If there were only more like Matt Damon

[Hawaii Hiker]

"The wealthy are paying less than they paid at any time else, certainly in my lifetime, and probably in the last century," Damon said. "I don't know what we were paying in the roaring 20's; it's criminal that so little is asked of people who are getting so much. I don't mind paying more. I really don't mind paying more taxes. I'd rather pay for taxes than cut 'Reading is Fundamental' or Head Start or some of these programs that are really helping kids. This is the greatest country in the world; is it really that much worse if you pay 6% more in taxes? Give me a break. Look at what you get for it: you get to be American."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/02/matt-damon-rips-debt-deal_n_916618.html?utm_source=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=080311&utm_medium=email&utm_content=NewsEntry&utm_term=Daily%20Brief

Hoo-ray for Matt....He should run for office one day, i'd vote for him....

[sharp_stick]

1. I've become very impressed by him

he's a smart guy and a great spokesman for education.

[ProSense]

2. That

""The wealthy are paying less than they paid at any time else, certainly in my lifetime, and probably in the last century,"

...sounds familiar:

<...>

It’s no use pretending that what has obviously happened has not in fact happened. The upper 1 percent of Americans are now taking in nearly a quarter of the nation’s income every year. In terms of wealth rather than income, the top 1 percent control 40 percent. Their lot in life has improved considerably. Twenty-five years ago, the corresponding figures were 12 percent and 33 percent. One response might be to celebrate the ingenuity and drive that brought good fortune to these people, and to contend that a rising tide lifts all boats. That response would be misguided.

While the top 1 percent have seen their incomes rise 18 percent over the past decade, those in the middle have actually seen their incomes fall. For men with only high-school degrees, the decline has been precipitous—12 percent in the last quarter-century alone. All the growth in recent decades—and more—has gone to those at the top. In terms of income equality, America lags behind any country in the old, ossified Europe that President George W. Bush used to deride. Among our closest counterparts are Russia with its oligarchs and Iran. While many of the old centers of inequality in Latin America, such as Brazil, have been striving in recent years, rather successfully, to improve the plight of the poor and reduce gaps in income, America has allowed inequality to grow.

<...>

That's from the same Democratic President who expanded the EITC and increased Head Start to eight times what it was during the 1990s (nearly triple the Bush years).

[xchrom]

3. Recommend