The Ugly Politics of Envy And Scapegoating

Barrack Obama and Democrats are counting on anger over wealth inequality in the country to save the embattled president and his party. That's why both are  openly courting the Occupy Wall Street protesters in an attempt to parlay the energy from the demonstrations into support for Obama's reelection.

The  president tipped his hand at a recent press conference, showering praise on the leaderless demonstrations.  "People are frustrated," Obama told reporters.  "Protesters are giving voice to a more broad-based frustration of how our financial system works."

In the days that followed, the president climbed on his sleek, multi-million-dollar, armored campaign bus and traveled to visit friendly crowds recruited by his party.   At each stop, he used the occasion to declare war on wealth, reciting his angry anthem about how the rich are sticking it to the middle class and poor.

His words echoed the single cogent theme emerging from the unruly Wall Street demonstrations.  Based on interviews with protesters and a reading of the placards they are waving, the nascent movement views the wealthiest one percent as scapegoats for all the country's ills from bailouts to budget cuts.

Sensing an opportunity to fuel the protests,  the mainstream media has teed up stories about the yawning gulf in the United States between the richest one percent and the 99 percent of the rest of Americans. Reporters from MSNBC and Rolling Stone magazine have been outed for exchanging emails with protesters, advising them on how to improve news coverage and focus their message.

In the fawning rush to support the demonstrators, sycophant journalists have trampled all over the facts. As just one example, they are dead wrong on their claims that the rich control a larger share of the wealth today than ever before.

In 1998, the top five percent owned 59 percent of all wealth, according to U.S. Census data.  Today that same group claims slightly more than one-half.  The top 20 percent today owns 80 percent of all the wealth, compared to 83 percent in 1998.  While one can argue the figures still show a concentration of net worth, the data does not support the assertion that the rich are grabbing a larger share of wealth.

From a global perspective,  a majority of those 99 percent of "deprived" Americans can legitimately be called rich.  According to MarketWatch, total assets of just $2,200 would place most Americans in the top half of the world's wealthiest people.  Households with a modest $61,000 in net worth would qualify for exclusive membership in the world's wealthiest 10 percent club.

That hasn't deterred the Occupy Wall Street mob from scorning fat cat CEO's, making millions of dollars.  Adopting some of the shabby rhetoric used by the president,  the protesters have whined about excessive executive pay as they paraded outside the New York residences of captains of industry.  Interestingly, the demonstrators as well as the president are silent on the enormous wealth of professional athletes and those in the entertainment industry.

Consider that Oprah Winfrey earned $290 million last year, according to Forbes Magazine's annual Celebrity 100 list. Actor Tyler Perry raked in $130 million, while producer Jerry Bruckheimer enjoyed a $113 million pay day.  Singer Lady Gaga and talk show host Howard Stern pulled down $90 million and $76 million, respectively.

Top professional athletes cashed in last year, too.  Golfer Tiger Woods led the pack with $110 million, according to Forbes. Basketball's Kobe Bryant tallied $45 million as did Michael Jordan and race car driver Kimi Raikkonen.  Soccer star David Beckham pocketed $42 million

By comparison, compensation for the top 10 chief executive officers averaged $43 million last year, according to a survey by The Wall Street Journal.  Their pay looks down right skimpy when you consider that the average income of the nation's top 10 celebrities was a stunning $100 million while star athletes rang up an average of $46 million in salary and endorsements.

Apparently, the Occupy Wall Street sheep and their spiritual shepherd Barrack Obama believe demonizing business executives plays better in America than denigrating celebrities and athletes.  Their logic appears to be that not all wealth is created equal.  Yet they complain about the inequality of wealth.

This war on wealth is nothing more than the politics of envy and scapegoating.  It is divisive, tawdry and reprehensible.   And, apparently it isn't working as well as Obama and his marching minions had hoped.

A recent USA Today/Gallup Poll found that most Americans blame the political cesspool in Washington for the current  fiscal stench. Fully 64 percent finger the federal government as the culprit, while only 30 percent pin the blame on financial institutions, according to the poll.

Those results suggest Americans aren't easily swayed by noisy demonstrations and a reckless president.  More importantly, most Americans recognize envy and scapegoating as the staple of despots and totalitarian tyrants.  That kind of despicable rhetoric has no place in a democracy.