Congressional Republicans are trying to invoke the cost of reconstruction from Hurricane Katrina to justify cutting even more deeply and cruelly into programs that help the poorest Americans. Prodded by self-proclaimed budget hawks, the House speaker, Dennis Hastert, suddenly wants to up the ante in Congress's budget plan - to $50 billion from $35 billion - for five years of cuts in basic programs. Billions for food stamps, Medicaid and welfare reform would be lopped off. (New York Times, 10/13/05, Op/Ed)
This is the kind of “sticking it to the little man” that sends a surge of near-sexual excitement through Republican conservatives! And why shouldn’t it? It’s one thingto be the CEO of a major corporation and in one fell swoop give oneself a million dollar bonus while laying off 5000 workers – it’s a whole other to screw the poorest of the poor by a congressional act! It is the joy a sadist gets when finally cornering a wounded animal and knowing that it knows, (to quote Martha Reeves) there’s no where to run to…no where to hide.
So yes, let’s continue to give tax breaks to the richest of the rich. Let’s continue to turn a blind eye to the 64% of the Fortune 500 that pay no taxes, federal, state or local. Let’s continue to ignore the massive pay increases that CEOs give themselves for supposed “performance” while taking their sad faces to the workers and explaining to them that there’s simply no money for raises this year… AGAIN.
Again…I am stunned that the American people put up with this. Capitalism is a great system – but not this capitalism. Democracy is the best form of government, but not this democracy. Where is the protest? Where is the outrage?
Of course, when you wear the people down enough - when you make day-to-day existence such an intense struggle - when you sap all hope leaving the people only a pathetic, ridiculous hallucination that perhaps they’ll win the lotto this week - when you bring the population you despise to this level of despair, then you know they have little energy to rise up. When you’ve worked very hard (as Bush & Co. have) to associate righteous anger and legitimate criticism against government action with being unpatriotic and possibly pro-terrorism (according to the Patriot Act) then you’re halfway home to making sure no one will be able to effectively stand up to you.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - C_pig
You heard it hear folks. You are not responsible for your own financial situation. Only the government can help you, remember you are the victim. Wealthy people didn't get that way by hard work and ingenuity, they stole it from you. (even though you've never had a job or done anything productive in your life)
Unfortunately, we still have that pesky law that states that you can't go into a wealthier persons house and take their money. You can do the next best thing though, please vote for a politician who will take that persons money away and hand it to you.
And remember, it doesn't matter that you've never worked a day in your life or ever produced a good or service for anyone else, it is your right to leech off of those who did.
2 - Luke
Yeah, the reality is not what you said, nor is it what you meant (sarcasm = opposite) but somewhere inbetween, obviously, not everyone can be successful, imagine if everyone in the whole country was suddenly extremely motivated, and did everything that the billionaires did to become rich, it still wouldn't work, if everyone is trying to be rich, then who is spending their money on your crap? In order for there to be haves, there must be have nots, that's all there is to it, having said that, the American government is doing the best it can to make the lives of the have nots as shitty as possible.
3 - Nancy
I have a bumper sticker I love: STOP ORGANIZED CRIME: KILL A CEO! That pretty much says it all. IMO, every CEO & politician in the US should be rounded up, & they & those that enjoy the profits of their shameless stealing & cheating (i.e. their families) should be sold into hard-labor slavery as a warning to other would be capitalist pigs.
4 - Alethinos
C-Pig... Good of you to describe yourself so throughly...
Thanks for the hackneyed right-wing stooge response! I was afraid we might have to wait to see one!
What I most appreciate is your dismisal of the tens of millions of working poor in this counry! No doubt you've managed yourself to scrape together enough $$ to give $500 to the local Republican Party - probably at the expense of your children or wife. I imagine your sphincter muscle was near spastic in anticipation as you stepped into the dinner that night!
