-The Nation of Change website explores which company is the biggest wage stiffer in America. The article also pointed out that: A study in Wisconsin by the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce determined that a typical Walmart store costs taxpayers over $1.7 million per year, or about $5,815 per employee.
-President Obama today announced modest changes to the program that spies on every America. Despite the tweaks, the program remains a clear violation of the 4th Amendment.
If Obama had truly ‘welcomed’ this debate, as he disingenuously claimed in his press conference, he would’ve started the debate on himself a long time ago. For him to say the debate would've happened without Snowden's actions is so disingenuous as to be laughable.
-John Kerry, secretary of state of our Nobel Peace Prize president, recently described the coup in Egypt as 'restoring democracy.' Yes, that's the military coup that overthrew a democratically-elected government. And we thought such Orwellian doublespeak was a relic of the Cold War. In Egypt itself, some protesters are trying to find a third way. "What Egypt is doing right now is repeating the same mistakes, only doing so with much greater enthusiasm and speed," warned one expert. "All of the plots in the 2011 transition — a rushed constitutional process, a failure to hammer out consensus on basic issues, a complete trust in the military — those are all being repeated."
-Many media outlets reported the successful trials of a vaccine against malaria, the world's deadliest disease. A hopeful sign... hopefully.
Showing posts with label class warfare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label class warfare. Show all posts
Friday, August 09, 2013
Monday, September 26, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Republicans’ class warfare
"When I give food to the poor, I'm called a saint. When I ask why they are poor, I'm called a communist." -Archbishop Dom Helder Camara.
It’s a brilliant perversion of language to hear Republicans complaining that President Obama’s jobs plan constitutes class warfare. I make no commentary about Obama’s plan, though, as with most of what the president has done, it’s probably too little to matter and I’m sure he’ll end up capitulating on whatever minor improvements the plan may contain anyways.
However, GOP complaints are the height of hypocrisy. From demanding cuts to Medicare and Social Security in order to extend tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires (who already pay lower tax rates than the working class) to taking money away from ordinary working Americans to subsidize the recklessness of bankers and other financial institutions, the entire Republican economic agenda is based on class warfare. Privatize corporate profits, socialize the losses.
A result of Republican warfare against people who work for a living? The Census Bureau reported that more Americans are living in poverty than in any time in the 52 years they’ve been keeping such statistics.
It was the first time since the Great Depression that median household income, adjusted for inflation, had not risen over such a long period [since 1999].
It’s a brilliant perversion of language to hear Republicans complaining that President Obama’s jobs plan constitutes class warfare. I make no commentary about Obama’s plan, though, as with most of what the president has done, it’s probably too little to matter and I’m sure he’ll end up capitulating on whatever minor improvements the plan may contain anyways.
However, GOP complaints are the height of hypocrisy. From demanding cuts to Medicare and Social Security in order to extend tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires (who already pay lower tax rates than the working class) to taking money away from ordinary working Americans to subsidize the recklessness of bankers and other financial institutions, the entire Republican economic agenda is based on class warfare. Privatize corporate profits, socialize the losses.
A result of Republican warfare against people who work for a living? The Census Bureau reported that more Americans are living in poverty than in any time in the 52 years they’ve been keeping such statistics.
It was the first time since the Great Depression that median household income, adjusted for inflation, had not risen over such a long period [since 1999].
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Some contracts are more sacred than others
The main excuse used to justify the outrageous bonuses to AIG executives is that like it or not, the company has to honor its contracts. Some contend that it's the only way for AIG to keep top talent... without quite explaining how the people who bankrupted the company can be considered top talent.
Yet this begs the question: why is there so much pressure on the UAW and other auto workers' unions to 'voluntarily' re-negotiate their collective bargaining agreements? Why aren't their contracts sacred too?
Is it because they work hard and make actual stuff rather than frittering away people's retirements, bankrupting the company and then stealing the taxpayer money used to save the company they bankrupted?
If AIG execs were black, held up people on a Manhattan street at gunpoint and stole their wallets, there would be an outrage at this 'crime spree' and hysterical demands that the thieves be publicly tarred and feathered before being sent to the electric chair.
