Thursday, September 23, 2010
Shocking.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/23/americans-support-wealth-redistribution_n_736132.html
Monday, September 13, 2010
Shocking. Not.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-13/rich-americans-save-money-from-tax-cuts-instead-of-spending-moody-s-says.html
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Hiatus
It's been a month since I have updated this blog. The reason for this has to do with my having become disgusted by the political and economic climate of these United States. While I have been sitting and watching, the country has gone from bad to worse. The country sits stagnant, while 10% of the populous, give or take, is out of work. You add the people that are no longer looking for employment and those that are under-employed, we are looking at the continuation of 20% of the populous or more that is currently incapable of contributing with any great force to the economy. While this has happened, corporate profits have returned to pre-crash levels, and we are still fighting two wars that should have either not been waged or ended long ago. There will be no second stimulus this fall, as most economists from both the left and right have called for, there will be no positive strides toward full-employment. Foreclosures are on the way up and we will shed a few hundred thousand jobs when the census finishes.
Our President continues to do half-measures to appease the right wing of this country. As opposed to going on the offensive, using his mandate to do something to change the country and send it in a positive direction- he is doing nothing more than throwing money at big companies and welcoming attacks from the right. He passed a health care bill that gives more money to the health care industry, an economic reform bill that does not stop any of the practices that caused the crash, and has yet to move forward on any of his other campaign promises. Meanwhile, the Tea Party continues its faux-populist movement, spurred on by corporatist movements, Fox News, and the crazy wing of the Republican party (which I'm pretty sure is the entire party).
Welcome to the New America. The land of the rich, the poor, and nothing in between.
Our President continues to do half-measures to appease the right wing of this country. As opposed to going on the offensive, using his mandate to do something to change the country and send it in a positive direction- he is doing nothing more than throwing money at big companies and welcoming attacks from the right. He passed a health care bill that gives more money to the health care industry, an economic reform bill that does not stop any of the practices that caused the crash, and has yet to move forward on any of his other campaign promises. Meanwhile, the Tea Party continues its faux-populist movement, spurred on by corporatist movements, Fox News, and the crazy wing of the Republican party (which I'm pretty sure is the entire party).
Welcome to the New America. The land of the rich, the poor, and nothing in between.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Proud Americans
I haven't had a lot to say for a while now. I suppose it's been caused by a combination of disgust and apathy. It's hard to feel anything but apathy as I sit by and watch as our country slowly but surely spirals into its own filth. Why? That EVIL SOCIALIST OBAMA? Are you kidding me? He's about as far left as Ronald Reagan. I feel as if I need to reiterate that our President is not a Socialist. Let's have a dictionary definition of Socialism to finish off this notion. Socialism: a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole. What does that really mean?The government owns the means of production. Period. He has not done any of that. Stop calling him a Socialist.
Which brings me to my point. We call him a Socialist- and all sorts of other names, mainly because of two factors: One) We have been told he's a Socialist by mainstream media Two) We as a country are not educated enough to know what this kind of social organization implies. Why? Because we are ignorant, fat, stupid, and easily led. I know this is the mantra of the erudite class, everyone else is stupid and easily led. One need only to look at the Tea Party rallies to see how easily led people are. Why? Because they want the easy way out. Our sense of work, culture, and self-worth has been so skewed and eroded that we as a country have lost sight of all that is good, real, and worthwhile. We'd rather be placated with stupid one liners that are easily replayed over the course of the day by the laughably bad TV and print media.
What should we, as Americans, be proud of? That we have an increasing number of people living in poverty? That we have more people going hungry? That we have managed to put power and money in the hands of the few rather than the many? That we still have 46 million people living without health insurance?
Americans- really, have nothing to be proud of until they fix these glaring problems. Put down the flag and pick up a book. Questioning your country and its motives, especially your government, is the most patriotic thing of all.
Which brings me to my point. We call him a Socialist- and all sorts of other names, mainly because of two factors: One) We have been told he's a Socialist by mainstream media Two) We as a country are not educated enough to know what this kind of social organization implies. Why? Because we are ignorant, fat, stupid, and easily led. I know this is the mantra of the erudite class, everyone else is stupid and easily led. One need only to look at the Tea Party rallies to see how easily led people are. Why? Because they want the easy way out. Our sense of work, culture, and self-worth has been so skewed and eroded that we as a country have lost sight of all that is good, real, and worthwhile. We'd rather be placated with stupid one liners that are easily replayed over the course of the day by the laughably bad TV and print media.
What should we, as Americans, be proud of? That we have an increasing number of people living in poverty? That we have more people going hungry? That we have managed to put power and money in the hands of the few rather than the many? That we still have 46 million people living without health insurance?
Americans- really, have nothing to be proud of until they fix these glaring problems. Put down the flag and pick up a book. Questioning your country and its motives, especially your government, is the most patriotic thing of all.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Not a Bit of Hope
So we have millions of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. And- for the last few weeks I have managed to avoid writing about it. But I feel like this BP incident is indicative of the decrepit state of America. As one of my friend's fathers said the other day "Do you know why the USA is like the real estate market? It's good for a while and then it all goes to shit." Millions and millions of gallons of oil gushing into the Gulf will do a number on the Gulf Coast that will destroy its economy for generations. Fishing is nearly gone and will not return for the foreseeable future. Tourism- well, that's out the window too as the oil continues to turn the beaches black. Three of the poorest states in the Union will continue to wither as their economies are sapped of two of their biggest industries. On top of the fact that the ban on oil drilling that will occur will also destroy another large industry- it seems as if the entire area was just turned into pillars of salt.
