In a newly-uncovered interview from the Hyde Park Citizen newspaper
circa 28 December 1995, Barack Obama explains his philosophy on income
inequality in the United States, especially in light of economic
difficulties:
In an environment of scarcity, where the
cost of living is rising, folks begin to get angry and bitter and look
for scapegoats. Historically, instead of looking at the top 5% of this
country that controls all the wealth, we turn towards each other, and
the Republicans have added to the fire.
In that interview, Obama explains that his perspective on the “top 5%” was shaped by his experiences abroad:
It's about power. My travels made me
sensitive to the plight of those without power and the issues of class
and inequalities as it relates to wealth and power. Anytime you have
been overseas in these so-called third world countries, one thing you
see is the vast disparity of wealth of those who are part of power
structure and those outside of it.
These comments are reminiscent of both the most radical Occupy Wall
Street rhetoric and Obama’s infamous comments in San Francisco in April
2008 in which he stated that Americans suffering difficult economic
times “get bitter” and “cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people
who aren’t like them.”
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