Instead, AIG execs are white, so rather than using a gun to rob people, they use Congress instead. Instead of being sent to jail, they are sent large checks.
The main difference is that common street criminals can only rob a few people at a time and are usually evading the authorities.
White color criminals can rob everyone once and with the collaboration of the authorities.
But heaven forbid anyone whip up 'class warfare' by mentioning this.
Yet this begs the question: why is there so much pressure on the UAW and other auto workers' unions to 'voluntarily' re-negotiate their collective bargaining agreements? Why aren't their contracts sacred too?
Is it because they work hard and make actual stuff rather than frittering away people's retirements, bankrupting the company and then stealing the taxpayer money used to save the company they bankrupted?
If AIG execs were black, held up people on a Manhattan street at gunpoint and stole their wallets, there would be an outrage at this 'crime spree' and hysterical demands that the thieves be publicly tarred and feathered before being sent to the electric chair.
Instead, AIG execs are white, so rather than using a gun to rob people, they use Congress instead. Instead of being sent to jail, they are sent large checks.
The main difference is that common street criminals can only rob a few people at a time and are usually evading the authorities.
White color criminals can rob everyone once and with the collaboration of the authorities.
But heaven forbid anyone whip up 'class warfare' by mentioning this.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
The 'p' word
"They say we're disturbing the peace. But what really disturbs them is that we're disturbing the war." -Howard Zinn
I see that President-elect Obama has named former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack as his agriculture secretary.
It seems like he's given a cabinet post to everyone who ran against him in the primaries no matter how briefly... except Dennis Kucinich and John Edwards.
Not coincidentally, these were his only two Democratic opponents who had the audacity to acknowledge the existence of people that were neither rich or middle class*.
(*-Sorry, I'm not allowed to say the 'p' word because it's 'class warfare')
I see that President-elect Obama has named former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack as his agriculture secretary.
It seems like he's given a cabinet post to everyone who ran against him in the primaries no matter how briefly... except Dennis Kucinich and John Edwards.
Not coincidentally, these were his only two Democratic opponents who had the audacity to acknowledge the existence of people that were neither rich or middle class*.
(*-Sorry, I'm not allowed to say the 'p' word because it's 'class warfare')
Saturday, October 18, 2008
No class warfare? Sorry, too late
If you support a progressive agenda, then support a progressive candidate.
"America didn't become the greatest nation on Earth by spreading the wealth." -St. John, mocking Barack Obama... both of whom voted to give $700 billion in taxpayers' wealth to Wall Street. The bailout is an example of wealth redistribution in the wrong direction.
Some whine about 'class warfare' any time a progressive politician notes the fact of structural economic unfairness. But how does wealth redistribution like the Wall Street bailout constitute anything else than class warfare against the working class?
In the view of too many Americans, welfare to help out poor people is evil socialism but welfare to help out big corporations is 'economic development.'
Individuals who screw up are 'irresponsible' and should rot in hell. Corporations who screw up deserve gargantuan sums of my money.
Parents and their kids who may be victims of unfortunate circumstances should go hungry or homeless rather than receive a few thousand tax dollars. However, corporations who make reckless decisions deserve hundreds of billions of tax dollars.
These are the positions of both St. John and the GOP as well as Obama and the Corporate Democrats.
No class warfare?
Too late.
"America didn't become the greatest nation on Earth by spreading the wealth." -St. John, mocking Barack Obama... both of whom voted to give $700 billion in taxpayers' wealth to Wall Street. The bailout is an example of wealth redistribution in the wrong direction.
Some whine about 'class warfare' any time a progressive politician notes the fact of structural economic unfairness. But how does wealth redistribution like the Wall Street bailout constitute anything else than class warfare against the working class?
In the view of too many Americans, welfare to help out poor people is evil socialism but welfare to help out big corporations is 'economic development.'
Individuals who screw up are 'irresponsible' and should rot in hell. Corporations who screw up deserve gargantuan sums of my money.
Parents and their kids who may be victims of unfortunate circumstances should go hungry or homeless rather than receive a few thousand tax dollars. However, corporations who make reckless decisions deserve hundreds of billions of tax dollars.
These are the positions of both St. John and the GOP as well as Obama and the Corporate Democrats.
No class warfare?
Too late.
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