I’m not an economist or even a politician, but it seems to me that some very basic factors regarding our economy are being ignored.
The republicans say that low taxes free up money that can be invested, which in turn stimulates the economy. But what good does it do to invest in the growth of a company if demand for the product or service the company provides doesn’t grow too. Investing is good, but it is only a beginning.
Democrats say taxes need to be higher to pay for government services and programs that improve 
the quality of life for the lower classes. Although these handouts do provide a safety net, that‘s all they do. Don’t get me wrong, I think we should always provide a safety net for our citizens. But these programs for the poor have done little or nothing to significantly change things for these people. And forget the middle class, because apparently our government in Washington already has.
I think both approaches miss the mark. What we need is a re-think of what drives economies. Both parties claim that a healthy economy is one that sustains slow, steady growth. I’m sorry, but none of the great civilizations throughout history came about because of slow, steady growth. They came about because of large utilitarian works projects. It started with the ancient Egyptians and Greeks. Projects like the pyramids and the construction of huge cities propelled these once meager societies into the empires we know from history. The Romans also built huge cities, but they also built a huge highway infrastructure. The mid-evil empires of Europe also built roads, but they added fleets of ships. For the United States it began with the railroads and the mechanization of manufacturing in the nineteenth century and was sustained by the building of highways and automobiles through the twentieth century.
It wasn’t these projects in themselves that allowed the creation of empires. It was that so much wealth was being quickly circulated through the economy. Yes I said circulated. Like water in our ecosystem, money circulates throughout our economy, and the more quickly and thoroughly that happens the healthier the economy becomes. And the way to do that is with large scale works projects.
There are many to choose from. Just properly maintaining our highway infrastructure would be one. At the present levels we are funding the maintenance and re-construction of our roadways, it’ll only be a decade or two before we will face a ground transportation crisis. A fully funded space program would help. Or perhaps we should declare war on becoming energy independent. That could solve a few problems I think. All we need is faith in ourselves and we can do anything.
But as long as so much wealth is bottle necked at the top, it’ll be hard to loosen this log jam. But loosen it we must or we will become stagnant and perhaps go the way of the ancient empires. For it was when the great empires of history slacked off on these large works projects, they began to decline.
Growth in and of itself is not enough in that it is finite by its very definition. The earth is just so big and can sustain only so much growth. So unless we discover a viable earth like planet to colonize, we had better get ready to shift our thinking on economics.
But how do we dislodge the log jam of wealth at the top? How do you change the minds of people so insanely wealthy, they are barely aware of the world the rest of us struggle daily to survive in, one paycheck from living under a bridge? It certainly can’t be anything sudden or that would be seen as drastic. Upsetting wealthy people can be very dangerous.
The way it will happen is when the working people of this country abandon their apathy for politics and engage in the debate. Let your voice be heard and VOTE!! Demand a bigger slice of the pie. After all, it’s been your sweat and blood that has built this great nation and you deserve it.
One of the things I think needs to change is the level of wealth that is being siphoned off our economy by institutions that don’t produce anything. I’m talking about the obscene amounts of money being sucked up by banks, investment brokers, other so-called financial institutions, real estate speculators, and insurance companies. These entities skim off huge sums of money and all we get for it is the privilege of having a mechanism to do business?
A case in point is the checking account. Maybe I’m naïve, but in all my 48 years I’ve never been able to understand the premise of paying someone else just for the privilege of spending my own money. And the banks have rigged the game, making it virtually impossible to function without one.
Its time for the working people to push back and take our country back. Our forefathers came here to be free from the oppression of the rich and powerful and we need to remind them of that.
