Obama, Inequality and Wall Street Donors

[HomerRamone]

http://www.fair.org/blog/2014/07/09/obama-inequality-and-wall-street-donors/

The Washington Post's Zachary Goldfarb reported on July 4 that Barack Obama has stopped talking much about inequality. But instead of explaining why this is happening, the Post frames the issue as a debate between left-leaning populists and "moderate" Democrats trying to avoid "class warfare."

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But as pointed out on the FAIR Blog (1/28/14), the only evidence was that Republicans opposed efforts to combat inequality. Democrats and independents were overwhelmingly in favor of government action to reduce inequality.

So what could explain the White House shift away from issues that could be quite popular with voters in an election year? The Post doesn't look for explanations, but a few days later, a piece in the New York Times (7/7/14) offered some clues. That article was focused on Hillary Clinton's close relationship to Wall Street and how this affects her possible presidential run.

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As Democrats debate whether to get tougher on Wall Street, the industry appears to have taken notice. Securities and investment firm employees have given a smaller proportion of their political donations to Democrats over the last three years than any period for which data is available, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Perhaps it is cynical to think that the White House shift on inequality is connected to the fact that populism isn't popular with the people who write big checks to political campaigns. But it's a more plausible explanation than focusing on "combative" Democratic populists and moderates who wish to be "less divisive."

[Thinkingabout]

1. As soon as someone comes up with the funds given by Wall Street and corporations they should

Immediately notify the DNC they have everything covered. It takes lots of money to fund campaigns.