You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes. - Morpheus
Right-wing rhetoric is one of the most successful projects of our time. We know the numbers. Today 20% of Americans earn about 50% of the nation’s income, compared with the 3.4% earned by the roughly 15% of the population in poverty. Meanwhile the top 1% feast on a whopping 24% of the national paycheck. Playing out these disparities over decades has caused unprecedented concentrations of wealth. 1% of Americans own over 40% of the nation’s assets, compared to the bottom 80% who own a small sliver of the pie, less than 7%.
These inequities of American life are starkly visible. The vast majority of Americans holding the short end of the stick can see clearly how the rich live, especially the unfair advantages they enjoy through virtually unlimited access to capital, education, healthcare, leisure and powerful social networks. If the economy was a pick-up game of basketball, the rich would start with 20 of 21 points and the rules would require competitors to play on their knees.
As we think about the politics of inequality, the accomplishments of conservative rhetoric should impress us as truly audacious. It is no surprise that the 20% of Americans who own 93% of the country would vote for the system that created their spoils. But the Right has managed to convince a substantial portion of the American underclass that our grossly unfair system is just and works to their benefit. This hypnotic feat stands as our most formidable opponent in the next election cycle. How did they do it? Do we really know? Answering this question effectively is the political game changer of our time.
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