To Jim:

“The “class warfare” rhetoric is all in your head”

“While middle-class families have been playing by the rules, living up to their responsibilities as neighbors and citizens, those at the commanding heights of our economy have not”

This is an instigation of class against class. Rather than saying something to the effect of, ‘dishonest people have not lived up to their responsibilities’, he turns irresponsibility into something exclusive to those in the upper class of income earners.

Obviously, there were those at the top who overreached. There were also quite a lot of people in the middle and bottom who overreached. But rather than say something poignant, like, ‘This crisis shows the danger of attempting to live above one’s means’ or ‘This proves that borrowing does dull the edge of husbandry’ (the more Shakespeare references the better in any crisis), Obama is trying to drive home the point that it was only those at the top who were irresponsible and short-sighted. This is class warfare.

The idea of class against class is a Marxist one (though obviously not exclusively). I’m in your corner in saying that the President is not a Marxist, but his affection for the Eruopean-model welfare state is a little alarming.

Also, the support you provide for your argument in claiming that we merely have a ‘modestly progressive tax scheme’ is a little off-base. While you are correct in saying our tax system is very moderate, it should also be noted that middle of the road tax policies aren’t necessarily indicators of moderate political policy, ideology, or rhetoric.