Posted by Kromey at 1:14pm Feb 1 '12...but I'll bite.
It would be pretty naive to claim that liberals aren't focused on money -- you have Obama and the Democrats using misleading comparisons of tax rates to, in part, argue that the rich have "too much", or pay "too little". Then you have OWS and their various supporters who, despite being unable to deliver a cohesive message, do seem to agree that the rich have "too much".
But what is "too much"? How is that defined? Well, in almost every instance, it's being defined in comparison to what others have. That is, the rich only have "too much" because they have more than the middle and lower classes. It's been argued that even if there's no tangible flaw in this distribution, it causes discontent among the "have-nots", and proposed "solutions" to this so-called "problem" typically revolve around giving the less-well-off more, paid for by levying larger taxes on the rich.
Envy, n.: A feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck.
Envy, v.: Desire to have a quality, possession, or other attribute belonging to (someone else): "he envied tall people"; "I envy Jane her happiness".
So the answer to your question is every single liberal who insists that the rich pay more so that the government can give more to the lower classes is demonstrating an "envy" -- in many cases perhaps a sympathetic envy -- of rich people's money, as illustrated by their desire to take away money from the rich and give it to the poor.
It would be pretty naive to claim that liberals aren't focused on money -- you have Obama and the Democrats using misleading comparisons of tax rates to, in part, argue that the rich have "too much", or pay "too little". Then you have OWS and their various supporters who, despite being unable to deliver a cohesive message, do seem to agree that the rich have "too much".
But what is "too much"? How is that defined? Well, in almost every instance, it's being defined in comparison to what others have. That is, the rich only have "too much" because they have more than the middle and lower classes. It's been argued that even if there's no tangible flaw in this distribution, it causes discontent among the "have-nots", and proposed "solutions" to this so-called "problem" typically revolve around giving the less-well-off more, paid for by levying larger taxes on the rich.
Envy, n.: A feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck.
Envy, v.: Desire to have a quality, possession, or other attribute belonging to (someone else): "he envied tall people"; "I envy Jane her happiness".
So the answer to your question is every single liberal who insists that the rich pay more so that the government can give more to the lower classes is demonstrating an "envy" -- in many cases perhaps a sympathetic envy -- of rich people's money, as illustrated by their desire to take away money from the rich and give it to the poor.
Not sure who's even making this claim - Kromey