********
Devin Barber is a Politics Correspondent for Gather.com
You can check out his other articles by clicking on his profile.
recommend this
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 42
Societies engaged in huge building programs BECAUSE of accumulated wealth not to sponsor the gathering of wealth. Are you saying that the labor levees of Egypt created employment that grew the economy? Economists would say that these great projects DRAINED wealth instead of building or protecting it. For instance, Rome prospered because of its ability to absorb new ideas and the creation of a citizenry dedicated to its ideals. The building of roads was a work to ensure swift movement of troops and incidentally information and trade. Rome began to staggger as taxes rose and citizenship became worth less and less. The societies you mention otherwise grew because of private enterprise somewhat protected by state military power and a growing rule of law. Government cannot create wealth but it can foster conditions for it to grow in by maintaining the rule of law (or the inverse, stifle it by taxation/regulation)
The taking of wealth through taxes to do huge public works is the least inefficent way of using capital. The private sector creates wealth, that 'finite' pie you talk about is anything but that, it's constantly growing. Government redistribution efforts do nothing but squander. It is by one's efforts in a society protected by the rule of law that reward, not one where a government decides what you should keep or what you are entitled to from another's sweat equity.
In fact, the game has gotten much more transparent then it ever has been.
I have never paid bank fees and I never will. As long as people do not use their brains to make informed choices, they get what they deserve.
You would never know it from all the hand wringing and wailing, but the american economy is still one of the least corrupted, most mobil in the world.
There is no free lunch, but there are still opportunities. As long as people sit around waiting for the government to solve all the problems, they will not see how they can help themselves.
somehow I doubt that STABLE societies survive, if not prosper, and the big grandiose ones burn out.
You said; "The republicans say that low taxes free up money that can be invested, which in turn stimulates the economy. But what good does it do to invest in the growth of a company if demand for the product or service the company provides doesn't grow too. Investing is good, but it is only a beginning." --
Your critical statement is too easily dismissed by thinking that "freed up" money would / could / should increase consumerism.
A stronger point would be to say; What good do increased investor dollars have on the overall economy when they are increasingly funding factories that higher foreign labor and have been moved or built outside of our borders?
Moving on; I want to point out that Democrats are not just out to better the lives of the lower classes. Major actions during the Clinton years were heavy on creating and increasing the functionality of the self-employed, home employed and entrepreneurial environments; actions which greatly enhanced the abilities of both lower, middle, and even parts of the upper classes.
Although Al Gore didn't actually create the Internet, the policies pushed for and enacted under that administration significantly helped to make the Internet what it is today; and it's been a money maker for many of the struggling.
The real solution to the disparity of economic distribution in this country will not be found in legislation. It will only be found in inspiration. Somehow, the "rich" need to become less self-rewarding and share the wealth.
--
>> in this country will not be found in legislation. It will only
>> be found in inspiration.
Bill ... I'd have to disagree with you there. It may start with inspiration
once someone has a roof over their head, some money saved and the
energy to think about bettering their lot. That is getting harder and
harder these days for people.
The whole concept of our civilization in America only gets lips service
and the parts that are hurting are emotionally associated with evils
such as socialism or liberalism.
We are rushing headlong into totalitarianism. The barriers to doing
anything other than just being a wage slave are getting higher. The
education to better one's self is getting harder to get and the price
is hardly worth the effort.
We have "F"-ed up society by social ignorance to the point where
we do not bother to incent or reward people to DO anything. We do not
INSPIRE to use your word, we push everyone to the bottom so they
will have to fit into the machine and then we gring them.
If we truly are the most advanced culture on the planet we should
be much farther along than the pyramid make work society that Devin
extoles in the Egyptians. We need to bring out each person's best
to find what they love to do, and then they will not only be productive
but they will inspire and teach others to do the same.
What do we do in the US anymore. Well, we extend our food industry
everyday more and more into a laboratory where it is more like a drug
than nourishment. We blame unions so the car companies have some
reason to not be producing cars that anyone cares to buy.
We export the things that we know worked in the past in favor or
drugs, genetics and nanotechnology and dream about hydrogen powered
economy while no one is really helping to make something new happen.
In short the US is bankrupt in almost every way but militarily, and even
that we have abused and misused to the point of squandering it.
What is the problem ... we have a positive feedback loop that rewards
the people on top exclusively. We create a philosophical monoculture
and then when it give out in terms of innovation there is not way out
because there is nothing else but these same people who just change
their faces.
