When a politician accidently shows how much contempt he has for poor people

Sen. Chuck Grassley is a complete asshole. That much you probably knew.
But did you know just how big of an asshole he is?

Consider this article about Grassley's effort to repeal the estate tax.

The federal estate tax will be slashed and perhaps eliminated altogether.
That will represent a victory for Republicans in Iowa’s congressional delegation, who have consistently opposed the tax and argued it unfairly lumps in the state’s farmers with some of the country’s richest families.
But a review of federal tax data and nonpartisan research on the subject shows that family farmers and small business owners represent a tiny share of estate tax payers, and that the taxes they owe rarely force them to sell land or quit farming.
The number of Iowans paying the estate tax actually numbers in the dozens each year, out of roughly 1.4 million who file federal tax returns each year. IRS data from the last five years shows the number of Iowa taxpayers owing estate taxes ranged from 32 in 2012 to 61 in 2015, and that the vast majority of those probably were not farmers or small business owners.
... Seventy-two percent of estate tax payments come from the top 1 percent of U.S. taxpayers; 42 percent comes from the top 0.1 percent.

Simple and clear. The myth of the estate tax going after family farms is similar to Reagan's fictional Welfare Queen with a dozen Cadillacs.
However, waaayyy down deep in this article, when Grassley was confronted with these facts, his response showed exactly the kind wealthy elitism Republicans say they oppose.

“I think not having the estate tax recognizes the people that are investing,” Grassley said, “as opposed to those that are just spending every darn penny they have, whether it’s on booze or women or movies.”

This is simply a throwback to Gilded Age thinking: poor people are poor because they morally flawed. Rich people are rich because they are better.
It's only one small step from there to full Social Darwinism.
For instance, consider this article from 1994.

Bill Clinton should have studied Darwin before he proposed a health system that would guarantee medical care for every person for their entire lives....Crucial to the theory is that losers are as essential as winners on the road to robust, well-adapted populations. The "sacrifice" of the maladapted fuels the engine of evolution just as much as the victory of the fit.
...The American health care system, concerned overwhelmingly with the well-being of individuals, rests on a principle that is akin to "survival of the fittest." A system based on universal coverage, however, inhabits the other end of the Darwinian dialectic.

Like Grassley above, it's interesting that someone admitted that our health care system is built upon the "survival of the fittest" premise.
The old and sick should die for the good of humanity.

Share
up
0 users have voted.

Comments

divineorder's picture

@$$hole he is.

Here’s another

...

up
0 users have voted.

A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

Big Al's picture

@divineorder

"Today, I will vote in favor of this defense authorization legislation because it makes important investments to strengthen our national security and support the health and wellbeing of our servicemembers and their families. In particular, I am pleased the bill authorizes a pay raise for our troops, supports Made in Wisconsin programs like Oshkosh Defense’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, and includes $13 million for the construction of new facilities at Wisconsin’s Fort McCoy Army base. Additionally, the NDAA includes my bipartisan legislation—the Veterans ACCESS Act—to prevent bad doctors from treating our veterans in community care programs like VA Choice."

https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/press-releases/ndaa

up
0 users have voted.
Wink's picture

@Big Al

up
0 users have voted.

the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Granma's picture

On NPR Thursday afternoon. He said stupider things then talking about the estate tax. Interviewer challenged those comments, but Grassley wouldn't back down.

up
0 users have voted.
Meteor Man's picture

@Granma
Idiots Out Wandering Around.

I say that as someone who actually attended one of Iowa's notorious State Presidential Caucus. They are even worse than reported, which explains Seen. Grassley and former Sen. Steve King who is now a House Representative.

up
0 users have voted.

"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

detroitmechworks's picture

that I know that History is going to drag these out as examples of why American Empire HAD to fall.

up
0 users have voted.

I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

Big Al's picture

it's the ruling class belief system. It's what most rich people think when they get rich, they believe they deserve every penny and those that aren't rich are just slackers. The sooner people start rejecting the two party system as the dividing line in society, the better. Until then, people like Maurice Ross are just contributing to the problem.

up
0 users have voted.
Pricknick's picture

just jumped up another two notches.
Will I be arrested for pissing on the grassley?

up
0 users have voted.

Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

@Pricknick @Pricknick extra points if your piss wouldn't pass a drug test though.

up
0 users have voted.
The Aspie Corner's picture

When they're done with this country, we'll all be sucking dick for packing peanuts.

up
0 users have voted.

Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

Steven D's picture

Pure evil.

up
0 users have voted.

"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

Shouldn't it be OK to reset the clock with each generation so that the scions of wealth can prove themselves?
And, if it wasn't obvious, the WaPo article by physician David Brown.. My fucking god. He probably has an undergraduate degree in some sort of science. It should be rescinded. His 'understanding' of Darwin is embarrassing to read. How the hell did that ever get published? Ok, WaPo, but fucking hell.
OK, just googled here are the comments from that piece of shit WaPo thing. Saves time to just read there if you are curious.

up
0 users have voted.