Logically, no one. And we cannot find anybody who is unduly hurt in an absolute sense, even though, of course, both sides would want more for themselves.
HOW BAD OFF IS THE MIDDLE CLASS?
US national average per capita income, based on purchasing power parity, was second in the world only to Luxembourg.
Average incomes for people who call themselves middle class are about $55,000 a year, versus about $35,000 for those who call themselves working class or lower and about $95,000 for those who say they're upper-middle class or better off.
SUPREME COURT RULING: NOT BAN CORPORATE CONTRIBUTIONS
The supreme court ruling that the government could not ban political contributions from corporations:
The 5-to-4 decision was a vindication, the majority said, of the First Amendment’s most basic free speech principle — that the government has no business regulating political speech. The dissenters said that allowing corporate money to flood the political marketplace would corrupt democracy.
TOP GROUPS AND BALANCE FOR POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS
The balance:
199 M Democratic
267.9 M Republican
The imbalance in favor of the Republicans has been grossly exaggerated.
Non-party groups, such as the nonprofit U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the labor union American Federation of State and Municipal Employees, have spent roughly $205 million through Oct. 22, ABC News
UNION POLITICAL SPENDING (See also "Unions" page.)
"The poll found that 60 percent of union members oppose their union bosses’ political spending in the 2010 midterm elections, viewing it a wasteful use of union dues and treasuries to protect incumbent Democrat politicians in Washington, D.C." Luntz poll
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, which is pumping almost $88 million into the 2010 elections.
National Education Association and the Service Employees International Union, respectively the nation’s largest and fastest-growing unions. Together, the three government-employee unions will have spent nearly $172 million campaigning for Democrats in the course of this election cycle. That outstrips by more than $30 million what the Chamber of Commerce and the Rove network combined are pouring into the 2010 campaign.
DID FOREIGN COMPANIES INFLUENCE THE ELECTIONS?
Allegation that foreign donations are being spent by the Chamber of Commerce to influence the unions: "Still lacking, though, is any proof that the money is being used in the chamber’s ad campaign." ThinkProgress, a Democratic learning organization which made the initial allegation, in a followup identified only a total of $885,000 in dues to the chamber from foreign companies, suggesting that the following allegation is dramatically exaggerated: "MoveOn.org website: Foreign corporations are funding some of the $75 million the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is spending to defeat Democrats this election cycle. Ask the Justice Department to investigate." Factcheck.org
