45% of ALL Americans live without economic security...
By louisehartmann
Nearly half of all Americans are screwed. According to a new study by the organization Wider Opportunities for Women – 45% of ALL Americans live without economic security – meaning they can’t afford all the basics of life – like food, clothing, transportation, and medical care. Again – that’s nearly half of the population in economic insecurity. And MORE than half – 55% of all children - live in economic insecurity.
But two specific proposals to help address this problem – the payroll tax and extended unemployment benefits – are set to expire at the end of the year. And despite the disastrous economic effects of not extending these programs – Republicans are dragging their feet – and will likely turn this into another hostage scenario. Based on analysis by the group Macroeconomic Advisers – allowing the payroll tax cut to expire will cost our economy 400,000 jobs and shrink GDP by a half-percent. And expiring extended unemployment benefits will kill another 200,000 jobs.
So what will Republicans do? I’m guessing they’ll threaten to crash the economy, unless Democrats agree to more tax cuts for the top 1% - or the privatization of Medicare and Social Security.
Comments
#2
A Majority of Americans (Including Both OWS and the Tea Party) AGREE on the Most Important Issues … We Just Don’t Realize ItPosted on November 23, 2011 by WashingtonsBlogNO MORE BAILOUTS!END CRONY CAPITALISM!PROSECUTE WALL STREET FRAUD!
END – OR AT LEAST REIN IN – THE FEDERAL RESERVE!
RESPECT THE CONSTITUTION AND OUR LIBERTY!END PERPETUAL WAR!MAKE ELECTIONS FAIR!KEEP POISON OUT OF OUR FOOD AND WATER!IF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AGREE ON THESE CORE ISSUES, WHY AREN’T OUR DEMANDS BEING HEARD?
Because our politicians are bought and paid for … lock, stock and barrel.
And the powers-that-be are good at using the age-old divide and conquer trick to keep us weak, divided and fighting at each others’ throat … instead of for what we actually want.
#3
Is it the Dow and Nasdaq, or our general welfare, that defines "the economy". Everyone's eyes are on the magic numbers and "magic quotes" of the "funny money" Wall Street casinos. If the 1% continue getting their big tax breaks and the social programs are "downsized", the Dow "magic quote" economy will shoot up...but more people will go hungry...real poverty will increase. Those that receive back what they put into social security all their working years will spend most, or all, of what they get back. The tiny top 1%..or even top 10% would not be hurt as seriously as the bottom 90% by this shamefully greedy push by the top 1% and their political puppets. Yes, they are driving the economy into the ground but the real economy is us....not them and their Wall Street casinos with "magic quotes". Many insiders are making a killing in more ways than one. And they are getting away with murder.
#4
Yes, there are those in the Tea Party that have a lot in common with those in the OWS...except for one thing....the Tea Party is largely funded and controlled by the Kochs and others. The same could be said for another seminal group that could be very dangerous....Americans Elect. Once large masses of people are controlled and steered by wealthy people like this then the people lose their teeth.
The very reason why America was able to break free of the English Kings rule was due, largely, to their "hit and run" guerrilla tactics. They did not have the latest and greatest technology nor the "stand and fight" discipline or highly regimented armies. They had to fight with what they had. Hit and run "terrorism" defeated the British. All the British Generals could do is call names....like "cowards"...now doesn't that sound familiar?
We, the 99% are up against such a regimented and powerful force that has manipulated the economic and political system to their overwhelming favor. By trying to play the game "their" way, IE: having leaders that are corruptible, or corrupted to begin with, and continuing to believe that our only course of actions are that defined by our current corrupt political system, then we will lose the economic war that has been raging against us, by the 1%, for over 30 years. The Tea Party members had a good idea until they were hijacked by the very people that sought to undermine them. The OWS may be doing so well because they have not aligned themselves under the thumb of a single representative or spokesperson.
#5
With 7 billion competing -------- for limited resource, wasteful debauchery is at and beyond it's limit.
Enabling further population growth (more consumers yielding "endless" economic growth) with abundant cheap energy won't solve the problem.
Water , food, shelter, sanitation. The larger the population the less resource available. The less resource the more warfare, famine, poverty and disease.
Science and media (propaganda) provide solutions enough but failures of sentient cognizance continue to serve natures harsh and tragic methods in contrast to the potential for God given human sentience to deal with population in a far more sophisticated and humane manner.
