Rich get Richer; the poor get poorer

[Anonymous]

The Republicans wrecked the economy under GW. That's a fact. And the Democrats went along for the ride. And the present day Republicans, in their fear of the Tea Party nut jobs, have brought the economy to the brink of disaster as part of a grand plan to get the White House back in their ranks. And the Democrats had so detroyed their credibiity over the years that they had no platform from which to fight back.

America must be the only political system in which the majority regularly elects governments (whether controlled by Democrats or Republicans) and then cheers on those that would effectively disrupt government from outside that system during the ensuing term of office. I want to see my elected government function well on activities related to providing services, education, security, economic policy, and employment. Especially employment. When corporations are thrown gifts (that includes Merck) I want to see some strengthening of the economy and employment as a result. And I want those that have failed to be elected to power to stay out of the way until the next election. That would include lobbyists, the losing party, and nut job politicians looking to make headlines between elections. Make elections matter. Live with the choices between the elections. Examine your government by what it can do when it is in office. But please let it do something besides debate and run for office. We are supposed to be in charge of the system, not the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party nor the Koch Brothers. We do it by elections and when our side loses elections we should wait our turn rather than become subversive. We are fighting an economic battle against governments and economies that have only one voice and no debate. Our present dysfunctional arrangement is only helping them while that top 1% rakes in the dough.

"The Republicans wrecked the economy under GW. That's a fact"........ WOW!!!! What a wild statement....what facts? Dont you remember that Fannie and Freddie were a BIG kaboom that blasted the economy into a tumble that became an avalanche.....brought to you by a few world famous Dems.

Agree on some of the other tidbits.....but you've got to agree this country has become addicted to the wild spending and waste waste waste. Reign it in, demand accountability from the bloke on the corner to the biggest multi-national. Everybody needs to contribute.

 

[Anonymous]

"The Republicans wrecked the economy under GW. That's a fact"........ WOW!!!! What a wild statement....what facts? Dont you remember that Fannie and Freddie were a BIG kaboom that blasted the economy into a tumble that became an avalanche.....brought to you by a few world famous Dems.

Agree on some of the other tidbits.....but you've got to agree this country has become addicted to the wild spending and waste waste waste. Reign it in, demand accountability from the bloke on the corner to the biggest multi-national. Everybody needs to contribute.

What facts?! How about 2 wars that were started/conducted by carrying debt. Neither war was 'accounted' for from the budget.

Oh, multiple studies have shown that yes, Fannie and Freddie Mae contributed to the overall down-turn in the housing market but, it was the large banks and Wall Street that packaged the mortgages as investments that caused the largest issue to the economy. But, then, don't let a fact get in your way of an opinion.

And another thing, your statement "everybody needs to contribute." Maybe you should let the Republicans and Tea-Partiers know of your thoughts. As of right now, they are not asking for anything from the uber-rich but rather, plan to give them and the corporations more of your money.

 

[Anonymous]

What facts?! How about 2 wars that were started/conducted by carrying debt. Neither war was 'accounted' for from the budget.

Oh, multiple studies have shown that yes, Fannie and Freddie Mae contributed to the overall down-turn in the housing market but, it was the large banks and Wall Street that packaged the mortgages as investments that caused the largest issue to the economy. But, then, don't let a fact get in your way of an opinion.

And another thing, your statement "everybody needs to contribute." Maybe you should let the Republicans and Tea-Partiers know of your thoughts. As of right now, they are not asking for anything from the uber-rich but rather, plan to give them and the corporations more of your money.

....."it was the large banks and Wall Street that packaged the mortgages as investments that caused the largest issue to the economy".......YEP, they did the funding bundling at a wild stretch to fulfill wrongy imposed lending requirements........lets not forget banks were pressured, "forced" to lend to unqualified.....without the credit worthiness.......it was just lend lend lend, or else! Now the message is clear...no money, no income, no house for you....time to rent until you have enough income and a good credit rating....

 

[Anonymous]

Does anyone care to discuss why 4,000+ soldiers had to die in Iraq? How did 9 billion dollars go "missing"? But keep blaming Obama. That's a good idea.

 

[Anonymous]

I am a so-called white collar worker. Political parties do not speak for me nor do I believe that they speak for any average American. Political parties have for decades camouflaged their near-total incompetence by advocating social divisiveness and by spewing simplistic messages. I want to see results that are aligned with the cultural values that made America powerful and attractive to the rest of the world. Those values are true equal opportunity and fairness under law.

I could give a shit what I pay in taxes as long as I and my family receive proper value from them. We should all pause and consider the quality of life that the Scandinavian countries provide for themselves. Excellent and free public schools, including university education for those that qualify to keep studying. Excellent and free medical coverage for all. Excellent infrastructure. Excellent security and public safety. Exceptionally high happiness index scores. And exceptionally high taxes. So neither value nor happiness is related to rock-bottom tax rates. But perhaps social divisiveness is?

