The Case for Blaming Billionaires
“I can’t help but roll my eyes when people bash the rich as a class, blaming them for nearly everything that’s wrong in U.S. society,” IP Editor-in-Chief David Callahan recently wrote in a column, “What ‘Blame the Billionaires’ Misses.” He points to Texas Democrat James Talarico, who recently said that the “only minority destroying this country is the billionaires.”
David acknowledges that blaming billionaires makes for good political messaging with a “potent narrative” and “clear villains.” He also raises legitimate concerns about billionaire bashing and whether alienating wealthy allies might undercut forming a “durable majority for a fairer America.” “The affluent,” he correctly notes, “are now integral to the left-of-center coalition.”
I took notice of David’s plea for nuance as I have my own concerns about thoughtless rhetoric, outlined in my otherwise “billionaire-blaming” book, “Burned by Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power are Ruining Our Lives and Planet.”
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Read the full article on Inside Philanthropy.
