Real Class War Is Working to Keep Those Below You Down

Taking pot-shots at another class isn’t war, nor is imposing a modest tax increase on those who have been showered with tax cuts for the last decade. Genuine class warfare is those at the very top working to keep everyone else far beneath them . . . 

Conservative discourse about the “undeserving” poor being where they are because of some inherent personal faults might make some sense if we were all born with the same opportunities to get ahead. Tragically, however, in today’s economy, the single greatest predictor of how much an American child will earn in the future is how much his or her parents take home . . .

In reality, the United States’ much-ballyhooed upward mobility is a myth, and it appears to be getting worse with each new generation.

The U.S. education system is largely funded through state and local property taxes, which means that the quality of a kid’s education depends on the wealth of the community in which he or she grows up. This, too, helps replicate parents’ economic status in their kids. Read more . . . 

Essay: “The Faith-Based Initiative: Flawed in Concept, Constitutionally Threatening, and Ineffective”

By Madison S. Hughes (11.07.2010)

Abstract

The Faith-Based Initiative (FBI) is a poverty-stricken solution to boosting the nation’s capacity in social services. The idea resonates especially in the current economic climate. Regardless of the economic conditions, the FBI is not a solution to the problem of providing necessary social services. At the same time, the substitution of religious institutions for putatively secular functions represents a clear and present violation to the Establishment Clause regarding the separation of Church and State. This paper will argue that while the objective of providing social services should be a paramount concern, the FBI fails to deliver on this objective on two counts. First, it remains a threat to our most vulnerable citizens because they represent a vehicle to impose specific religious creeds from their social service provider. As such, this initiative, while politically expedient, poses a substantial constitutional infringement, and is unacceptable as public policy. Secondly, to date the FBI has not produced a measurable gain in social service capacity. Continue reading

Should Atheists Have Lots of Kids?

If we have lots of kids just so we can breed the next generation of atheists… then how are we any better than the Quiverful families, having lots of kids just so they can breed the next generation of fundamentalist Christians? If we don’t behave better than the religious extremists we’re fighting, then what on earth is the point? Yes, it’s true — religious believers do, on average, have more kids than atheists. And yes, people do tend to stay with the religion they were brought up with. And you know what? Atheists are still winning. Rates of non-belief are going up at a dramatic rate, all over the U.S. and all over the world. The only religious demographic that’s growing in every single state is “None.” Read more . . .