CLASS WARFARE
(against the poor)

From ZNet, an article that provides two examples of how our "Christian" leaders make war on the poor, and one example of how a true follower of Jesus faces "Christian" opposition for simply trying to do what Jesus would do:

'People hate this kind of talk.
Raw truth is never popular.'

Last year, Susan Pace Hamill, a University of Alabama tax law professor, took a sabbatical to earn a Master of Theological Studies degree. She wrote her thesis on "An Argument for Tax Reform Based on Judeo-Christian Ethics." In it she applied "the moral principles of Judeo-Christian ethics" to Alabama's tax system, seeing reform as "a critically important step toward ensuring that Alabama's children, especially children from low-income families, enjoy an opportunity to build a positive future."

Those "moral principles" came into sharp focus in three news stories this summer. The first related directly to Alabama and its Republican governor's proposal to reform the state tax system. The other two showed the same principles on the national scale. One was about the exclusion of 7 million low-income working families--and their 12 million children--from the child tax credit that other families are receiving. The other was the latest IRS annual report, showing huge increases in the wealth of America's 400 richest taxpayers.

Click here for the rest.

And from the AP via the Houston Chronicle, a story that shows how the failed conservative policies of the Bush administration, which favor the rich over the poor, are continuing to destroy the economy:

Leading indicators decline as recovery weakens

A closely watched measure of future economic activity fell in July for the second consecutive month, reinforcing evidence that the nation's recovery is slackening.

The Conference Board said Thursday its Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators dropped by 0.3 percent in July to 116.0, following a revised decline of 0.1 percent in June. Last month was the first time in more than a year that the index had lost ground.

"The latest decline in the Leading Index reflects a loss of forward momentum," said Ken Goldstein, economist for the Conference Board. "There are growing concerns about the high cost of gasoline and milk, as well as worries about where economic growth will come from now that tax refunds have been spent and short-term interest rates are rising."

Click here for the rest.

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