How you must have been filled with glee as you managed one inane racist joke after another as you tried desperately to rub elbows to White men far more powerful than you. No doubt you lied well about your golf game, though you were understandably embarrassed that you have to play your games on public courses, since you can't really afford the green fees at the local private course...
Yes, you're everything that makes America great!
Thank you SO much for pointing yourself out to us!
Alethinos
5 - C_pig
Luke,
Considering that half the world's population lives off less than 2 dollars a day, I'd say the rising tide in America has lifted all boats.
Being poor is mostly a state of mind rather than a clearly defined condition. In some areas of the world a guy who has two sets of old rags to wear, a ragged canvas tent, and two camels is considered middle class. By all American standards he is extremely poor, but he gets married, has kids, and enjoys life feeling that he has been moderately successful.
In the US, a person may live in their own home, have a car, two TV's, internet, free medical care, free education, and a government stipend and they feel that they are not being treated fairly. The average person in "poverty" in the US is wealthier than 80% of the world's population.
It is unfortunate that in any sort of competition, not everyone can be the same sort of winner. What disgusts me is those that play on the emotions of the less fortunate, inciting anger and jealousy for political gain.
The poster seems frustrated that the idea of victimhood has not taken hold on more people. He resorts to insulting individuals who don't see things his way as "poorly educated, terrified Whites". Thankfully, many of the poor aren't even buying it.
6 - Nancy
*snort* My ancestors had a house with an actual floor, pigs, 2 cows, AND a horse. They considered themselves aristocracy. Somehow, I don't feel comforted by their relative wealth.
7 - C_pig
Nancy,
Your idea has already been tried by the Soviets. I can't say what the populace thought about the results, but it did give them something to talk about while they were waiting in line for bread.
Your typing on a computer made by a capitalist pig, using electricity from a company owned by a capitalist pig, inside a building or house that was built by a capitalist pig. Are you really willing to give all that up?
Socialist governments have increased there productivity though. I hear that most Cubans just got issued rice cookers. You'll probably want to trade all your stuff in for one of those. Be careful what you wish for.
8 - Alethinos
Piggy, I'm not sure what world you live in - or if you've ever VISITED other parts of the world - as I have, but your arguments are not even specious!
No one here or elsewhere said anything even REMOTELY like what you're asserting - that EVERYONE should be reduced to or risen to the same status, financially. It was an absurd element of liberal thinking forty years ago and I can't think of anyone, save the most naive, that believes it now.
No one here or elsewhere is saying that we ROB the rich and give to the poor.
What IS being said is that you don't hamstring the poorest, most defenseless of your society - and then expect them to be happy about it. I don't no what world you live in, but I sure as hell don't want to live in one where a CEO, making millions shrugs when laying off thousands with an "oh well" attitude.
Who buys his BS about his being beholden to the "shareholders"? He, as well as the senior staff and the board of directors, along with other major corporations ARE the majority shareholders! It is THEIR pockets that are being lined - not grandma Jones who owns 10 shares.
Get real. If you want to make a viable argument stop touting lame verbiage you are getting of TALK RADIO...
And travel a little.
And read a few books.
And learn to think for yourself.
Alethinos
9 - Alethinos
Piglet! Good lord! What century are you living in? Or are you the last of the John Birch Society? Has anyone told you that Senator McCarthy is dead now?
This anti-pinko crap you're spouting is pathetic to the point of absurdity.
Go back to building your bunker...
Alethinos
10 - Nancy
Yes, what Alethinos says: no objection to reasonable capitalism & capitalists; but capitalist pigs are another matter, as evidenced by the epithet of "pigs". These are CEOs who are greedy for profit & personal aggrandizement above & beyond reasonableness, to an obscene level where lives are destroyed by their greed - and not just their own, which would be acceptable, but those of hundreds of thousands of innocent & far more deserving people. They are psychopathic, sociopathic monsters who have no concern or human care for anyone else but themselves. They are mentally & spiritually exactly in the same mold as the BTK killer, except they use money instead of knives.