#6
It seems suicidal for the republicans to not support extending unemployment insurance and the payroll tax. Americans do understand the economic situation. I think republicans are still dismissing (or trying to dismiss) the OW and other movements that make it clear just how screwed the people of this country are.
#7
Thom....
The payroll tax "holiday" is just Obama's backdoor way to REALLY defund Social Security. His masters want it and wan it gone. If you think that the little bit of that tax is going to help people as much as getting their SS when they;re old sick, you're wrong.
I think Obama was put in the WH to kill off the alst of the New Deal, Clinton started it with the repeal of Glass Steagal. When are we going to relaize that our govenmnet has been on the take for years and they wringing us dry like a washcloth? There ain't much juice left.
It's BOTH parties They just do kabuki for us to think theyr're different
#8
2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, The Bilderbergers win ! Republicans and Democrats are mute. Farewell USA.
#9
The Republicans act as though there is no electorate. Yes, they will continue on the same path...
#10
Happy Thanksgiving Thom. Let us all be thankful for what we do have...
#11
Hi Thom and Louise,
Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you for your courage and integrity. Please come do some events in NYC.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
#12
Hey Thom if you read this I think you should also consider something I have not heard anybody mention or seem to reconize.. I am a Veteran and about the same age as you 55 I have done lots in my life but not like yours you are truely the Man I wish I could have been.When i was younger I had lots to say about politics and the way things were heading,When the first time they used the battering ram to go into Americans houses..And the T.V show cops began that our freedom was soon be gone.But with that said I stayed out of trouble my whole life.Until around 2002 is when in the State of Wash.After I moved down from S.E.Alaska I have been put through the ringer,I have a son 13 that I take care of and always have. And I have grandchildren older than my youngest son.I had 2 boys with my childhood love he was born in 1971 and my mid son in 1975 while in the Army but while I was in prison for breaking a no contact order that the judge put in place, they charged me $378 a month , $3500 child support bill plus the fines all together with other charges that are really petty in manys peoples eyes are over $10000 plus interest of more than the monthley payment and lawyer bills, and they have manage to give me 6mos of EHM for a reckless driving case (driving trk and had a carbon monixde leak) that I couldnt prove not enough $$ for a lawyer plead out, from 2004, which is $2700.00 or $15 aday. My point is I really havent done anything serious and luckily they got a late start on me I was 48 or so.But I owe my soul to various agencies and courts and for the kids today and the1's not been born yet, that get in any trouble at a early age they will be either be in prison or totally in debt.and on probation with no rights and really not much future.My question to you is did they abolish debtors prisons or can they lock you up and take away your money that you are trying to live and or raise a family.I really have now easily $30,000 in debt plus I'm a unemployed union Laborer and I have over 8000 hrs in my life as one and its taken its toll physically.I think the way its set up since this 9/11 middle income people are being fined and charged and prey upon to be set up to fail or they will be indebt to the Judicial System forever and this is not a accident.I seriously could write a book on the subject it has and is out of control I know the number of poor people that owe 1000's is in the Billions and raising at fast pace.That is there Idea of job creating is by privitizing the penal system and stealing the $$ from trumped up or petty charges, excessive fines, and chargeing interest.Billions is owed and I think its not fair, that there are people in prison for failing to PAY and you as a man of history should know that it was apolished at some sane time in our history.....Please give this issue some airtime maybe there is a way to get some kinda of relief ANYTHING would be a start this is a problem that cant be ignored..
#13
Republicans hate everyone.
Whom do them Hate? They are againt gays. They are against children. They do not like poor people. They do not like unemployed people. They do not like veterans but they like active military except when it comes to providing them safety equipment. They do not like the elderly. They do not like the immigrants they hire to work in their farms and factories for below market wages. They do not like educated people especially college graduates or anyone who actually knows what is going on.
Whom do Republicans support? They appear to support bankers, even if the bankers behave criminally. They appear to support oil companies even when they divert a river of poisonous oil into the gulf of mexico. They appear to support millionaires no matter what. They appear to support the Koch brothers no matter what they ask for. They appear to support some Christian churchs as long as they only ask for the end of abortion even if the mothers life is at risk. Republicans are wierd folk.
