With election season in full swing, I find myself much more hypnotized by the political rhetoric than I normally would be. Mitt Romney’s comment, "I'm not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I will fix it", during Soledad O’brien’s interview was a jaw-dropping moment for me. Initially, I could not believe that he said it, but then it occurred to me that it was probably one of the more genuine, although despicable, comments of his campaign.
Think about it. Mitt has lived a life of privilege; he has never known a day when he has gone hungry, he has never suffered the morale shattering effects of downsizing or outsourcing, and certainly has never lived paycheck to paycheck, just one catastrophic event away from losing his home. Mitt is not alone in this, many individuals delegated to represent us in government enjoy this same privileged lifestyle. Lets face it, until you have walked in someone else's shoes you can’t know what they are going through.
Whether Mitt knows it or not, there are more and more formerly middle class Americans who have fallen into poverty, lost their jobs, lost their homes, and are living on the streets. Those who are not living on the streets may have some form of employment income, which is hardly enough to live on, but is too much to qualify for the safety net programs Romney talks about. These people on the fringe are one step away from being counted in the ranks of the "very poor," and it appears that he doesn’t care about them.
To illustrate: yesterday, I was listening to a radio program discussing this very topic, the plight of the very poor, when a caller arrogantly exclaimed, "Those that need a safety net should go to their local church and it should be an individual's choice whether he/she wants to assist the poor or not." This was then followed by the obligatory, "This is America, everyone can better their situation if they want to. They should pick themselves up by the bootstraps and change things." This, of course, is paraphrased but it is an accurate account of what was said. The caller's comment was met with a resounding, "Oh my God! Oh my God!" by the host and his guest; clearly expressing their disbelief in what the caller had just said. My contention is that this is the same ideology that most Republicans and especially Tea Party conservatives continuously regurgitate as the gospel.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - jamminsue
Nice job, Dominic.
In Sociology 101, I think it was, it was explained in a Capitalistic country, there would always be a certain portion of the population that would be "marginally attached" to the workforce, working during times of boom, and unemployed other times. It was up to businesses to keep those "marginally attached" people safe and healthy during the downturns so they would be ready to go back to work when needed again.
This is a pretty cold-blooded way to look at things. However, it seems to make sense based on the history of this country as I know it.
But, when we seem to have many people permanently out of work, that is a very bad problem, and one we seem to have had for some time. Add to that the witches’ cauldron of too few people controlling the bulk of the wealth, things could get rather ugly, soon.
2 - Igor
As our society increased in productivity we should have progressively reduced the work week so that the work to be done would be spread around more (and people would have more leisure time). But instead we chose to spend more, especially on things that no one needs, luxury goods. Which cannot go on forever. The system will break down, one way or another, so it would be better to plan and control the denouement.
But we have set our feet on that path (ever increasing consumption) so it looks as though our doom is assured.
3 - Arco Conservadora
"Think about it. Mitt has lived a life of privilege; he has never known a day when he has gone hungry, he has never suffered the morale shattering effects of downsizing or outsourcing, and certainly has never lived paycheck to paycheck, just one catastrophic event away from losing his home."
The same is true of Obama and Obama's political rhetoric about the poor is not born of some concern for them but rather a desire to buy votes and support to facilitate his political ambition.
The so called poor and very poor have been enabled by the government in this nation to cannibalize the middle class.
4 - Glenn Contrarian
Really, Arch? Obama's lived a life of privilege?
Methinks you have ZERO clue about what it's like to live in a third-world nation (like Obama has - and his family was NOT rich), what it's like to live in a place where everyone - everyone - looks different from oneself (like Obama did), what it's like to be largely rejected by one's natural father and then had a dad who's a different race (like Obama and my oldest son did), what it's like to see one's natural father only once in his life (like Obama did (I never saw my own after I was two))...
...and THEN instead of taking a VERY high-paying position at a high-powered law firm like Obama COULD have done (because that's what the ones normally do who are elected as president of the Harvard Law Review), what did he do? He worked with the POOR!
Oh, but wait! Let me guess! You're Absolutely Sure that Obama didn't work with the poor because he actually cared for them, right? He only worked with them and got paid a whole lot LESS because that was all part of his secret plan, see, that was was his path to power, see?
