprise Institute Center for Strategic and International Studies The Cato Institute Hoover Institution National Rifle Association Ludwig von Mises Institute Citizens Against Government Waste National Center for Policy Analysis The Heartland Institute (Please pray for our Armed Forces standing in harm's way around the world, and for their families -- especially families of those fallen Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, who granted their lives in defense of American liberty.) Follow The Patriot Post:

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