Music

Greetings!

This is Podcast No. 51 of Blast the Right.

Jack Clark from TheRationalRatical.com

Today we have two segments. First, we'll discuss the unfortunate fact that as the incomes of the super wealthy have gone way up

and their taxes have gone way down, they've decided to become less generous in their charitable giving.

Next, we'll consider the possibility. Call Rove, Champion of Social Justice.

Hint, Teddy Roosevelt will have something to say on this subject.

Let's get right into it.

One of the quotations I use most often is from the late John Kenneth Galbraith, who said that,

quote, the modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy.

That is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.

Close quote. This segment will provide a perfect illustration of this.

A right-wing mantra is, if you give the rich tax breaks, they'll have more money to contribute to charity.

And since private charities help the needy more effectively than the government does, the poor will be better off.

A related part of right-wing moral philosophy is, don't worry about the income of the rich increasing far faster than everyone else's,

because again, they will use their new wealth to help the needy.

In other words, a moral justification for tax breaks for the wealthy and their garnering an increasing share of our nation's income and wealth is, the needy will benefit.

Is this one of Galbraith's moral justifications for selfishness? It would seem so.

The rich have gotten tax breaks and have gotten wealthier compared to everyone else, but they haven't been behaving as right-wingers said they would.

The rich are giving less to charity. The rich have gotten stingier.

As you know by now, virtually nothing right-wingers say will happen in a particular way ever does.

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