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What is so confusing to me, Brian, is that we are all in this together. Since I know the personal situations of many posters on this forum, I know that many who are posting are either underemployed, unemployed or have spent some serious time since 2008 in one of those categories.
We all AGREE that something is terribly out of whack in this country!
We should start there and discuss WHY and how to turn things around, rather than creating strawman arguments and losing the point amongst the rhetoric.
I clearly get what you have said and I know you get what I have said.
Let me put it this way: we can take all the money from "the rich" and distribute it amongst ourselves. Why not just become a bunch of Bolsheviks in the streets and tear down the aristocracy?
The money still won't get this country out of debt! Instead of focusing on the Chutes and Ladders economic policy in this country, let's shake down "the rich." See if that makes everyone feel better!
Y'all go ahead: make Oprah give up her $$$ so we can all get a $100 check, lol.
Location: Some got six month some got one solid. But me and my buddies all got lifetime here
4,555 posts, read 10,404,562 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by anifani821
What is so confusing to me, Brian, is that we are all in this together. Since I know the personal situations of many posters on this forum, I know that many who are posting are either underemployed, unemployed or have spent some serious time since 2008 in one of those categories.
We all AGREE that something is terribly out of whack in this country!
We should start there and discuss WHY and how to turn things around, rather than creating strawman arguments and losing the point amongst the rhetoric.
I clearly get what you have said and I know you get what I have said.
Let me put it this way: we can take all the money from "the rich" and distribute it amongst ourselves. Why not just become a bunch of Bolsheviks in the streets and tear down the aristocracy?
The money still won't get this country out of debt! Instead of focusing on the Chutes and Ladders economic policy in this country, let's shake down "the rich." See if that makes everyone feel better!
Y'all go ahead: make Oprah give up her $$$ so we can all get a $100 check, lol.
Just as an aside . . . CNN mentioned Charlotte's "occupy" movement this morning . . .
Guess we are mainstream now that we are hosting the DNC. Well, that and having BofA here . . .
If we work it right, maybe we can tie our NASCAR HOF into all this. Start a new movement: "Fast Track to Prosperity" . . . combine that with "Occupy Wall Street." There just has to be a way to make that happen.
Just as an aside . . . CNN mentioned Charlotte's "occupy" movement this morning . . .
Guess we are mainstream now that we are hosting the DNC. Well, that and having BofA here . . .
If we work it right, maybe we can tie our NASCAR HOF into all this. Start a new movement: "Fast Track to Prosperity" . . . combine that with "Occupy Wall Street." There just has to be a way to make that happen.
#FastTrackProsperity
I also think that the powers that be would love to see an OccupyNASCARHallofFame. Apparently fewer and fewer people are doing that of late.
We are talking about the same thing, Felt. We really agree and sadly, we are talking around each other!
I am not justifying how things got the way they are but on the other hand, I feel that assigning blame to corporate America is shallow and an over-simplication of a very complex situation.
I am concerned that folks are not seeing what is really going on that has brought the middle class to its knees.
Profit-taking seems to be associated with Wall Street in people's minds, but Wall Street is not the culprit. WE are the culprit. We are our own worst enemies. We are the ones who have created the monster!
Don't you understand what I am saying?
It is as tho a large portion of American society has decided the solution is a Robin Hood approach to economics - as tho "the rich" somehow ripped us off and left us all hanging out here, disrespected, demeaned and beaten.
Yet, who amongst us hasn't fought to get the best benefit package possible? Who amongst us that belongs to a Union hasn't fought to get the biggest raise, the best pension possible? Big Bad Corporate America owed it to us! But at the same time, while we were demanding those pay raises and benefits packages . . . the cost of doing business was also going up. So companies have off-shored their businesses.
That is just one tiny aspect of this whole picture.
Add to that the pressure for businesses to show a profit to stockholders! And who are the stockholders? WE ARE! Our pension plans, our TSAs, our 401Ks, our 403 Bs . . . WE ARE CORPORATE AMERICA and our welfare is dependent on corporate American remaining healthy.
This is not some abstract theory or off the wall idea I came up with. It is the real world and until we all get on the same page and can start sorting out what has really gone wrong in this country - and find some solutions together - finger pointing and blame shifting is gonna get us nowhere but DIVIDED.
I agree with you Ani.....(tried to rep you, but not allowed--gotta spread it around, you know) people love Wall Street when their activities benefit them with 401Ks earning; then people hate them when the 401Ks etc. show losses ....one reason why businesses are going overseas is because the cost of doing business is less....who in the U.S. wants to work for minimum wage ....You're right that people fight for the highest possible salary and the best benefit package possible--these things cost money.....Someone said they haven't gotten a raise in 3? 4? years....teachers' salaries in NC have been frozen for more than 3 years.....when the budget isn't balancing, something has to change--cut spending? freeze spending? increase taxes? get more people back to work so more people will be paying taxes? Did the legislators freeze their salaries too?
Would you rather be dependent on corporate America being healthy or would you rather be dependent on the government or would you rather be dependent on yourself? Ani, your words should get people to THINK...remember the expressions "divide and conquer"... "a house divided against itself cannot stand." I realize we are not all going to agree on everything, but you're right--finger pointing and blame shifting is not going to solve anything.
People are angry--especially those who have lost their jobs--and I am not surprised by them lashing out. When Steve Jobs was fired from Apple he found a way to be successful again and ended up back at Apple 12 years later...when he was fired did he sit around and blame others or channel his energy into something productive?
I agree with you Ani.....(tried to rep you, but not allowed--gotta spread it around, you know) people love Wall Street when their activities benefit them with 401Ks earning; then people hate them when the 401Ks etc. show losses ....one reason why businesses are going overseas is because the cost of doing business is less....who in the U.S. wants to work for minimum wage ....You're right that people fight for the highest possible salary and the best benefit package possible--these things cost money.....Someone said they haven't gotten a raise in 3? 4? years....teachers' salaries in NC have been frozen for more than 3 years.....when the budget isn't balancing, something has to change--cut spending? freeze spending? increase taxes? get more people back to work so more people will be paying taxes? Did the legislators freeze their salaries too?
Would you rather be dependent on corporate America being healthy or would you rather be dependent on the government or would you rather be dependent on yourself? Ani, your words should get people to THINK...remember the expressions "divide and conquer"... "a house divided against itself cannot stand." I realize we are not all going to agree on everything, but you're right--finger pointing and blame shifting is not going to solve anything.
People are angry--especially those who have lost their jobs--and I am not surprised by them lashing out. When Steve Jobs was fired from Apple he found a way to be successful again and ended up back at Apple 12 years later...when he was fired did he sit around and blame others or channel his energy into something productive?
We gotta come up with solutions, not division.
I am no one's mouth piece or puppet. I do not listen to pundits. Have never heard one -ONE - of Limbaugh's broadcasts, for ex., in my entire life. I give careful thought and do my own analysis. My feelings are that we are being pitted against one another as a way to take the attention off where the real problems are: WASHINGTON DC.
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