#14
I'd bet that those two turkeys that got the Presidential reprieve are being plucked for the roast right now...the cameras are gone...and Obama made his fallacious magnanimous gesture for the propaganda.
Obama was the trojan horse that the ruling elite slipped in to throw us off guard long enough to make great gains in their long held desire to trash social security and other social programs..."drown them in a bathtub". The turkeys that really need to be plucked, and perhaps roasted, are the ruling elite...the top 1%. If the masses get hungry enough...that may yet happen.....EAT THE RICH! Off with their 'eads, ducky! And let's do a dirty Donner on them! I hear humans taste just like chicken.
As it happened, I caught a little bit of the main stream media news (no, not from Fox...that's pure raving insanity) this evening. They were talking about 3 different terms that were being mentioned on the social network chatter recently concerning turkeys. Range Turkey, Natural Turkey, and one other with similar meanings. The only turkeys I buy now-a-days is Cheapest Turkey. But that's one term that will likely never roll off the tongue of some main stream manipulator.
I hope the turkeys I buy are not "made in china"!!! But, hey, it's a depression and food is food...even if it will kill us faster than "range turkey". There is so much marketing hype and outright lies in naming products anyway that one cannot really believe that the extra money they pay for something like "range turkey" is really "range turkey"!
#15
Weird folks? No, they are evil, satanic, mega-death beasts that prey on everyone else and they deserve our condemnation of them for their being conniving and greedy. These people don't do real work...they are scamsters and thieves who, in many cases, have just been lucky enough to have either inherited a lot of their wealth; or, they have been so conniving and predatory that they have been able to amass great fortunes by stealing from the people..and in many cases...both are true. Much of it is dirty money! Lucre! It's time we popped their bubbles and their misplaced egos!
#16
The legal and prison system in the US is a farce and a total shame on us as a country. They have put children in prison for really minor (pardon the pun) things. Most of us are just lucky that we have never been caught up in this hellish nightmare. I thank my lucky stars that I was not sucked in to having to kill or be killed in some illegal and ridiculous war that had nothing to do with the real national security or well being of our country. I served in the military but was, luckily, never very close to battle. Of course, I could very well have been stationed on the USS Liberty right about the time it was attacked...(by Israel). I could very easily have been billeted for that duty station at that very time. And that is another very shameful episode in our history...the USS Liberty. Aw, I won't get into that now.
Yes, the prison system is a money making machine that rich people put their money into....buying bonds to build and run these private prisons...and expecting the tax payers to make good on the bonds with big returns on their investments. Most of the people in our prisons are poorer than many and have gotten the shaft from society and the socioeconomic cards that were stacked against them.
When we have institutions that break the law incessantly and even institutionally, it makes a total farce of any law-enforcement that they can dish out to those less fortunate. Guns for drugs (the CIA and other government bodies smuggling illegal and addictive drugs into the US so that they could use that money to meddle in other countries affairs because the Congress had stopped the funding.)..(also smuggling these drugs into the country in body bags from the war in Vietnam)...and now the Banking and Housing scandals and the Wall Street criminals are running amok with no institution even threatening to put these big time criminals in prison. Just goes to show that Crime does pay...if your crime is big enough and you have been able to bribe enough crooked politicians...judges.
#17
If you are not already on Michael Moore's mailing list then you might find this article by Michael Moore at his web site very interesting. It is titled:
Where Does Occupied Wall Street Go From Here? There is a suggested list of demands from a consensus of OWS groups that I found was absolutely right on the money.
#18
Thankful for Occupying the Thanksgiving table with determination to bring light, love, liberty, and laughter to the streets.
I am dismayed over the forceful removal of Occupy Wall Street protesters at UC Davis, Zuccotti Park and elsewhere. The right to assemble is integral to the freedom which the Constitution guarantees each and every citizen of our nation. The very act of peaceful assembly at the heart of the Occupy movement is testament to a growing awakening within our nation regarding responsible and active citizenship. To forcibly remove citizens who are exercising their rights peaceably is contrary to what our nation stands for.
Carry on and speak truth about the burden of unemployment, exorbitant student loans, the threat of foreclosure, or the inability to access affordable healthcare, a majority of our brothers and sisters struggle while a small minority benefit. The protesters who have occupied parks and other public spaces over the past two months have given voice to a rising dissatisfaction that many are experiencing in our country.
