The real reason the rich are so angry

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

...

Suppose you had spent the last five years actually believing what you read from the usual suspects — the WSJ opinion pages, National Review, right-wing economists, etc.. Here’s what would have happened:

In 2006 you would have believed that there was no housing bubble.

In 2007 you would have believed that the troubles of subprime couldn’t possibly spread to the financial system as a whole.

In 2008 you would have believed that we weren’t in a recession — and that the failure of Lehman was unlikely to have bad consequences for the real economy.

In 2009 you would have believed that high inflation was just around the corner.

At the beginning of 2010 you would have believed that sky-high interest rates were just around the corner.

Now, we all make mistakes and get things wrong — although it’s striking how often the trolls on this blog feel the need to accuse yours truly of saying things I didn’t. But after this string of errors, wouldn’t you at least begin to suspect that the people you find congenial have a fundamentally wrong-headed view of how the world works?

. . .

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/who-you-gonna-believe/

[gratuitous]

1. That's plausible

My personal theory is that the wealthy have had a free (or at least greatly reduced-rate) ride for the past 10 years, and now they're having to pay a smidgen more (3 cents on the dollar for every dollar they "earn" over a quarter million - horrors!). Even though it's eminently reasonable, hardly covers the cost of their worthless carcasses, and still leaves them with more money than they could ever spend in 10 lifetimes, they're angry, Angry, ANGRY at the thought of having to pull a little more of their own load. Or at least, a lot of people on their behalf have been convinced to be angry for them. Hell, if they could hire someone to die for them (at rock bottom prices), they'd have no shortage of willing near-volunteers.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Their sense of entitlement is being threatened. They cannot understand why EVERYONE ELSE isn't

as thrilled that THEY are rich as they themselves are.

[obxhead]

3. Many of the rich believed none of that and they planned

accordingly.

They left the middle class and its retirement and children's college funds holding the bag.