republicans redistributed wealth upward

The central issue in American politics now is whether the country should reverse a three-decade-long trend of rising inequality in incomes and wealth.

After this moment's big spike -- necessary to get the economy moving -- federal spending will account for 22.8 percent of U.S. gross domestic product between 2010 and 2014, up from 21 percent in 2008.

Obama's opponents need to admit that increasing government's share of the economy by less than two percentage points is hardly a form of wild-eyed state socialism

And before the howling on the right gets too loud, consider that we have just gone through a long era involving a far less frank form of redistribution -- upward.

"Over the past two or three decades, the top 1 percent of Americans have experienced a dramatic increase from 10 percent to more than 20percent in the share of national income that's accruing to them," said Peter Orszag, Obama's budget director. Now, he said, was their time "to pitch in a bit more."