Why is it that we reward only one kind of person in out culture. We
reward businessmen. If we have great artists or scientists their success
is always dependent on a businessman, or really some rich entity that
grants them the key to the infrastructure of distribution or productiion
while taking their chunk and then moving on to find the next peasant
to exploit.
Some peasants rise to greatness but the numbers shows that social
class mobility in the US is terribly low in reality. We fail to see that we
are everything we are really not because we live in illusions that the
media builds for us, preying on our worst natures and weaknesses.
To hear Americans talk we seem to think we are number 1 at everything.
That is not the case and we move in the wrong direction almost daily.
We need to start treating Americans like they matter, or we need to
start treating humans like they matter all over the globe, not just
rewarding the wealthy and letting them run everything by giving out
some money to the rest of us like they are dog biscuits.
Implicit in your article is the fact that the United States is already a great power and would like to stay one. It needs public works such as infrastructure and education. I don't like direct attempts to redistribute wealth, but the government should provide a better safety net and more oportunity. But I don't think it should exercise too imposing and direct a control over the economy.
>> them wealthy, which is NOTHING.
Spartan you are blinded by your own emotions. While your
premises make sense, the vast majority of money in this country
is at work doing something. Most wealty people do - so something,
and many are very productive. I agree with you that there are those
who use their great wealth to obtain great power and then
subvert our system even more, but looked at from their point of
view they are terrified of the average American moron, and I don't
blame them a bit in that. It is not so easy to change. The rich and
the poor have idiot offspring probably at about the same rate,
so this is not about idiots, it is about responsibility, and with the
huge void in that we have in America these days it is not surprise
that what ends up substituting for that is maintaining wealth and
influence in the face of all the idiocy on boths sides.
energy to think about bettering their lot. That is getting harder and harder these days for people."
Well bruce, The last sentence of my paragraph (which you left off in your quote) showed that I was referring to the rich, not the poor. The rich need to be inspired to become less self-rewarding and have more of a mind for sharing the wealth their companies generate.
Spartan quite well points out that it is not so much the activities of the rich that keep them rich as it is the activities of their money and ownership rights.
>> Spartan quite well points out that it is not so much the activities
>> of the rich that keep them rich as it is the activities of their money
>> and ownership rights.
I agree, but being trained as an engineer I look at systems. Systems
are what we have here ... we all call it "The System". The System favors
the rich or keeps the poor poor, the System made me do it.
I am not one of these people who thinks either that the systems is the
excuse for crime or the cause of it, it is not that simple ... and that is the
whole point. Systems, big natureal systems like the environment or the
economy are incredibly complex. Look at global warming, if you try to
talk about only what you can prove about the system, you get nowhere.
The same here ... these problems throughout human history have almost
always been solved by force ... in fact allow me to take delight in guiltily
quoting one of my favorite movie lines from "Starship Troopers" which I
think is apt ...
>> Violence has resolved more conflicts than anything else.
>> The contrary opinion that violence doesn't solve anything
>> is merely wishful thinking at its worst.
As the character says when you vote you are using force. In America
we have been insulated from that for so long we seem to have forgotten
that to get change you have to work for it. To stay free you have to work
for it. Yes, the systems has gotten out of kilter in favor of those with
capital, and it will continue to do so until those without capital as
intelligent, forceful and competent enough to design and demand a
change to the system, or a reversion to a previous state that will
enable them.
With outsourcing, and illegal immigration, the power the US electorate
has is only as strong as their bargaining postition in terms of witholding
their labor, their consumer dollars or their votes. I see no eveidence that
anyone on the "left" is anywhere near being near to seeing this problem
for what it is, thus the left continues to flounder and be associated with
their outlying goofball elements, the wacko gays, the abortion on demandists,
the illegal immgrant lobby, the miliant anti-war protestors.
