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One Percenters–Of All Types (EP.249)
Introduction
The top 1% of income tax filers make more than $500K each year, and pay more income tax than the bottom 90%.
The bottom 1% of cops nationwide participate in causing the horrific damage that results from the murder of George Floyd and similar actions.
Most protesters are indeed peaceful, but the 1% who are not are causing untold damage to people, their neighborhoods, the economy–and inviting civil war.
If we are going to talk about one percenters, let’s talk about all of them.
That is the subject of today’s 10-minute episode.
Continuing
It seems that belonging to the top 1% is no longer a compliment, but an accusation, as in “How dare you cheat the other 99%?” The 1% referred to here are the top income earners; let’s remember that they pay more in income tax than the bottom 90% of all earners. This is not a “fair share” episode, but it is asking the question in passing, how much more would it take for them to be paying their fair share?
If the top 1% earners are cheating the bottom 99%, then are sports Hall of Famers cheating those who were not selected? Less than 1% of those who played in the NFL are in the NFL Hall of Fame. Did they somehow cheat or disadvantage the 99 of players who were not elected? And before you tell me that the top earners had unfair advantages like a head start or family connections, including inheritance, let me point out that 80% of all American millionaires are self made. And look at the families where multiple siblings and multiple generations in the same family played professional football at a high level. That is clearly a combination of genetics and at-home teaching and encouragement, along with the examples and expectation of extended family, coaches and teachers, and friends.
We are expanding the look at the 1%ers in this episode, observing there are 1%ers in every group–both at the top and at the bottom. Some people are in the top 1% because they worked hard and smart over time; others are at the bottom because they did the opposite, failing and choosing the wrong path to start with.
According to Wikipedia, less than 1% (there’s that number again) of the US population is in prison. This has nothing to do with genetics, and everything to do with the level and type of at-home teaching and encouragement, along with the examples and expectation of extended family, coaches and teachers, and friends. Said simply, most of us will live up to or down to the expectations that are set for us, and the examples we see in our home, in school and with our friends, and with those who are held up as examples of success to us.
Among Law Enforcement Officers, LEOs, the statistics we all see show that no more than 1% of them commit crimes against citizens that show them to be racist, sexist, or simply power-mad and angry. As a quick sniff test, what percentage of the arrests are comprised of incidents like the George Floyd murder? Can you name more than 100, even with a Google search? Given that there are more than 10M arrests each year in the US, you’d need 10,000 George Floyds to get to 1%.
Now let’s look at the “mostly peaceful demonstrators.” To start off with, I agree that protesters over time, including the recent vastly increased wave of protesters, are mostly peaceful. But how much comfort can we take from that observation? For example, if your doctor said to you, “Good news. Your body is mostly free of cancer.” Or, “Good news, you tires are mostly not flat.” That would not be good news to me.
In a protest crowd of 2,000, if only 1% of the protesters were violent, that would mean that 20 people were out there looting, burning and doing things like occupying neighborhoods and police stations. It does not take many with torches, incendiaries and iron bars to do horrific damage. Especially when the police are told to stand down–and stand down for days and weeks.
Ah, now to Antifa, the “heroes” who pay homage to Italy’s blackshirts of the past; they wear black hoodies, don makeshift helmets and strap on ad hoc protective padding — part lacrosse attire, part cinematic Road Warrior costume. Continuing with the thought, “The woke but godless, the arrogant but ignorant, the violent but physically unimpressive, the degreed but poorly educated, the broke but acquisitive, the ambitious but stalled — these are history’s ingredients of riot and revolution. -Victor Davis Hanson, American classicist, military historian, columnist, and farmer.
Antifa is 99% rotten, with, perhaps, 1% decent but simply misguided. As the old joke goes, “It is the 99% that give the other 1% a bad name.” Antifa members are not protesters, they are skinny, white failures and cowards. Less than a week ago, Antifa roughed up a woman of color and injured others while shutting down the legally permitted celebration of the annual Colorado Law Enforcement Appreciation Day in nearby Denver. And the police did nothing. Yes, nothing. I heard Mayor Michael Hancock interviewed on KOA, Denver’s 50K watt clear channel station. When questioned about why the police were told to stand down, he repeatedly avoided answering, instead saying, “We are here to protect our citizens.”
Let’s hear directly from Antifa. “Every city, every town, burn the precinct to the ground.” And, “The only good cop is a dead cop.” Does anyone remember reading about the bigots who said, back in the 1800s and early 1900s, “The only good Indian is a dead Indian.”
Let’s get to the last 1% group in today’s episode: us. “The only thing required for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” -Edmund Burke, Irish Statesman and philosopher. We might fret when Portland is rocked night after night for weeks by unchecked violence. Perhaps we are upset about calls for Defunding or even Abolishing the Police. We might be nervous, even scared, that the AOC wing of the Democratic party is on the ascendance, no doubt ready to wield great influence should the Dems in November. But what are we doing about it?
Dr. Martin Luther King said, “If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.” I did that with Revolution 2.0™ starting three years ago. So: Write; social media and Letters to the Editor. Speak, and don’t be afraid of being judged politically incorrect or fear being labeled an “ist”. Get even more informed. Get involved now, before it is too late for writing and speaking to make any difference.
Tell me what you believe. I and many others want to know.
As always, whatever you do, do it in love. Without love, anything we do is empty.
Contact
As we get ready to wrap up, please do respond in the episodes with comments or questions about this episode or anything that comes to mind, or connect with me on Twitter, @willluden, Facebook, facebook.com/will.luden, and LinkedIn, www.linkedin.com/in/willluden/. And you can subscribe on your favorite device through Apple, Google, or Stitcher.
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Will Luden, coming to you from 7,200’ in Colorado Springs.
The core, driving principles at Revolution 2.0, are:
1. Personal Responsibility. Take it, teach it.
2. Be Your Brother’s Keeper. Taking care of our brothers and sisters.
If we apply those two core principles simultaneously, we will inevitably be on the right path.
2 Responses
Well done Will — I think you describe the 1% issue in some of our most difficult events nationally and locally in recent days. Hopefully we can work together to endorse and promote positive changes to improve our country without the destruction of property and injury to anyone. Thanks for what you do to be a voice and to share your thoughts on current events. Eric
Eric, I very much appreciate your thoughtful comments–and your encouragement. Cheers, Will