A majority of white-collar workers in Scandinavia are members of appropriate profession-based labor organizations and those organizations are neither bankrupting business or ruining opportunity. But as collective voices they all have sufficient clout to get the ear of government. Something that today is impossible for the average middle-class worker in this country. Is Scandinavia capitalist? You bet it is. Do stealth capitalists run the show like they do in this country. No. Do moronic demagogues like Walker, Christie, Limbaugh, DeMint, and Palin exist there. No - only on Fox news from the US.

It is time to realize that returning to the center is the only hope that this country has and getting power back to the center and great value back in our institutions is our only viable path. America needs to understand that being big or having a handful of disgustingly rich plutocrats is not the same as being great. American capitalism is desirable - but only when it is in proper balance with a lot of other things. And right now it is creating social divisiveness on a scale not seen since the 19th century. If I want the social problems that come from unfettered, unbalanced, greed as in China or India I can go there. Right now I want the American dream to be possible again for future generations. It is our only true strength.

One of the main reasons they have the standard of living in Nordic lans is off shore oil!
They are small populations, with oil money supporting socialism, funny our socialist in US don't allow us to go after our oil... just a thought.
Capitalism still beats central planning, how many millionaries has Bill Gates created?

 

[Anonymous]

They are small populations, with oil money supporting socialism, funny our socialist in US don't allow us to go after our oil... just a thought.

What?! Of course they do!

That's the whole deal behind why the Republicans and Tea Partiers have blocked any tax increase. Remember, corporations and the wealthy create jobs.

 

[Anonymous]

One of the main reasons they have the standard of living in Nordic lans is off shore oil!
They are small populations, with oil money supporting socialism, funny our socialist in US don't allow us to go after our oil... just a thought.
Capitalism still beats central planning, how many millionaries has Bill Gates created?

Norway has North Sea oil, the rest of Scandinavia does not. You see lots of wind generators in its place and they certainly pay more for energy than does the average American. They are small populations and their infrastructure is pretty spread out so it is not so inexpensive to keep it in the shape that they do. They just take on their social repsonsibilities far better than we do in the US. They happen to be very social cultures and they feel good about investing in the future of their country. So paying out 50% of their wages is not something that they worry about as long as it will keep their society strong and build its future. They share common food, language, ethnicity, and social apsirations. But their cultural values are those things that bring people even closer together. Americans were born of Federalism and some would say that their cultural values include fierce independence, individual achievement rather than group achievement, and love of liberty. Well it so happens that these cultural values tend to be more divisive than cohesive. So what you see is that Americans can get excited about attacking an enemy or responding to an outside threat but they are seriously handicapped when it comes to building something positive in the absence of a threat. Well the threats are piddling compared to 200 years ago and our society needs to re-examine whether it can go on be ready to fight those enemies while it does very little to build itself. There is strength in socila cohesiveness and America's is perhaps at an all-time low. I will be long dead before these changes could ever happen but I see a brighter future for those cultures that can pull together rather than tear each other apart.

 

[Anonymous]

"The Republicans wrecked the economy under GW. That's a fact"........ WOW!!!! What a wild statement....what facts? Dont you remember that Fannie and Freddie were a BIG kaboom that blasted the economy into a tumble that became an avalanche.....brought to you by a few world famous Dems.

Agree on some of the other tidbits.....but you've got to agree this country has become addicted to the wild spending and waste waste waste. Reign it in, demand accountability from the bloke on the corner to the biggest multi-national. Everybody needs to contribute.

George Bush added more than 5 trillion dollars to the national debt during his tenure after receiving a balanced budget to begin his first term. He was on duty when the TARP payouts were made and he left the economy in the midst of the longest and deepest recession since the Great Depression. Deficit spending since he left office has been largely unquestioned as a Keynesian means to offset the deficit in private capital spending in order to get the economy rolling and to create jobs. Has it worked - it seems not but reducing the budget will not get capitalists to part with their cash unless it is written into the tax code. But will severely cutting back government spending create jobs in the environment we are in today? Most would doubt it as well. GW was a calamity. That's a fact.

 

[Anonymous]

Obama is ruining our country. First time in history we have a credit rating below a triple A. Anyone that voted for him is gotta be saying what was I thinking? 2012 hope there is change cause his hope an change isnt working.

Obama's fault?! Try reading the actual report from S+P

"Compared with previous projections, our revised base case scenario now assumes that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, due to expire by the end of 2012, remain in place. We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the act."

http://www.businessinsider.com/sp-d...-will-get-lifted-in-2012-2011-8#ixzz1UT77202b

But, go ahead-keep voting for Republicans and the Tea Partiers.