THANK ALL THE OCCUPIERS AND FAMILY, FRIENDS... and a wish for leaders to guide.
I am weary of both parties, all elected leaders, money has so corrupted our spirit. CARRY on, overcome nonviolently, occupy all spaces, all hearts.. Carry On
#19
"Desperate people do desperate things". Republicans seem to have a "bring it on" attitude for desperate Americans. On this Thanksgiving Day I am thankful that my government is helping many millions of desperate fellow Americans manage their desperation. We've got much to do. Hope is still on the menu.
Happy Thanksgiving !
#20
Happy Thanksgiving to Thom and Louise and everyone out there. Please send out your thanks to the occupiers everywhere and let them know they are making a difference.
As to the Republican agenda, of course they want the economy to continue it's downward spiral. They continually demonstrate through their votes how little regard they have for main street America. My message to Democrats this time around is to stand firm and not allow them to take anyone hostage to get what they want. They are the bullies in the school yard after our lunch money and it's time to stand up to them and say no more.
#21
Happy Thanksgiving Thom and Louise. Wishing all of you here on this post and everywhere many new things to be thankful for in the coming year.
I'm thankful for all the patriots standing up to corruption and teaching all of us the true meaning of democracy. Thanks go to everyone fighting the good fight.
#22
I give thanks to the OWS movement and to the rebellious spirit that they have shown. Thank you, thank you, every one of you! You are the heroes that stand against tyranny! I give thanks to Thom and Louise Hartmann and to Bernie Sanders and to Michael Moore and to Michael Hudson and to so many others who shed light on the dark forces that surround us.
#23
It seems to me that the Republicons' decades-long efforts to scuttle America's economy in order to enrich the already wealthy meets the definintion of treason in that they are deliberately doing harm to their country. Anyone with me?
#24
Good wishes to Thom and Louise; the Patriots, and all of you who fight for the happy future for each and every one who resides within these United States of America. - Cygnus1
quote:
By: dawson
"Most people are unaware of the real origins of Thanksgiving in this country. Thanksgiving did not become a national holiday in the US until the Civil War, at which time the mythology of the origins of the celebration was created. The real first Thanksgiving was celebrated in this country on July 4th, 1584 on Hatteras Island. Captains Phillip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe were the very first Englishmen to set foot in what is now the United States and they made landfall on Hatteras Island. To celebrate the safe crossing the English gave praise and thanksgiving to God by fasting. That's right Thanksgiving has gone from a day of fasting to a feast!"
THE FIRST THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION JUNE 20, 1676
Did you know that Thanksgiving was originally in the summer?" end quote
And remember, a government which is not there for the pleasing of the peoples, is not worth even being around.
Do not let the yoke of taxes be your inheritance in your future. The taxes of the Peoples of these United States of America do not go into road building, infrastructure maintenance, and bridges, but rather the taxes go straight into the coffers of the military industrial complex.
Taxes are against Universal Law and Principle. If you continue in living within this illegal tax system then you will continue to live in chaos.
Coming out from under the yoke of usury (taxation) is what we all wish for the each one of you in this coming year. - Cygnus1
#25
It is time to draw a line in the sand. We should follow the lead of the 99% and say out loud we aren't going to take it anymore but to do so in a more organized manner with specific objections and solutions. Let's face it. If the Republicans take the White House and the Presidency, life as we may still hold out hope as to what may be possible will no longer be possible. Do you not think the result will be our becoming a Third World Economy with the rich and the poor with no safety nets such as Medicare and Social Security. If you haven't voted or know someone who has never voted, point out to them their vote will be for themselves as well as the rest of us. The reality is most people are not as knowledgeable about what is going on as people who contribute to this dialogue. Consider it our job to educate them and hope they are open minded enough to see truth when it is presented to them. Use facts. Encourage "buy American". Encourage not buying products from firms such as owned by the Koch Bros. The Republican landslide in 2010 was the result of many Democrats not showing up to vote. Not voting should eliminate the right to complain. Don't you think. Simply speaking, 2012 will be up to us and no one else.
#26
"The Republican landslide in 2010 was the result of many Democrats not showing up to vote. Not voting should eliminate the right to complain."
It was mostly the realization by many Democrats that voting really doesn't matter in a corrupt system and that they were really rebelling against the Blue Dog Democrats.
