From today's
once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle (our emphasis):
In his Feb. 3 op-ed column, “Inequality misunderstood,” Robert J. Samuelson wrote that from 1980 to 2010, “the top 1 percent outdid everyone” as “their inflation-adjusted pretax incomes grew a spectacular 190 percent, almost tripling,” an outcome that prompted him to observe: “It’s hard not to be disturbed by today’s huge economic inequality.” But as to whether this was a preventable or predictable outcome of political programs, Mr. Samuelson offered no opinion.
Between 1980 and 2010, I don’t recall 99 percent of Americans becoming lazier or stupider. What I do recall is the ascendancy of Reaganomics, a.k.a. “trickle-down economics,” wherein laws were enacted to enrich the rich because, so the 99 percent were told, such changes would result in gains for all Americans. Free-trade agreements were enacted, which we were told would not push wages down. And labor unions were diminished under the guise of “right-to-work” laws.
Could any of these political decisions have contributed to today’s economic inequality? My answer is yes, and it was entirely predictable.
Kirt Suomela, Bethesda
And:
Regarding the Jan. 31 news article “House Republicans say they are open to legal status for illegal immigrants”:
House Republicans’ new immigration reform principles are not much of a step forward. They promote the lie that the main problem with undocumented immigration is a porous border. This ignores two facts: First, about half of all undocumented immigrants did not cross the border illegally but rather overstayed legal visas. Second, the border with Mexico has never been more secure. As evidence, we know that current migration into the United States from Mexico roughly equals migration in the other direction.
I believe the Republicans’ main goal is to prevent new Latino and Asian voters by blocking a path to citizenship for the undocumented. This is shortsighted and, ultimately, doomed to failure, since the children of these immigrants will eventually vote.
David Strauss, Rockville
No need to worry about those Republican "principles"...
Republican House Speaker John Boehner on Thursday poured cold water on hopes that an immigration bill could finally pass this year, saying that his restive conservative caucus did not have confidence the president would implement any legislation.
... because they have none.