11 - C_pig
"No one here or elsewhere is saying that we ROB the rich and give to the poor."
I believe you call it wealth redistribution, but the idea is the same.
"Piggy, I'm not sure what world you live in - or if you've ever VISITED other parts of the world - as I have, but your arguments are not even specious!"
Wow, did you really drive all the way to Canada once? I'm so impressed you world traveler. Let's both pull out our passports and see who's is bigger.
"learn to think for yourself."
Perhaps you should take this advice as well. I do think for myself, we would probably agree on many issues. Here's one for example.
I think that inheritance taxes should be very high. Rich families like the Kennedy's, Walton's, etc. should be broken up and their money should go back to the society which created it upon their deaths, not to their kids who did nothing to earn it. Not a very popular idea among most on the right, but one which would level the playing field for all. The increased inheritance tax would decrease tax on workers. I believe in equal opportunities for all, I just don't believe in punishing those who take advantage of them.
12 - Dr. Kurt
Well, about time! A little glimpse of reality, C-Pig.
I am an ardent capitalist. What we have evolved to in our nation is not capitalism; it is statism. Instead of competing fairly, large corporations find it cheaper & easier to just lobby for breaks on Capitol Hill. One of my friends had a large construction company that did good work, worldwide, for many years. He made a very respectable profit. Then, sometime in the mid-nineties, he found that he was losing out to multinationals with political connections. Unwilling to play dirty, he got out of the game.
If you want to defend capitalism, don't defend the status quo! The number of corporate lobbyists in Washington has more than tripled during the past 6 years. We, the working citizens, are increasingly marginalized.
"Pigs get fat; hogs get slaughtered."
13 - C_pig
Nancy,
At least we can agree on something. I think it is unfair that one person robs $400 from a store to feed his family and goes to prison, while a crooked CEO can cost thousands of people their retirement and get a slap on the wrist.
That is a completely seperate isuue from wealth redistribution. I can certainly understand your frustration with corruption because I have it too. Let's just not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Agitating the poor into a class war will not help this country.
14 - Nancy
But Piggie, I don't think that anything less will be effective. The salaries & compensation packages that CEOs, Boards, & management write themselves are obscene, but rank-&-file stockholders like myself have no say in curtailing them; and the stockholders that DO have enough clout to have a say are the very offenders themselves, most of the time. Additionally, you might notice that the most brutal & greedy CEOs also have tight connections with these same majority stockholders. It's all pigs in together at the trough. As Dr. Kurt points out, it isn't capitalism, it's statism & corruption. Like it or not, class warfare is here. I am constantly astonished that workers or small investors who are destroyed by these greed maggots don't go postal & execute justice on these CEOs themselves, since what passes for "justice" - i.e. a slap on the wrist, some minimal jail time at a country club prison, and a few million in fines - is nothing of the sort.
15 - C_pig
"Instead of competing fairly, large corporations find it cheaper & easier to just lobby for breaks on Capitol Hill."
You are absolutely correct. That is one of the reasons I believe in limited government. Private sector competitors have a hard time competing with government subsidized corporations. It throws out the competitive priciples of capitalism when you get the government involved. The government has no responsibility to achieve results or make a profit, and the billions of dollars it controls is enough to corrupt all but the most morally sound of it's members.
We see the same problems of corporate-government collusion, but you choose to fault the corporation, I choose to fault the government. I know what the corporation wants: my money. I can live with and understand that. The power of government is what I fear most. Government is not interested in money, hell it can print all it wants, it thrives on control over it's citizens, and that I find to be the real danger.
16 - Alethinos
I am sure C that if you could you'd take us right back to the good old days of 1900, where everyone knew their place.
Alethinos
17 - Alethinos
Excellent points Dr. K and Nancy...