The issue is exactly what our founding fathers said and knew already
about poltiical systems ... and that is that they tend to get corrupted over
time and they need the blood of patriots .. figurative speech for a
good systems analyst I think! ;-)
This is the land of opportunity -- anyone with gumption can make it, and make it big. I don't want to hear "minority" or "disadvantaged" crap, and I sure as hell don't want to hear "I ain't working at no m-f Burger King." And stop whining about the rich; if you envy their money and status, work hard and join them.
Pat, you hit it dead-bang. Anyone can be anything here.
We're screwed; the lawmakers are all lawyers.
Not at all, I would agree that two incomes should provide that, but not one.
If one takes a sharp look at "the decline of the middle-class" one quickly finds that it is attributable to the rise in double income families outpacing single parent families.
Economically, society cannot provide a dual income lifestyle to single parent families; to do so would result in a doubling of the dual income purchase power.
Class warfare, is that what you are promoting?
"But how do we dislodge the log jam of wealth at the top? How do you change the minds of people so insanely wealthy, they are barely aware of the world the rest of us struggle daily to survive in, one paycheck from living under a bridge?"
Lets see how unaware of the "rest of us" some of these "insanely wealthy" are.
Charitable contributions by the "insanely wealthy"
William H. (Bill) III and Melinda F. Gates $320 million
Eli and Edythe L. Broad $300 million
George Soros $240 million
Boone Pickens $229 million
David Rockefeller $225 million
From: the slate 60: Analysis of the year's biggest philanthropists.
http://www.slate.com/id/2136397/
1.3+ billion given by the top 5 living philanthropists.
I think they are very aware of the world around them and the need that is out there.
"I'm talking about the millions of American who put in a fair 40 hour week, but can't afford health insurance or even a night out once in a while. I'm sorry, but that's just wrong."
Taking into consideration the unemployment levels our country is at today. (record lows) In a walk around the block one should be able to stumble upon an employer offering health insurance, and in the case you have dependents you need to insure get a bit of education or training to increase your income level to afford the coverage.
By Bill's Spirit,
"I want to point out that Democrats are not just out to better the lives of the lower classes. Major actions during the Clinton years were heavy on creating and increasing the functionality of the self-employed, home employed and entrepreneurial environments; actions which greatly enhanced the abilities of both lower, middle, and even parts of the upper classes."
But what the Democrats do in the form of higher taxes completely wipes out their efforts to help businesses. Small businesses are responsible for 45% of new employee growth and when the Democrats raise taxes on the "wealthy" they effectively restrict the growth of these small businesses.
Bruce K.
How many millions of dollars are given to the "arts" every year?
Yes it takes MONEY and the people who have the MONEY are wise business people who have worked hard to make THEIR money.
And how in the world does the "system" keep the poor poor? History is filled with examples of poor people raising to positions of extreme stature and /or wealth.
Abraham Lincoln ring a bell? Its not the system that keeps people poor it the lack of desire, effort and the will to better oneself.
By Ron,
"Rich people get rich exploiting others. It has always been so, and it always will be so. The wealthy in this country should do more to support the systems that allowed them to get where they are. Instead they invent economic theorys that allow them to feel good about saying "I got mine, now screw the rest of you!""
Rich people get rich by being smart business people not by exploiting others. There are rich people who exploit others but they are by far in the minority.
Twyla C.
"I do think that the middle class is a shrinking group today."
You may very well be correct but as I understand it, the lower than middle class group is not expanding either so that can only mean that middle class people are doing better and moving into the wealthy class. That being said, we do need to develop ways the "poor" can be more successful.
But that rarely works out.
It's mostly that the poor are poor because of stupidity and never seem to learn what needs to be done to earn a few bucks, and when they get a few bucks, they say I want to spend it now on something they desire and they don't understand what the sacrifice of saving to accumulate more even means. Therefore, why train or why learn a trade, or why even work. Let the state take care of me.
"Tell the rich to keep their charity."
