The Haves and the Have Mores

Title: Fahrenheit 9/11 trailer
Date: June, 2004

A friend sent this in. It is a snippet from the Fahrenheit 9/11 trailer. The president of the United States is talking at what is probably a fund raising dinner. He says:

This is an impressive crowd. The Haves and the Have Mores. Some people call you "the elite". I call you "my base".

If you simply look at that quote, it says a lot about what is driving the concentration of wealth today.

If the Haves and the Have Mores are the president's base, then of course he is catering to them. The problem is that, for one small group to have more, a large group has to have less. Taken to extremes, as we are seeing today, it means a social and economic split that resembles colonial England - a situation characterized by a small and oppressive aristocracy and a large group of impoverished peasants.

The problem with this approach is that it is of no value. The oppressive nature of the aristocratic approach is, in large part, what caused the birth of America. Americans rejected the aristocracy and instead chose freedom and prosperity for all.

The American economy, and American citizens, would we much better off with a strong democracy made up of prosperous citizens across the board, rather than a large group of impoverished peasants. Both the citizens and the businesses that serve them will do better - the citizens because they are living comfortable lives, and the businesses because of increasing consumer and business spending.