Arch, next time, actually DO some research instead of assuming that someone must have this or that kind of trait or experience just because you don't like them, will ya?
5 - Arco Conservadora
Obama lived in Indonesia until he was 10 and then grew up in Hawaii with his grandparents where he went to private school. yeah his father left him but as far as sob stories of the poor and downtrodden go, Obama's is not very compelling.
6 - Zingzing
Archie, Obama was in Hawaii until he was 6, then he was in indonesia for about 4 years. he got a scholarship to the private school. what's with the misinformation? Ignorance? Or are you getting all birther on us?
7 - Arco Conservadora
Yeah ignorance, stemming from the apathy I feel toward learning anything new about Barry Sotero.
I know all I need to know about him already and the point is that he is just as out of touch as Mitt Romney.
Barack Obama's approach to economics ie "social justice" is neither one that I subscribe to nor is it one that is any way beneficial to one who is willing to do for themself.
As I've often said I am no fan of Mitt Romney but I will be voting for him and looking forward to watching him beat Sotero like a rented mule.
Now if those of you that post on here more often than you blink will excuse me, I have a real life and need to do some chores around the house before my Patriots beat the Giants like a rented mule.
8 - Christopher Rose
Archie, what do you think it says about Mitt Romney that after the death of his father-in-law, who was an atheist and strongly anti-religion, Romney had him posthumously baptised into the church he is a member of, the church of latter day saints, aka Mormons?
9 - roger nowosielski
I like the rented mule turn of phrase, though.
10 - Igor
Rented mule? As in, Forty Acres and a Mule, the empty promise to freed slaves?
Why the violent metaphor?
11 - roger nowosielski
Arch displays his animosity.
12 - Jordan Richardson
I have a real life
Is that why you're the only person I "know" to incessantly refer to Barack Obama as "Barry Sotero?"
13 - El Bicho
"before my Patriots beat the Giants like a rented mule."
So you are equally versed in many subjects. Not a surprise
14 - Dr Dreadful
Archie once again demonstrates his unparalleled powers of prediction...
15 - roger nowosielski
It could go either way, but surely there was no rented mule on the field as far as the eye could see, nor trashing of any kind.
16 - Clavos
@#8:
It says more about his wife, the man's daughter that she went along with it. Besides, what difference did it make to the old man? He was dead.
17 - Clavos
Not to put too fine a point on it, Chris, but when I die, whomever gets stuck with disposing of me can sell me to the dog food factory; I won't know the difference or care.
18 - Glenn Contrarian
Tell me, Arch - how long have you lived in a third-world nation? Especially one where everyone looked really different from you and spoke a different language? If you actually looked where it was he lived there, you could hardly call it 'privileged'.
Ah, but if you actually looked and did some honest research, you might actually call into question your assumptions, and your assumptions are SO much more comforting to you than the truth is....
19 - roger nowosielski
Sure he had. In third-world nations, rented mules abound.
20 - roger nowosielski
As well as plenty barren, forty-acre lots.
21 - Christopher Rose
Clavos, although I was asking Archie, your answer doesn't surprise me but it does appal me.
You're not bothered that a possible candidate for the presidency has a total disregard for the passionately held opinions of someone? I find it totally unacceptable behaviour and a real reveal of the character of this guy.
22 - Christopher Rose
Your remark about dog food is irrelevant; that wouldn't be a betrayal of your core beliefs.
23 - Clavos
The man was dead, Chris. Not only were his beliefs no longer passionately held, they weren't held at all.
What if it had been the other way around? What if the old man had been a devout Catholic and Mitt had had him buried in unconsecrated ground with no religious rites,or worse yet, cremated him without Catholic rites?
24 - Clavos
The point is Chris, once dead you're just meat.
When I was in high school. my girl friend's father owned a sausage works, and I worked for him for a couple of years. The family had moved to Florida from Detroit, where the father had owned and operated a funeral home. One day I asked him how he had happened to transition from undertaking to sausage making. His reply was, "meat's meat." It shocked me at first, but I was 17 and at the point in my life where I was seriously questioning the religious beliefs under which I had been raised. After I though about the answer for a few days, I realized the old guy was right; once we cease to live, there's nothing there but meat.
25 - Clavos
There's an old maxim in the funeral business, again according to my girlfriend's father:
Funerals are for the living.