8 Ways the wealthiest are trying to dismantle the Social Safety Net.

http://www.alternet.org/economy/8-ways-super-wealthy-show-their-cruel-values-and-desire-destroy-publics-safety-net?akid=13724.294211.Qf5Kfw&rd=1&src=newsletter1046576&t=2

The richest Americans increasingly are taking over the levers of power and shaping the political debate, despite opposing views held by a majority of Americans, a new and unprecedented academic study of the top 1 percent has confirmed.

The super-rich are more politically active than average Americans, financing and contacting elected officials and knowing many on a first-name basis. Their agenda, which is often cited by public officials across the country, emphasizes private profit-making and is skeptical of almost every public program to address economic inequality, the study by Chicago-based university researchers found. The top 1 percent's social agenda, while “more liberal than others on religious and moral issues, including abortion, gay rights, and prayer in school,” is still “much more conservative than the non-affluent on issues of taxes, economic regulation, and social welfare,” the researchers found.