Hmmm.... Rather than trying to defend your narrow minded position you should realize that Bill Gates donations benefit the people of the world far beyond the sum of his donations, due to his commitment to purchase 1.5 billion dollars in inoculations the number of companies developing such vaccines has almost doubled there by giving greater access to many more groups and the government to help more people in need.
"If workers were compensated fairly"
What and who decides is "fair" ? One of your concerns seems to be health coverage,
Rather than bitchin about the rich you should be looking at the people who are the cause of high medical costs and the high cost of health insurance premiums and they are the politicians.
"Poor people are poor because they were born into it."
Abraham Lincoln was born into it and he got out. There are success stories plenty that show you premise to be incorrect.
Your generalizations are only an attempt to give validity to your position which is not valid.
There is a certain group within our society that can not provide for themselves and can not help themselves out of poverty and we as a society help provide for them but they are relatively a small number, the rest who remain in poverty do so due to their own lack of effort.
I do not know of a company I have worked for that did not promote from within and allow its employees an opportunity to better themselves.
Educational opportunities abound in our country many provided free thru government and private foundations.
The opportunities in the private field is absolutely enormous.
A 65 year old retired gentleman living on a fixed income went door to door looking for investors in his new restaurant idea and he found them, there was born Kentucky fried chicken
An out of work truck driver was convinced to go to cosmetology school, he never did excel at cutting hair but he developed a system to teach his employees to give quality hair cuts quickly and Supercuts was born.
You can lead a horse to water….. There are boundless opportunities in our country its up to them to take hold of those opportunities and run with them.
If you really cared about the poor you would be doing something to help them, not sitting at your computer bitching about the rich.
Go do what rich people do, start a business and hire some poor people, motivate them to get out of poverty.
Start a mentoring program and advise these poor people how to utilize some of these opportunities.
Devin,
It doesn't make you a better person because you feel more about these people, you're a better person when you do something to actually help these people get out of poverty.
Oh I forgot, you think they can't help themselves you believe they can't get out of poverty so of course YOU wouldn't do anything to try to help them.
It seems that you have bought into the fantasy that anyone can pull themsleves up by their bootstraps, and if they don't, it's their own fault. What about the maxim that "It takes money to make money"?
Abraham Lincoln's name has also come up in the arguments against Devin's theory. Do you really think that, if he lived in THIS century, a self-educated, non-telegenic man with a high-pitched, nasal speaking voice would EVER have been elected dogcatcher, much less President?
Here's a phrase for your consideration: noblesse oblige. That's the belief that the wealthy and privileged are obliged to help those less fortunate. The individuals that have been mentioned above obviously have a sense of noblesse oblige. The corporate world does not. The corporate world feels no obligation to society. To make money is paramount, and the only other obligation a corporate "person" feels is to its stockholders. The average worker is seen as a "cost center", and costs are to be minimized. Therefore the unrepentant closure of hundreds of jobs, and the "outsourcing" of jobs overseas. Here's an idea: if a corporation wants to be licenced to do business in the US, then it should be required to employ at least 75% of its workforce here in the US. In the case of a multinational, the US division should have to employ at least 85% of its workforce locally.
But none of these arguments has anything to do with the original idea Devin proposed: the average American working a 40-hour week today should be able to afford the same lifestyle their 1950's counterparts had: the ability to pay for the groceries, mortgage, and health care, AND the ability to put something aside for a rainy day. These days, American workers are living in a downpour, without the means to purchase an umbrella.
You're right about the wealthy, but it's their money. If Americans want more, go earn it. Welcome to capitalism.
"It seems that you have bought into the fantasy that anyone can pull themsleves up by their bootstraps, and if they don't, it's their own fault."
You purposely miss characterize my position. Typical liberal tactic.
The fantasy is that people are not capable of helping themselves and our social welfare system has created more dependents on that system than it has provided them a way out.
"Do you really think that, if he lived in THIS century, a self-educated, non-telegenic man with a high-pitched, nasal speaking voice would EVER have been elected dogcatcher, much less President?"
Hmmm…. YES I think it is possible.