If Democrat politicians want us Democrats to continue voting for them, they have to realize that they can't make a bunch of empty promises and then act like Republicans themselves after they get our votes.
When we have such a corrupt political system there is only one thing that will turn it around....stop voting and turn to revolution...in the streets...everywhere but the ineffective and corrupt ballot boxes.
Yes, those Blue Dog faux Democrat politicians were replaced by Republicans....so what? At least the people showed those Democrats that they cannot count on our votes if they continue to do as they have done...sell out the people who voted for them. Obama is a sell out! Voting for him again is total foolishness.
The really serious revolts will begin in the next election cycle and having a faux Democrat in the White H0u$e, once again, will throw those who voted for him off guard giving the ruling elite even more of the nation's wealth and a weakened resolve toward the OWS movement.
If a Republican gets in...then it will be the Republicans that will take the heat and they will have to deal with massive revolution...and an even fiercer one..one where the demonstrators are actually fighting back. The police would be totally swamped if the huge crowds decided enough was enough and the demonstrators, each carrying their own pepper spray directed their aim at the bully boys for a change. And if some of those cans contained a rubber glue based substance then the bully boys would have a very difficult time doing anything but trying to find some solvent. There would be bully boys in blue sticking to the pavement and arms and hands sticking to their bodies unable to do anything...like flies caught on fly-paper. And it looks like the people of New York are about ready to run Bloomberg out tarred and feathered on a rail. The rat would deserve it!
With the economic war that the ruling elite started more than 30 years ago, there is only one outcome...and it isn't business (or politics) as usual. It will get nasty but that is the coarse that the Reagan Revolution foisted upon us. They started it..continued it..and if WE don't end it...then there will be mass starvation and a tremendous population decrease in a very short period of time. It is a life and death situation for many of us.
Some people keep preaching the Gandhi or MLK approach but it won't last because the authorities will continue bashing heads and murdering unborn babies.
The majority of Americans already sides with the OWS movement...not necessarily just because it has been relatively peaceful or Gandhi-like...with the demonstrators suffering the violence of the police...but because of the basic reasons why the demonstrators are out there to begin with.
So if 99% of the people are 99% in agreement with 99% of the basic ideals that the demonstrators represent then what will that equate to at the polls? Everybody voting for Obama?...or even all the Democrats in Congress? And so what do you think that will buy us? These crooked slick-tongued devils will continue to make promises and generate slick sound-bites that momentarily may titillate our psyches and move us emotionally to a Kumbaya, flag-waving, sense of accomplishment moment; but, under the table, the same old corruption will still be there. The Democrats will still make empty promises and then, for a few bucks..or a nice cushy, high-paying, revolving-door job in the private sector later, they will continue to sell us out. No!!!......time for corrupt politics is over...it's time for the revolution...one that will scare some sense and reality into these selfish, greedy, heartless criminals who have taken our government, and our lives, hostage.
#27
Voting is futile! It won't make any difference! Not if you continue to vote for one of the two parties that have bamboozled us into thinking they are our only choices. The only thing it will do is make it "seem" like we have a "democratic" system. But the cards are stacked against us when we play that crooked and rigged game.
Our worst enemies are the ones that pretend to be our friend then sneak behind our backs and stab us while twisting the knife.
The Democrats pretend to be on our side but they stab us in the back and then say...oh, you have no other choice because the Republicans would be much worse. And if you believe that, then you will die with the illusion that you had loyal friends.
At least, when we recognize our enemies, we can concentrate our efforts on defeating them head on. But if we don't recognize the slimy creature that has lied to us, pretended to be our friend, and is sneaking up behind us with a big knife, then we won't know what hit us.
You have to be able to recognize your real enemies and realize how they have acted against your best interests, and then not keep repeating the same mistakes that led up to your being deceived the first time.
#28
Aside from Gandhi, or MLK, most of all the other "revolutionary movements" were not so peaceful. When the wealthy elite tried to turn everyone in America, in our early history, into slaves working for barely life sustainable wages, with no vacations, health insurance, 12 hour day--6 or 7 days a week work requirements, it took much more than just peaceful demonstrations and voting to change things around. Things got violent..and, in the very least...got obstructionist..they boycotted..they went on strike...massively....and solidarily. And when things got violent...the ruling elite got some sense knocked into their heads...and with a politician like FDR...they managed to turn things around. If it was not for the violence...the strikes...the boycotts....would FDR even have been elected...and if not for the violence...would FDR not been moved to take action that would turn things around for the people? If you continue to act like lambs then the wealthy will continue to act like wolves.
