CHICAGO, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- The U.S. House majority leader said an initiative by Democrats and the Obama administration is part of an effort to "demonize people that have earned success."

While speaking at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Chicago, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., acknowledged the Occupy protests that have spread out of New York are the result of frustration with high unemployment rates and a dreary economic outlook, the Chicago Tribune reported.


"I just think that the ire is being focused in the wrong place. I don't believe that it is something that we should do to promote pitting one American against the other," Cantor said. "Frankly, it is Washington and the policies that are in place that we should focus on because that's where we can help narrow the gap between the wealthy and those that are poor."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., proposed a 5.6 percent tax hike on millionaires to pay for President Barack Obama's jobs plan in early October, an idea Republicans have strongly opposed.

While not naming Obama or other Democratic leaders, Cantor said, "There are politicians and others who want to demonize people that have earned success in certain sectors of our society. They claim that these people have now made enough and have to pay their fair share," adding, "this notion that somehow government's role is to decide who makes enough is a very dangerous path."

"So instead of talking about a fair share or spending time trying to push those at the top down, elected leaders in Washington should be trying to ensure that everyone has a fair shot and the opportunity to earn success up the ladder," he said. "It can't simply be about wealth distribution."

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