My father one of eleven children, his mother alone , quit school in the ninth grade to earn money for the family, and although he is not extremely wealthy he educated himself ran his own business and now is enjoying a comfortable retirement.
"The corporate world does not. The corporate world feels no obligation to society. To make money is paramount, and the only other obligation a corporate "person" feels is to its stockholders. The average worker is seen as a "cost center", and costs are to be minimized."
Yes there are companies that view their employees as nothing more than cogs in the wheels of the corporation but companies like that usually don't excel.
I worked for one of the biggest corporations on the planet, that would be the Boeing Company, now their commitment to society was such that they would allow their managers to take a six months leave of absence to work at a nonprofit of their choice while continuing to pay their salary.
The employees of the Boeing Company had a charitable contribution organization in which Boeing picked up all of the administrative costs so all of the employees monies given by the employees went to where they wanted them to go.
Here's a breakdown:
In 2005, Boeing corporate charitable contributions totaled $57.7 million. This figure consists of $38.3 million in corporate charitable grants, $5 million in in-kind donations, $8.3 million in disaster relief contributions and $6.1 million in gift matching contributions, which includes $5.6 million in matching contributions to employee disaster relief donations. Employee contributions totaled $46.5 million in 2005, which includes nearly $32 million payroll deductions through the Employees Community Fund, $8.5 million through the company gift matching program and nearly $6 million in contributions toward disaster relief related to the Southeast tsunami and Hurricane Katrina.
Wells fargo, here's what they give.
We direct our giving to areas that we believe are important to the future of our communities' vitality and success: community development, education, human services, civic projects, and the arts.
In 2005, Wells Fargo contributed a record $95.2 million to over 15,000 non-profits nationwide. We thank our team members, who give hundreds of thousands of hours as volunteers, working to improve the well-being and economic self-sufficiency of our communities.
Community development
We are only as successful as the neighborhoods and communities where we do business. Through community development programs, we support low-income and ethnic minorities by providing affordable housing programs and initiatives, credit counseling, financial education seminars, and technical assistance for small business owners. In 2005, Wells Fargo donated approximately $23.9 million to community development programs.
Education
In 2005, Wells Fargo contributed $27.6 million to schools and educational programs across the country. Wells Fargo matches team member donations made to educational institutions dollar for dollar, up to $6,500 per team member per year.
We also offer several scholarship programs to our team members' children to help make higher education more affordable for high school students.
Human services
In 2005, Wells Fargo donated $27.8 million to health and human service organizations. This includes corporate gifts to United Way and grants made directly to non-profits meeting the health and human service needs of (primarily) low-to-moderate income communities.
Civic
We support organizations that help enhance a community's overall quality of life through civic projects like building playgrounds, painting schools or neighborhood clean-ups. In 2005, Wells Fargo donated $5.8 million to civic projects.
Arts and culture
We believe the arts are integral to every community – they help make our cities great places to live, work and play. In 2005, Wells Fargo gave $10.1 million to 1,200 arts organizations, including symphonies, museums, cultural festivals, educational programs and musical venues.
Do a search on corporate charitable contributions and you'll learn that many companies are very generous.
"Yes, thats very nice, but corporations that are generous or charitible are the acception, not the rule."
Yah well, when one of your core beliefs is that rich people and corporations are basically mean evil and nasty its understandable that you try and generalize away facts that prove you wrong, nothing unusual there.
So how many examples of corporate charity would it take to convince you that corporations are not inherently evil? A hundred? A thousand?
"I think a lot of you have gone way off the point I was trying to make here."
Don't blame the reader you're the one that posted inflammatory class hate speech in your article. You had to have figured that not only sympathetic liberals would have come to see what you post.
If you would now like to redirect your article to solutions as opposed to continuing with your class warfare I for one am all for it.
If your serious about controlling government waste join www.CAGW.org
And how do you explain away what you wrote?
"But how do we dislodge the log jam of wealth at the top? How do you change the minds of people so insanely wealthy, they are barely aware of the world the rest of us struggle daily to survive in, one paycheck from living under a bridge? It certainly can't be anything sudden or that would be seen as drastic. Upsetting wealthy people can be very dangerous.