#29
Palindromedary, you understand perfectly how futile is voting. Your posts are, in fact, a reflection of understanding and intelligence. Thank you.
We must advise the patriots in the state of California to not use pepper spray, due to the fact that they may be jailed for a very long time. The law there states pepper spray may not be used unless a person is provoked. We know that the police provoke, but we also know that the one provoked will stand no chance in court against the police and judge who stick together in most cases. Good point!
We are concerned that the Peoples of these United States of America might not realise in time the wisdom of your words. Where the elected ones throw the needs of the people into the wind and implement the dictates of lobbyists like AIPAC, then the futility of voting "democratically" for anyone should become evident to all. At that point of realization the people are left with no choice but to attack the system and demolish it in a revolution, which in these United States of America may become a long drawn-out process where the suppressed many are found on one side, and the well-paid, well-equipped, and bought-for-a paycheque on the other side. In this collision we hope the military will intervene on behalf of the people before it comes to a lot of bloodshed.
The second problem which the Peoples have, is that any monies government needs to cover the deficit should not be "borrowed" through a privately-owned institution like the Federal Reserve, which is not "federal" at all, but that name was given it for the purpose of effective cover of the fact that this "bank" is there for the purpose of profit-taking in the form of usury on a phoney "debt" which can readily and legally be covered by virtue of the government's constitutionally entrenched power "coinage and regulating the value thereof."
What we are saying here is that the government of these United States of America has no legal obligation to go into debt against a private group of bankers when it is endowed with the power to create its own currency where it is needed to cover an annual deficit. And if the latter is true, which we know it is, then it stands to reason also that THE GOVERNMENT OF THESE UNITED STATES HAS THE POWER TO ERADICATE THE 14.5 TRILLION DOLLARS OF SO-CALLED INDEBTEDNESS NOT ONLY WITH NO ILL-EFFECT ON ANYONE, BUT MORE SO FOR THE BENEFIT ON ALL AMERICAN TAX-PAYERS, WHO THEN CAN BE RELIEVED OF THAT PORTION OF TAXATION ON THEIR INCOMES, REQUIRED FOR SERVICING THE "NATIONAL DEBT" WITH ALL ITS USURY TACKED ON TOP OF IT.
At that point talk about "tax the rich more, so the poor middle-class serfs can pay less" is to us somewhat of a mute point, for as long as the fundamental issue of tax illegality of the present system has not been addressed. To talk even superficially about taxation is not resolving the bigger issue of government deficit financing and its effect on taxation.
The new system which is indeed age old, guarantees that all needs be taken care of and all hopes seen as being fullfilled.
You see, for men and women who are millionaires or close to it, paying taxes on the same scale as the middle class or poor peoples does them little harm. Why? Because the millionaires have their basic needs met and their comfort zone guaranteed, whilst the middle class (what is left of them) and the poor, do not have their basic needs met for the cost of education and health care is high, so paying taxes upon taxes at the same scale as a man or women pays who is a millionaire, or close to it, or even being a billionaire, will NOT hurt the millionaire nor billionaire, but WILL HURT the middle class and the poor.
In other words, someone who makes a million dollars a year, for example, can easily pay 6% taxes annually on his or her big income, with more than enough left to pay his or her expenses, which is not the case by someone who is required to pay 6% on 15,000 a year, when all his or her entire income is being consumed in cost to pay for basic essentials.
There is really no fairness in all of this.
At this point in time, ANY TAXES will only serve to take the very food off the table of the poor and middle class Americans.
Do not listen, therefore, to those who wish to keep the tax system as a yoke over the necks of the Peoples, because those who do that are too much in love with money, themselves. - Cygnus1
#30
If the 99% goes completely down, we will take the 1% with us. The one percent may be smart enough to stay in or get into that class but they are extremely blind and short sighted if they think their behavior won't drag them into the toilet as well. Fine, if they wanted two classes they could have settled for the wealthy and the comfortable. They could have pulled the poor up into the comfortable class. If the current annual income of the 99% was 100k and we weren't in a perpetual state of war/fear, we had full medical coverage and care and corporations weren't polluting the environment we wouldn't care what the 1% were doing behind closed doors. Blissful ignorance! Hopefully after the collapse that we all know is coming the 1% become so neutered that they will not be in a position to regain control. The wrong mindframe has been running the world for too long and it's time to completely turn things around.