Pigometer, I have traveled a bit further than Canada... I have also worked for years on Native American Reservations with different tribal councils - our own little third world right here at home. Only now - with the advent of the gaming facilities - is anything really changing there...
NO ONE is speaking of redistribution of wealth. Get that through your piggy little brain.
For instance I DON'T agree that wealthy families as you mentioned - should be stripped of their weatlh. They're immediate family member DID make that money - usually a long and arduous process.
However, I refuse to accept the old boy's network that we have - where a certain someone is promoted to CEO, and he "insists" on an astronomical salary and bonus. When it comes time he'll support those who supported him.
The same goes true for the Republicans - many of whom have never worked an honest day in their lives, blithly stripping even more assistance from those that are desperate for it. It isn't has if we have a welfare state anymore - which I never supported anyway...
Piggy, it is your attitude that perpetuates the horrid ugly American - right here in the good ole' US of A...
Alethinos
18 - Dave Nalle
>> let’s continue to give tax breaks to the richest of the rich.<<
Every time you post this lie I have to respond to it. The tax cut for the top 1% was less than half on a percentage basis the percent cut for low and middle income taxpayers, and the poor still continue to pay no taxes at all, and the cutoff for paying no taxes is raised almost every year to the point where it is now more than double the poverty level.
Dave
19 - Terry
Most interesting reponses. People become wealthy under capitalism because there is a social and political infrastructure that makes the acquisition of wealth possible and desirable. It is not simply a matter of personal initiative and ingenuity which is why capitalism has a history and began at specific times in history. Since we all benefit from this infrastructure we have an obligation to support it . One of the ways it is supported is through taxes.
Republicans have been proclaiming disdain for government for thirty years. Government is established as the Constitution notes "to provide for the common defense , promote the general welfare . ." etc. The presumption here is not simply a new aristocracy of wealth. Such disdain combined with massive tax cuts,unprecedented fiscal deficits, and a centralizing of power in the federal Government e.g Patriot Act , No Child Left behind with spending levels in percentage terms not seen since world war2 is a wonder to behold. LBJ's Great Society did not spend money at the rate the Republican controlled Federal Government is doing.
For religious conservastives to proclaim allegiance to this nonsense is selective Biblical reading at best. "What ever you do for the least of My bretheran you do for Me."
20 - Dave Nalle
>>all the while laying you off,<<
Employment is up substantially since the recession, which means that any layoff are more than offset by new job creation
>> raising your taxes,<<
Taxes have been lowered, not raised, for every income group.
>>sending your jobs to India<<
Outsourcing of jobs has been stable at about 7% for years and studies show that outsourcing jobs actually not only creates more jobs here in the US, but the ones it creates are better paying.
Thanks for this post, though. I was despairing of something meaty to respond to, but since every sentence you write is basically deceptive propaganda I've got days of entertainment ahead of me going through and disproving your ludicrous assertions.
dave
21 - steve
It should be something more along the lines of: The rich become wiser and better with money; and the poor remain lazy in an ever-changing economy
22 - C_pig
Those wealthy families maintain the good old boys network you despise. Most people who are wealthy that never worked a day in their life inherited their money. I realize that some businesses are family owned and operated and exceptions would need to be made, but the overall effect on upward mobility and equality of opportunity would greatly outweigh the negatives.
I see you scoff at an actual solution to the problems you raise. But then again, if the left actually got people out of poverty who would be left to vote for them?
23 - steve
nice post C_pig. I agree. The leftist-commies give them enough to eat, so they dont recognize the plight brought upon them
24 - Alethinos
Steve... Yes, I remember it well... We were all given $1,000,000 at birth. I squandered mine by the time I hit the 1st grade...
What bizzare world do you live in?
Alethinos
25 - Nancy
Piggie, being on "the left" means one is against the inherited Old Boys' Network & corporate/CEO corruption. Of course, that's the 'actual' left, not the left of the ivory-tower theorists, just like the actual right is not the right of the current big-spending, big-government GOP.