The One Percent Strikes Back

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[from "The Balance Sheet", by The American Prospect, sent by a faithful reader. Thank you, Faithful Reader.]

THE ONE PERCENT STRIKES BACK

It's not a joke. In response to the Occupy Wall Street movement, a band of one-percenters -- including JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who made $23 million in 2012; and John A. Allison IV, a director of BB&T Corp. -- has started a campaign to rescue rich CEOs' tattered image. Calling themselves the "Job Creators Alliance", the group plans media appearances, pens op-eds, and comes up with talking points to defend executives from the 99 percent who, at least in terms of wages, have seen little trickle down from Wall Street for the last two decades. Bernard Marcus, a founding member of the alliance, isn't worried about Occupiers being offended by his organization's mission. “Who gives a crap about some imbecile? Are you kidding me?” he told Businessweek. “If I hear a politician use the term ‘paying your fair share’ one more time, I’m going to vomit," chimed in billionaire Tom Golisano.

They've come parroting the standard defense: That they deserve the money they get and that they create jobs. Problem is, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, “Millionaire job-creators are like unicorns: they’re impossible to find, and they don't exist." Economists, in a rare instance of consensus, agree that there is little evidence to support the claim that a change in tax rates prompts a real response from the economy, as reported by Mother Jones. Other millionaires have even objected to this one-percenter denialism. Warren Buffett is a well-known advocate for higher taxes on the wealthy, and venture capitalist Nick Hanauer wrote in a Businessweek op-ed, "When businesspeople take credit for creating jobs, it is like squirrels taking credit for creating evolution."