The way it will happen is when the working people of this country abandon their apathy for politics and engage in the debate. Let your voice be heard and VOTE!! Demand a bigger slice of the pie. After all, it's been your sweat and blood that has built this great nation and you deserve it."
This statement can not be intrepreted any other way than Class warfare
Well, its obvious you are stuck in your own mind set. Have you ever asked yourself why it is when ever the working class call for a better life, the rich pull out these same old tired battle cries. "Class warfare," "It will destroy small businesses," "It will cause massive unemployment". If you want to call it class warfare, then go ahead. But the bottom line is that the rich think the only way to stay rich is to keep the working class down and silent. And by the way, when I talk about that bottle neck, I'm talking about billionaires, not millionaires. Millionaires are a dime a dozen and are only one summer and a drug habbit from being poor.
Typical leftist ignorant thinking.
But that rarely works out.
It's mostly that the poor are poor because of stupidity and never seem to learn what needs to be done to earn a few bucks, and when they get a few bucks, they say I want to spend it now on something they desire and they don't understand what the sacrifice of saving to accumulate more even means. Therefore, why train or why learn a trade, or why even work. Let the state take care of me.
DON'T KNOW HOW, IN THE H-E DOUBLE LL, YOU CAME UP WITH THIS CONCLUSION...!!!??????
There are some great comments here, but that one really touched a cord...!
Some great comments here...and don't know how you folks feel but it only confirms my belief that: EDUCATION IS THE ANSWER TO THE WHOLE DAM MESS...AND UNTIL OUR GOVERNMENT AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES PUT THE DOLLARS THERE INSTEAD OF SPORTS ARENAS, and RACE TRACKS, WE WILL NOT SEE A MIDDLE CLASS. EVER - AGAIN........just won't happen...we will be a nation of the wealthier and the poor....
What about the raise this year, of 42%, that is higher than last year...for mortgage defaults....THATS A BIG indicator in my book....and most of those have been because of health insurance issues....
So the insurance companies keep getting the money, the credit card companies are lending to every kid and dog that will sign for the card application....and they are lending out way too much credit and charging outlandish fees and late charges...so the money people keep making it don't they........... I believe we call that wealthy... Look at what the Senators are making for a 3 day work week when they are suppose to be working 5....Millions gone down the drain into Iraq, because no one took charge and watched where the money was going....We still have a human nightmare left over from Katrina...lots of greed got in there also didn't it...
lots in this country going on and its wrong isn't it?....but PLEASE, DO NOT BLAME THE POOR AND UNEDUCATED OF THIS COUNTRY, FOR THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES...BECAUSE YOU ARE WAY OFF BASE THERE....THE MAJORITY ARE GOOD SOLID PEOPLE WHO NEED ASSISTANCE TO LIVE AND SURVIVE IN THIS LAND OF OPPORTUNITY....
Even with the minimum wage increase....in some states they won't make enough to meet the poverty level...like here in Seattle WA.....
Simply put, many-if not most people that are considered 'poor' do so as the result of bad decisions of their own. Our republic was established to provide the OPPORTUNITY to pursue one's dreams not the guarantee of securing one. Try living in those lands that support all their failures like in Europe. Even many of our poor live better than the middle class of much of this planet. Poor too often is a frame of mind and one that often has a problem understanding the difference between wants and needs. Until one understands THAT, you'll never make any real headway.
Many of us have horror stories of failures in our society. The sad fact is this is life and none of us have any real guarantees other to pay taxes and die...
However in the proper Calvinistic chorus I add simply these suggestions.
Don't tax the rich.
Tax the middle class.
Let the "poor" go hungry.
This will allow the rich their rightful status as chosen. (Anyone here ever met a TFB-trust fund baby) Remember to keep the death tax off their backs.
When the middle class fools are broke, note that no one will be buying anything. Economies are made of such stuff.