US brinkmanship: Rich Americans vs middle class

The New York stock market continued its plunge, Fitch has threatened a possible rating downgrade, but the US debt default time bomb continues to tick away with no clear compromise in sight as we write this column. Even China is urging the United States to raise its debt limit and stop the anxiety that’s spreading all across the globe, but House Republicans are standing pat, telling China to “stay out” of American politics.

It seems Republican House Speaker John Boehner and his Tea Party-mates are oblivious to their growing unpopularity, with accusations that Republican hardliners got a lot of encouragement from very wealthy supporters to shut down the US government. No wonder the Republican Party is known as the “party of the rich.” Certainly, affluent Americans have no love lost for Barack Obama because of the perception that he wants to cozy up to the middle class at the expense of the wealthy and levies unfair taxes to the rich to give to the poor. In fact, a lawyer has become enormously rich by helping welfare clients get disability and other social security benefits from the government – with a big number of the claims spurious and dubious.

A wealthy Irish American residing in the San Francisco Bay Area who inherited a number of rental apartment buildings from his father – leaving him to just collect rent and play golf – spends a significant number of his time complaining against Obama, saying he despises the American President with every bone in his body for saying he will make the wealthy “pay a little more so the middle class pays less, eliminate oil subsidies and tax breaks for companies that outsource.” No wonder a lot of those supporting the conservative Republicans in government come from oil-rich states like Texas.

The “tea party” congressmen riled President Obama when they threatened to pullout funding for the US President’s favorite social healthcare program dubbed as ObamaCare – which is also beginning to lose its popularity even among the middle class because of perceptions that it has many flaws and loopholes that makes it actually more expensive and less affordable for the employed, while giving so many perks for the poor – yet analysts say it will still eventually leave an estimated 30 million Americans uninsured.

What is clear however is that income disparity has become even more pronounced in the US after the 2008 Lehman Brothers crash that triggered a global financial meltdown, with middle class Americans getting resentful that despite the US being the wealthiest country in terms of GDP, they have become much poorer. According to the 2012 Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report, the median wealth in the US was only $38,786, making middle class Americans fall down at Number 27 while Australia’s median wealth per adult was $193,653.  In the recently released 2013 Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report, topnotcher Australia’s median wealth is placed at $219,505 – a far cry from the slightly improved US median wealth of $45,000. 

Certainly, hatred for Wall Street and its “greed” continues to boil, with many blaming “fat cat executives” for the 2008 financial crash that cost millions of Americans their jobs and homes, asking government to bail them out with billions of dollars in taxpayer money while they fly around in their corporate jets and luxury limos. While business is what makes the world go round, it can indeed be abused.

The same thing can happen here in the Philippines, with un-moderated greed becoming our undoing. Which is why politicians and executives of government-owned companies and corporations (like MWSS and SSS) should not get overexcited in giving themselves millions in perks and bonuses coming from taxpayers’ contributions – because the fallout and the “payback” if the middle class decides “enough is enough” can be enormous.

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat

It was heartbreaking for University of Sto. Tomas star player Jeric Teng who really wanted to finish his fifth and final year in a blaze of glory with a UAAP 76th Season championship for the Growling Tigers. Unfortunately, the De La Salle University cagers came out the victors, with Jeric’s younger brother Jeron (shown in photo taken from the La Sallian FB page) helping lead the Green Archers to an exciting, cardiac overtime finish of 71-69.

Despite his team’s win, the younger Teng sibling could not really relish the thrill of victory because of elder brother Jeric’s agony over the defeat of UST. Even the Teng household was reportedly subdued, with everyone probably not wanting to rub the proverbial salt to the wound. Jeric though has accepted the defeat of UST very gracefully, knowing that in sports, there can be “only one.” The big winner obviously is the boys’ father, former basketball star Alvin Teng whose pride for his two boys is apparent as seen in his now famous “double winner” shirt.

In politics however, it’s an entirely different story, with candidates never accepting defeat – always insisting they were cheated out of victory, which is why politics in this country continues to be polarizing and contentious, to say the least.

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