[lbo-talk] The end of the 'middle class' a view from Australia

[Mike Ballard]

Alan is spot on here, although I would take issue with his use of the
term 'middle class'. The 'middle class' he speaks of is really the
working class, the class of people employed for wages to produce the
wealth of Australia and all nations really. The poor are just the
lower strata of the working class i.e. the unemployed, temp workers,
pub workers, childcare workers and so forth. I would also take issue
with him over his assertion that 'socialism' produces an upper class
who appropriate the lion's share of the wealth the 90% produce. My
definition of socialism is social ownership of the collective product
of labour under democratic control. Of course, there would be no
middle class or working class or ruling capitalist class under
socialism. In fact, socialism would be a classless democracy. Anything
short of that wouldn't be socialism at all in my book.

But listen to Alan. He's spot on in his view about how the taxation
system brought about during the Great Depression redistributed the
wealth the workers produce. Nowadays, we have a full on assault on
this system of progressive taxation by the Coalition and all
conservative forces since the Reagan/Thatcher era, to eliminate
progressive taxation of wealth (the richer you are the more you pay to
provide revenue for running the government) and replacing it with user
fees, tolls and raising regressive taxes like those on petrol and the
GST. Cuts to public health, education and welfare will follow suit.
The conservatives want us to depend on charity for welfare, private
schooling for education and privatised medical services for
healthcare.

http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2014/10/28/economy/end-middle-class

-- 
Wobbly times
http://wobblytimes.blogspot.com.au/