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Then I spent a lot of time bouncing between "working poor" and "middle class."
Now I pay enough income taxes to pay my pro-rata share plus those of sixteen deadbeats.
So was I voting against my interests when I was poor and middle class when I voted for the rule of law, property rights, effective regulation instead of smothering regulation, controlled government spending and market-friendly policies?
Republicans don't think for themselves, rather they are a "social group" bonded by a set of hatreds and desires. They hate welfare, freeloaders, homosexuals, and South American immigrants. And they desire a powerful military, talk of God, and guns.
And its natural for conservatives to be bonded together in a social group. But this social group of republicans is unable to see that they are being manipulated by the CEO's and large corporations that control the republican party.
Then every large group of humans has a leader. Like presidents, governors, mayors, Bishops, gang leaders, store managers, or the president of a local reptile club. And republicans also have leaders. Their leaders are the corporate Fox news and Rush radio talk show hosts, and their leaders are the corporate backed republican politicians.
The conservatives/republicans are a social group, and CEO's and large corporations became the leaders of their social group, and now you have republicans voting for corporate tax cuts instead of things that benefit themselves and benefit America.
The thing that scares me is black Americans voting democrat is the main thing that stops the corporate controlled republican party from totally controlling America. And today we have the republicans trying to bring black Americans into their social group.
But are low income black Americans stupid enough to vote against high worker wages, healthcare for all, and middle class tax cuts. And instead vote for CEO and corporate tax cuts? (I hope not.)
Mostly valid points, the problem is the Democrats are exactly like the Democrats in pretty much every one of them. Group think, controlled by corporations and CEO's, voting against their own best interests, etc. This is just divide and conquer nonsense. Either party you choose is ultimately supporting the corporations, it's just that each is sure it's only the other guys.
Mostly valid points, the problem is the Democrats are exactly like the Democrats in pretty much every one of them. Group think, controlled by corporations and CEO's, voting against their own best interests, etc. This is just divide and conquer nonsense. Either party you choose is ultimately supporting the corporations, it's just that each is sure it's only the other guys.
Many valid points as well. But since you need $900 million dollars in campaign funds to run for president, lets look at the money.
Democrats get most of their campaign money from billionaires and labor unions (and some of their money from corporations.)
Liberal billionaires like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates give the democrats money. Buffett and Gates want to raise rich peoples tax rates. Gates wants the extra tax revenue to pay down our deficits, and Buffet out of respect hates paying a lower tax rate than his secretary.
And Buffett has so much pull in the democrat party they named the law to raise rich peoples tax rates after him, but the republicans stopped the law from passing. Buffett Rule - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Then labor unions give democrats money. And labor unions are made up of workers, and their campaign money will cause benefits to be given to regular workers.
But republicans get 100% of their campaign money from conservative billionaires and large corporations.
Yes both parties are controlled by big money. But the billionaires controlling the democrats are decent people, and the billionaires controlling the republicans are greedy CEO's.
Robert Reich has made this point numerous times. Despite the fact that the U.S. economy has picked up, average Americans aren't seeing it in their paychecks. According to Reich, there are two reasons for that.
First, American corporations exert a disproportionate amount of influence on the U.S. government, and the average American has pretty much zero influence by comparison. Thus, Americans are virtually powerless and voiceless when it comes to their impact on public economic policy. All the power is in the hands of big corporations.
And secondly, most big American corporations have zero allegiance to America. They don't care about American workers, their only allegiance is to their shareholders, and providing them with increased profits quarter after quarter. If those profits come at the expense or to the detriment of their workers, it's of little consequence to them.
By contrast, the European economy is in worse shape than the U.S., but their workers are faring better. He attributes this to the fact that labor unions are stronger there, foreign corporations share more of the earnings with their workers, and their executives typically make less than their U.S. counterparts.
European laws make it more difficult for large corporations to buy and own their governments. By contrast, we have Citizens United, that pretty much guarantees it.
What's the answer to this problem? Reich concludes:
There is really no such thing as American Corporations any more. They have now become Multi-National Corporations and have no more concern with the welfare of the US as they do any other country which they exploit. So long as we have laws which allow them to buy government, write laws and have lobbyists supply them to Congress as if they were their own, and control every aspect of our domestic and foreign policy we will remain slaves within our own country.
Many valid points as well. But since you need $900 million dollars in campaign funds to run for president, lets look at the money.
Democrats get most of their campaign money from billionaires and labor unions (and some of their money from corporations.)
Liberal billionaires like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates give the democrats money. Buffett and Gates want to raise rich peoples tax rates. Gates wants the extra tax revenue to pay down our deficits, and Buffet out of respect hates paying a lower tax rate than his secretary.
And Buffett has so much pull in the democrat party they named the law to raise rich peoples tax rates after him, but the republicans stopped the law from passing. Buffett Rule - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Then labor unions give democrats money. And labor unions are made up of workers, and their campaign money will cause benefits to be given to regular workers.
But republicans get 100% of their campaign money from conservative billionaires and large corporations.
Yes both parties are controlled by big money. But the billionaires controlling the democrats are decent people, and the billionaires controlling the republicans are greedy CEO's.
