President Barack Obama delivered, in my opinion, one of the best speeches of his presidency yesterday at the THEARC in D.C. While in the late 1920′s-1930′s the  biggest problem facing America was the Great Depression, followed by the paranoid fear of communism in the 1950′s-1960′s, followed by the power of the Soviet Union in the 1980′s. But it’s worth asking; what did we have in the 1990′s? Our president received oral sex in the Oval Office. Anyway, going back to my original point, President Obama laid out what will most likely become the nation’s number one, hot button issue in the coming years: income inequality.

Ever since Obama expressed his support for and pushed for the passing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009 to his support to raising the minimum wage today, Republicans and conservatives all across the nation have had their heads buried deep in the sand about what the president says “Should offend all of us and it should compel us to action.”

There are two ways people could have taken this speech. The first way is this: he’s expressing his concern at the fact that in the past, the average CEO, the guy at the top of the too-big-to-fail, made 20 to 30 times the income of the average worker (at the height of Reaganomics capitalism), whereas today’s CEO now makes 273 times more (and they claim capitalism is under attack). And the second way one could take the speech is this: he’s raging war on capitalism and trying to spread socialism.

Let’s remember, Germany’s Angela Merkel believes in social solidarity and working with trade unions, which has been vital to Germany’s economic boom. Adolf Hitler sought to destroy all the unions he could, something Germany, and Merkel, would never forget.

Making bets again, I would say the Republicans are going with the latter instead of the former when it comes to Obama’s speech.

I want you to stop and reflect on the following: the pay of a typical male worker in the U.S. was lower in 2010 than it was in 1978, after being adjusted with inflation. The hourly wage for a middle-class worker in Germany has risen five-times as fast than that of a middle-class worker in the U.S. Meanwhile, Germany is 75% union, and their economy is the biggest in Europe. From 1998 through 2010, business interests and trade groups spent $28.6 billion on lobbying compared to $429 million for labor, a 60-1 business advantage. And, from 2002-2007, the height of the good old George Bush days, the top 1% collected two-thirds of the nations economic gains.

Those were facts that Obama hadn’t mentioned. Whereas he mentioned an array of inequalities living in our country that start from simple things like getting a decent education, and ending at something as serious as obtaining life saving medical procedures, the Republicans are refusing to open their eyes to reality that this wealth and income inequality is driving us apart. He made an excellent point that polls are proving Americans don’t trust each other. And the divide in trust is following the trends of income inequalities.

We should focus on helping rich people get richer. Eventually that wealth will trickle down to the rest of us. So sure, we’ve taken that approach for about 30 years, and it has only increased inequality and made Americans more hateful and resentful of each other. When the tide has risen, it has only floated the yachts and catamarans of the top 1%, and the tides have swamped the middle class life vessels. Making income equal, or at least fair and just in a capitalist society has got to be the best approach, otherwise why would conservatives be promoted by all the think tanks funded by rich, Republican right?

The 1950′s Progressive Income Rates – Adjusted for Inflation in 2012 dollars (230%), Taxable Income / Rates by richest Americans ($400,000 and over):

• $414,000 – $460,000 – 79.17% tax rate
• $460,000 – $628,907 – 80.99% tax rate
• $628,907 – $690,000 – 82.503% tax rate
• $690,000 – $920,000 – 83.430% tax rate
• $920,000 – and over – 84.357% tax rate

Republicans love to talk about the good old days of capitalism, like right after WWII. Well I got news for the Republicans: taxes were highest they’ve ever been in the most prosperous days of the America….under a Republican president, might I add.

The President made it very clear that income inequality threatens the American dream. How can we expect people to prosper when the top 10% reaps in all the benefits, at the hands of labor workers whose unions are being threatened? How can we expect a strong middle class of average Americans if two-thirds of our nations earnings funnel back into the top 1%? I cannot fathom how the GOP thinks that because the top 20% are millionaires and billionaires that means the bottom 80% are lazy, mooching, ungrateful, and not worthy.

Warren Buffet has admitted that he does not pay proper taxes as a result of the structure of the tax codes . It has been a predominant theme in his talks about tax reform. Bill and Melinda Gates feel the same way. And who would have thought they would all be Democrats? One popular argument conservatives love to use is “well Buffet and Gates are in the top 1% and they’re liberals!” When is the last time you heard Sheldon Adelson talking about his tax rate? How about Roger Ailes? My guess is never. The liberals are able to spot discrepancies and work to correct them and do what is right for their country.

Income inequality also coincides with the concerted Republican obstructionism and follows the eight years of failed economic policy of George W Bush (and yes, republicans, I cans still blame him because it is easier to destroy an economy than it is to fix it). By the way, where is that jobs bill from Boehner’s House? Still stuck behind all those meaningless repeal votes and abortion bills? Nice “leadership!”

I want a new New Deal. I believe we need to restore the manufacturing sector to provide more jobs. Infrastructure, a vital part of our economy, is waning. We also need to provide more programs in high schools that prepare students that don’t want to attend College or don’t meet the requirements for College Admissions to obtain skills necessary in the workplace.

But all this is not possible with today’s current trend of income inequality. It will simply destroy our nation from the inside out if something is not done. We just have to get past the conservatives “you hate capitalism!” rhetoric. There is no argument for allowing these trends.