 

[Anonymous]

A true leader accepts responsibility while it is under his watch. He has blamed GW for 2 and 1/2 yrs and now he is blaming the tea partyers and S and P for an accounting error. This man has an ego and an agenda and it is not working. He is leading us to a foreign country economy. Companies and smalll business are afraid to hire because of all his taxing, healhtcare reform and all is other tax changes. This Pres is the worst Pres in history.

 

[Anonymous]

Keep on voting for Republicans and Tea Baggers and you will keep on getting bent over. They don't give a shit about you. In fact, to the embarrassment of the Republican party, documentation of their approach to getting voter support was discovered after a rally. The strategy is to dumb it down to reach their target audience of morons. If you are truly interested in figuring out Republican ideology, check out the book: "What's the Matter with Kansas?" Truly enlightening. GW is responsible for this economic situation. Republicans are going to support the richest people in this country and large corporations and deregulation (what led to the sub prime mortgage crisis). Why? Because those are the ones who fund their campaigns and give them high paying jobs after their stint in DC.

 

[Anonymous]

Keep on voting for Republicans and Tea Baggers and you will keep on getting bent over. They don't give a shit about you. In fact, to the embarrassment of the Republican party, documentation of their approach to getting voter support was discovered after a rally. The strategy is to dumb it down to reach their target audience of morons. If you are truly interested in figuring out Republican ideology, check out the book: "What's the Matter with Kansas?" Truly enlightening. GW is responsible for this economic situation. Republicans are going to support the richest people in this country and large corporations and deregulation (what led to the sub prime mortgage crisis). Why? Because those are the ones who fund their campaigns and give them high paying jobs after their stint in DC.

oh yes...and Hussein Obama and the libtards care about us so much!! yeah right...

 

[Anonymous]

Ain't gonna happen. This is Capitalism. We've voted for the return of the robber-baron and ultra-rich elite. Look around; Christie, Walker and Ryan are all trying to bust unions. Across America, unions are 'blamed' for the high cost of American products. Union members (teachers, police and firemen) are all the cause of high taxes.

Time to go back to the 1930s, American sweatshops, 6-7 day work week, minimal vacation and low pay.

Then Corporations will have plenty of money to invest in more jobs for Americans.

Listen carefully to the Republican message-because that is what it is.

I am not a Republican, but it is always best to be objective. There is no doubt that the cost of labor (high hourly wages, and extravagant benefits) is what crippled the auto industry, and destroyed manufacturing. This is nothing negative against unions, but just the reality of globalization, which we all benefit from. Labor in manufacturing held all the cards, thus management had to acquiesce to demands, or lose billions due to strikes. No one can fault labor for getting all that they could get, including cops and firefighters who in some cases can retire after 20 years of work, on full pensions for far longer than they atually even worked. In most states, the after healthcare, the next biggest ependiture is pensions (even higher than education).

 

[Anonymous]

I am not a Republican, but it is always best to be objective. There is no doubt that the cost of labor (high hourly wages, and extravagant benefits) is what crippled the auto industry, and destroyed manufacturing. This is nothing negative against unions, but just the reality of globalization, which we all benefit from. Labor in manufacturing held all the cards, thus management had to acquiesce to demands, or lose billions due to strikes. No one can fault labor for getting all that they could get, including cops and firefighters who in some cases can retire after 20 years of work, on full pensions for far longer than they atually even worked. In most states, the after healthcare, the next biggest ependiture is pensions (even higher than education).

What killed the American auto industry was mostly crap autos when compared to Japanese models. Germany has a robust auto industry and the employees, blue and white collar earn very good living wages. They don't quibble over health care and retirement pensions as much since these are basically provided by the government. Most importantly is their intention on the part of what we would call management plus what we would call labor to meet a compromise that will make the future brighter. The first obligation of the factory head is to take care of the employees as dictated in the labor law. EU labor unions, both professional white collar and professional blue collar, have representation on the board and on their part are required to provide enhancements to their skill set. It is just that most of the rest of the world doesn't behave like children and wants each other to win in the long run. Right up to 2000, the number of deluded older Americans that still only bought American (crap) autos was criminal. And now that it is life or death against Japan and Korea, Detroit finally sees it way clear to delivering some quality autos at reasonable prices. Everthing in balance but there is no fundamental reason for the number of jobs moving outside the US except exceptional greed on the part of Wall Street and those lobbying friends of them.

 

[Anonymous]

oh yes...and Hussein Obama and the libtards care about us so much!! yeah right...

Once again, you are showing that the Republicans are right on with how they target supporters. I must admit, their tactics are both smart and effective. How else could you get people to repeatedly vote against their own interests?