Good 1% vs Bad 1%? Really? Both parties are controlled by the same group of globalists. It's nothing more than professional wrestling. The fans shout and scream at the bad guys, buy the good guys t-shirts and when the match is over, the wrestlers shower up together, jump in the rental car they share, drive to the next town and laugh their butts off over dinner/drinks about the fans who think it's all real.
Well, before we can answer what elected officials can do to "fight for the middle class" we need to define a few things:
What is the Middle Class?
What is the Middle Class in need of?
What things hurt the Middle Class in regards to stability, security and upward mobility?
What things help the Middle Class in regards to stability, security and upward mobility?
When we know those answers, then maybe we can figure out if elected officials are even capable of "fighting for the Middle Class."
Middle class, those with a combined income of 60k-120k. What the middle class needs is politicans that truly speak to them on kitchen table issues such as insurance costs. What hurts the middle class is shipping good paying jobs overseas or condensing jobs into the work of three other people, lower wages, low wage job creation, stagnation, rising costs of living and rising insurance costs. What helps the middle class: raises that keep up with the rate of inflation, good job creation and not offshoring jobs.
Middle class, those with a combined income of 60k-120k. What the middle class needs is politicans that truly speak to them on kitchen table issues such as insurance costs. What hurts the middle class is shipping good paying jobs overseas or condensing jobs into the work of three other people, lower wages, low wage job creation, stagnation, rising costs of living and rising insurance costs. What helps the middle class: raises that keep up with the rate of inflation, good job creation and not offshoring jobs.
Why don't those of you who want to tax every business into oblivion start your own company and pay your employees what you want since you think you know what you are talking about lol?
Good 1% vs Bad 1%? Really? Both parties are controlled by the same group of globalists. It's nothing more than professional wrestling.
Then why do workers unions give democrats $100's of millions of dollars, and they don't give republicans anything?
Do people hand out $100's of millions of dollars for nothing?
And why do democrats want high worker wages and healthcare for all, and the republicans don't?
Answer: Because workers unions give democrats money, and billionaires like W. Buffet who support democrats respect people.
Did Warren Buffet stand in front of America to stop CEO's from having lower tax rates than their workers because he is part of a globalist conspiracy, or because he respects regular Americans (and considers his secretary to be family) ??
Quote:
The fans shout and scream at the bad guys, buy the good guys t-shirts and when the match is over, the wrestlers shower up together, jump in the rental car they share,
But the players have different records in America's official debt history. Republicans do supply side tax cuts and create huge deficits and debt doing it. Democrats do not do supply side tax cuts.
(D) Carter- had trivial deficits.
(R) Reagan- tripled the national debt.
(D) Clinton- had a balanced budget and surpluses.
(R) GW Bush- created huge deficits and debt growth.
(D) Obama- cut GW Bush's deficits and debt growth rate in 1/2.
drive to the next town and laugh their butts off over dik it's all real.nner/drinks.
Our government sucks, it is controlled by the rich, its inefficient, and its just plain stupid. And 75% of Americans should march to Washington tomorrow armed with guns and pitchforks and tell everyone in Washington to leave.
But are Americans going to remove our government tomorrow?
Until we change our government there are 2 choices. And as long as labor unions give democrats $100's of millions of dollars, and honorable billionaires like Gates and Buffet support democrats, the democrats will be different.
And yes its a choice of the lesser of 2 evils (but the democrats are 10,000x less evil.)
Why don't those of you who want to tax every business into oblivion start your own company and pay your employees what you want since you think you know what you are talking about lol?
That's what you got out of my post? Sounds like someone needs to go back to night school to learn reading comprehension. My point in that post was that the middle class has been crushed and suffering the last seven years due to the lack of raises and the types of jobs that were created during the recovery to give us an equal amount to the jobs lost during the recession. Where did you get an idea that I am asking for higher taxes in that?
That's what you got out of my post? Sounds like someone needs to go back to night school to learn reading comprehension. My point in that post was that the middle class has been crushed and suffering the last seven years due to the lack of raises and the types of jobs that were created during the recovery to give us an equal amount to the jobs lost during the recession. Where did you get an idea that I am asking for higher taxes in that?
But some people in the middle class have figured out, and are figuring out, and will continue to figure out how to be more valuable to the rest of us. As this happens, their individual incomes go up.
Nobody can wave a magic wand and sustainably pretend that any person or group's labor is worth more than it actually is. We aren't going to start paying $600 for $300 television sets so we can pretend the television factory job is worth more than it is actually worth.
Is it easy for the guy who had that job that disappeared? No. Tens of millions of jobs have disappeared in the last century. Half of us used to grow our food. 48 of that 50% lost their jobs. Elevator operators, telephone operators, yellow page salesmen, not to mention buggy whip makers and blacksmiths--wiped out by progress.
Progress continues. It's OK. We'll survive. But we need to rise to the challenge, individually, and figure out how to be of service to the rest of society.
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Sounds like someone needs to go back to night school to learn reading comprehension. My point in that post was that the middle class has been crushed and suffering the last seven years due to the lack of raises and the types of jobs that were created during the recovery to give us an equal amount to the jobs lost during the recession. Where did you get an idea that I am asking for higher taxes in that?