The general inability of the Obama administration to deal with any of the pressing problems of this country, coupled with the general social unrest and the increasing violence of the fringes of the political sphere- well, it seems like nothing is going to get better. The militant right could indeed seize power as they become better organized and increasingly motivated to vote. As the left and the center of the country become increasingly apathetic, the natural balance to their interests will be made irrelevant.
People are reporting the potential of a double-dip recession if not a full-blown depression. That seems inevitable. The unemployment rate for people aged 14-24 is 25%, whereas it was nearly 40% a few years ago. The unemployment rate for the general populous is hovering around 10%. This does not count the nearly 10% more who are underemployed. This is not because people are not interested in getting jobs, it's because the job market is still so terrible. There has been very little borrowing, very little lending, and the financial reform was not strong enough to change the culture of Wall Street.
We are in for a bleak next few years.
The general inability of the Obama administration to deal with any of the pressing problems of this country, coupled with the general social unrest and the increasing violence of the fringes of the political sphere- well, it seems like nothing is going to get better. The militant right could indeed seize power as they become better organized and increasingly motivated to vote. As the left and the center of the country become increasingly apathetic, the natural balance to their interests will be made irrelevant.
People are reporting the potential of a double-dip recession if not a full-blown depression. That seems inevitable. The unemployment rate for people aged 14-24 is 25%, whereas it was nearly 40% a few years ago. The unemployment rate for the general populous is hovering around 10%. This does not count the nearly 10% more who are underemployed. This is not because people are not interested in getting jobs, it's because the job market is still so terrible. There has been very little borrowing, very little lending, and the financial reform was not strong enough to change the culture of Wall Street.
We are in for a bleak next few years.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Those Scary Brown People
We had it coming to us. We've had it coming to us for a long time. You know all of those immigrants that "take our jobs"? Well, besides the obvious benefit of having a hungry work force willing to do anything to drive our economy forward, well, we also were instrumental in bringing them here. Now we want them to go home? We brought them here in the first place.
Why? How? Well, first of all there's the good neighbor policy and manifest destiny that the United States has been practicing since its inception. We have always felt as if we were in control of anything south of the Rio Grande, stepping over and ignoring the aggressive ways we have acted during the 19th century. Let's deal with the 20th century alone.
Well, during the beginning of the 20th century we let our companies like the United Fruit Company dictate the policies of various countries in Central and South America. We continued a policy of power being concentrated in the hands of the few in most of South America. If people are poor and being kept down -and they see an opportunity a little ways north-- what else will they do?
I'm not even including what has happened since NAFTA began. The subsidies and tax breaks that we have given our industrial farmers has created a situation where farmers in Mexico no longer can make money by growing their produce, simply because our farmers are able to do it cheaper. When a segment of an economy, which is as prominent even in this day and age as farming, of course it will create a segment of the populous that will need to look for jobs. Coupled with the dire economic situation, the division between economic classes, and low employment- people will inevitably look for another way in which to feed their families, especially if they are available to the north.
We have even encouraged Mexican workers to come to our country- we ENCOURAGED it. There was the "Bracero Program" which began in 1942 and ended in 1964. We brought Mexican workers to the United States to work.
The laws in this country, the mindset, the archaic way in which we treat our immigrants is simply embarrassing. We have done this to the Irish, the Italians, the Jews, and the Germans. But now, we are doing it with a group that has been in this country for as long as it has existed. We have alienated a group willing to work harder than any other in this country. As far as I'm concerned the people of this country, those that support the draconian laws of Arizona and those laws that remove immigrants and children of immigrants from this country should be ashamed of themselves.
Why? How? Well, first of all there's the good neighbor policy and manifest destiny that the United States has been practicing since its inception. We have always felt as if we were in control of anything south of the Rio Grande, stepping over and ignoring the aggressive ways we have acted during the 19th century. Let's deal with the 20th century alone.
Well, during the beginning of the 20th century we let our companies like the United Fruit Company dictate the policies of various countries in Central and South America. We continued a policy of power being concentrated in the hands of the few in most of South America. If people are poor and being kept down -and they see an opportunity a little ways north-- what else will they do?
I'm not even including what has happened since NAFTA began. The subsidies and tax breaks that we have given our industrial farmers has created a situation where farmers in Mexico no longer can make money by growing their produce, simply because our farmers are able to do it cheaper. When a segment of an economy, which is as prominent even in this day and age as farming, of course it will create a segment of the populous that will need to look for jobs. Coupled with the dire economic situation, the division between economic classes, and low employment- people will inevitably look for another way in which to feed their families, especially if they are available to the north.
We have even encouraged Mexican workers to come to our country- we ENCOURAGED it. There was the "Bracero Program" which began in 1942 and ended in 1964. We brought Mexican workers to the United States to work.
The laws in this country, the mindset, the archaic way in which we treat our immigrants is simply embarrassing. We have done this to the Irish, the Italians, the Jews, and the Germans. But now, we are doing it with a group that has been in this country for as long as it has existed. We have alienated a group willing to work harder than any other in this country. As far as I'm concerned the people of this country, those that support the draconian laws of Arizona and those laws that remove immigrants and children of immigrants from this country should be ashamed of themselves.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Once in a While Paul Krugman Writes Something Good
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/opinion/14krugman.html?hp
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