#31
Thank you, Cygnus1, for those kind words. And I do speak, sometimes, about things that I think might occur, eventually. And that they may actually be necessary to achieve our goals of reinstating any semblance of what we had 30 plus years ago in the work place and in our lives before the so-called Reagan Revolution. However, no one should take it that I would do any of these things myself...full of fury signifying nothing, perhaps..or not willing to put my actions where my mouth is....just my way of venting. I don't like violence and find it should always be the absolute last thing. And I know it is easy to say things but another to actually do them. As I am not yet one of the really down and out, struggling to find the next meal (no cats or rats yet) although if you look hard enough in some of those fast food burgers you might find someone's finger pointing back at you (I know, I know...that was a hoax...or attempted fraud), I am not compelled to be as active as I would be were my circumstances different. But, I am very much afraid that one day my luck will run out.
#32
Thom, you awakened me. I've been obsessed with 1930s culture since childhood, as I was a blogger on this for years. Since you often show the parallels between 30s protest and the present occupy movement, I decided to connect my political blog to my 30s blogs and fight on a broader front. Looking very much forward to that....
Thanks Thom!
#33
1) I am new to your literature, but it has "Ignited a brush fire of freedom" in my mind. What got me excited and angry were the specifics--taxes for the rich and super rich cut from 90% to 28%.
Simply reinstating what the taxes were before Regan initiated the tax cuts could probably balance the budget in about 7 years.
2) You should write a book on how you did your research. If history had been that interesting when I was in school, I might have majored in it.
3) One comment was that the 1% can't relate, out of touch, sociopaths. I think it's darker than that. I think a lot of the 1% enjoy other people's suffering--like a warped little boy pulling the wings off of a fly, or like the Romans watching Christians being eaten by lions, while they sipped wine and told off-color jokes.
#34
Quote:
OccupyWallStreet The revolution continues worldwide!
Forum Post: S.1867 allows Military to Intern Americans without Charges
Posted 1 day ago on Nov. 26, 2011, 9:23 p.m. EST by PublicCurrency (North Palm Beach, FL)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Telephone your Senators on Monday . . . Do not support this bill
The Senate is set to vote on a bill next week that would define the whole of the United States as a “battlefield” and allow the U.S. Military to arrest American citizens in their own back yard without charge or trial.
“The Senate is going to vote on whether Congress will give this president—and every future president — the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world. The power is so broad that even U.S. citizens could be swept up by the military and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself,” writes Chris Anders of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office.
Under the ‘worldwide indefinite detention without charge or trial’ provision of S.1867, the National Defense Authorization Act bill, which is set to be up for a vote on the Senate floor Monday, the legislation will “basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who supports the bill." end quote
#35
The Republicans are the biggest problem for the middle class. The GOP starting with GWBUSH accelerated our decline. Our money is gone to wars and tax cuts have not helped. Deregulation has destroyed our livelihood. We need to vote the GOP out if we are even going to have a chance of surviving this next decade.
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
Images of Thom
Mueller's favorite place to pray (written about in "Prophet's Way"), and the roof of the room where the Last Supper is reputed to have happened.
From Screwed:
"Hartmann speaks with the straight talking clarity and brilliance of a modern day Tom Paine as he exposes the intentional and systematic destruction of America’s middle class by an alliance of political con artists and outlines a program to restore it. This is Hartmann at his best. Essential reading for those interested in restoring the institution that made America the envy of the world."
From Screwed:
"The powers that be are running roughshod over the powers that OUGHT to be. Hartmann tells us what went wrong — and what you and I can do to help set American right again."
From Screwed:
"I think many of us recognize that for all but the wealthiest, life in America is getting increasingly hard. Screwed explores why, showing how this is no accidental process, but rather the product of conscious political choices, choices we can change with enough courage and commitment. Like all of Thom’s great work, it helps show us the way forward."
The following quote is for those on the far right who think it's the young women's fault she lost her unborn child (for being at OWS)
"He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression: for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach unto himself." ~ Thomas Paine