"Sharing the Wealth"

I guess I will start with fully explaining my stand on the “rich”. First, I am not talking about someone who makes $500,000 a year... they are not the “rich” I am against. I am speaking of the 1% that owns more wealth than the bottom 90% of the population. The same 1% that earns more income annually than the bottom 50% of us. We have the greatest income inequality of any other industrialized country. Wall Street salaries have went from a 20/1 CEO to class worker ration to a 250/1 ratio in the last 8 years. You speak of the horrors of wealth redistribution, yet it has been going on in the United States since the Great Depression... just the other direction. UP. The rich have gotten richer and the poor have gotten poorer. And it has led us to where we are today.
“As mass production has to be accompanied by mass consumption, mass
consumption, in turn, implies a distribution of wealth -- not of
existing wealth, but of wealth as it is currently produced -- to
provide men with buying power equal to the amount of goods and
services offered by the nation's economic machinery. Instead of
achieving that kind of distribution, a giant suction pump had drawn into a few hands an increasing portion of currently produced wealth. This served them as capital accumulations. But by taking purchasing power out of the hands of mass consumers, the savers denied to themselves the kind of effective demand for their products
that would justify a reinvestment of their capital accumulations in
new plants. In consequence, as in a poker game where the chips were
concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, the other fellows could stay in
the game only by borrowing. When their credit ran out, the game
stopped."
Sound familiar?? This was stated in 1941 after the Great Depression by Marriner Stoddard Eccles who was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve under FDR. We learn very little from our past. And here we are again. Foreclosures are hitting record highs; Americans are declaring bankruptcy at rates ten times that during the great Depression; more college students drop out because of debts than due to poor grades. We now have one of the highest rates of childhood poverty in the world even though we also have the highest number of billionaires. Our dollars worth is declining daily. Our deficit is the highest in the history of our country. And it is all due to the concentration of wealth into the hands of a few.
The republicans have successfully convinced the upper middle class that they are rich and that a democratic controlled government is going to reach into their pockets and take their money. This is absurd. The American dream is a fantasy they use to control their constituents. The average upper middle class American will never find themselves in that 1% of the population that I feel is destroying our country from the inside out. The same 1% that the republican party so strongly protects. It is an illusion. They plant this seed of fear of losing your money just to keep you from demanding what is rightly yours. The democrats are not going to take your riches because they only exist in your fantasy world.
And speaking of wealth redistribution and “sharing the wealth”, what would you call the $700 billion dollar bailout? Taking money from who.... the middle class tax payer.... and giving it to wall street? Using our taxpayer dollars to buy banks?? Doesn't this sound like evil socialism?? At least in true Socialist states, the government buys up PROFITABLE industries instead of failing ones. I would describe myself as a Democratic Socialist. The right wing has wrongly equated democratic socialism to communism and totalitarianism, which is completely incorrect. To me, Democratic Socialism is the belief that all people are entitled to the basic rights of health care, college educations and workers benefits. We do not want the government to own everything, but for it to ensure that all citizens are provided for equally and in a fair manner within the structure of a democratic society. Many countries in Europe would be described as Democratic Socialist states. Their governments and countries have not collapsed around them either. These same Europeans are the ones that have made the greatest strides in saving us from our current economic crisis. These same European countries have higher currency rates, higher life expectancies and far more efficient infrastructures. Why? Because their wealth is not disproportionately concentrated.
I am not saying every aspect of socialism is acceptable. But I do not understand why our democracy can't evolve? Why can't every American be guaranteed health insurance? Why is that such a bad thing? Why can't every child be guaranteed a college education? Why can't every American worker be entitled to paid vacations? Oh, forgive me, I forgot... it's because we have to protect that 1% of our citizenship that holds all our capital. Their ability to accumulate wealth is far more important than the health and well being of the other 99% of us. And to think that 1% is concerned about us.... and is using all that capital they have hoarded up to create nice cushy jobs with great benefits so we can all live happily ever after is naive to say the least. They already sent those jobs to India or China.

Joe The Plumber?????

As I watched the debate last night, it made me realize just how much John McCain is out of touch with middle class America.

First off, can he even say the words MIDDLE CLASS, because I never heard him mention us once. Second is this Joe the Plumber crap! Middle class America is not Joe the Plumber. I work a decent job, 48 hours a week, but as a single parent trying to make it on my own, at times I have to worry about how many groceries I buy when I'm shopping. I have to budget every aspect of my finances just to make it. So forgive me if I can't muster up any sympathy for Joe the friggin plumber for not being able to buy a BUSINESS! Poor Joe. What will he do??? McCain is so clueless to our plight. He has no idea what it's like to struggle.

His health care plan is a joke too. Anyone that has ever had to go out and purchase their own health insurance between jobs knows how far $5,000 is going to go. No where. Without any kind of reform to the system, for most of us that have had any kind of pre existing condition, we might as well just wipe our asses with his $5,000. And you may call me unpatriotic, but I would LOVE to have health insurance like Canada and England. To not live in fear of cancer or a heart attack making us bankrupt would be nice!

He consistently wants to point fingers at Obama... Bill Ayers, Acorn... just to keep everyone from seeing the real deal. He keeps attacking Obama on a personal level. Who he "pals around with" or who he used to "work for". Obama attacks McCain's PLANS and POLICIES. Big difference if you want to talk about negative campaigns. And furthermore, who is to say that the ACORN thing wasn't a bunch of republicans incognito trying to stir things up. They go in, volunteer to register voters and make up registrations just so they can turn around and point the finger at Obama. I wouldn't put it past them. They come across as that desperate at this point. I mean you pay someone $8 an hour to register voters, you are going to have some losers that just make up stuff to get the money. Not to mention that Obama isn't even linked to the group beyond representing them in a motor voter initiative. I won't go into detail, but there are a whole host of GOOD things that ACORN has done for the under privileged and lower class, but who cares about those that don't have capital and can't buy a plumbing business?

I got a phone call AT WORK today... one of those pre recorded deals from McCain talking about Obama and Ayers. It made my skin crawl. Stick to the issues. If Ayers was such a huge national security threat why is he free? It insults my intelligence for McCain's campaign to try to cram this nonsense down my throat. I research these allegations and make my own decisions. I have checked it out on factcheck.org among other places, and they are making a mountain out of a molehill. McCain doesn't want us to link him to President Bush even though he basically spent 8 years up his ass, but it's ok to link Obama to someone he merely served on an educational panel with in Chicago. Makes perfect sense!

The lesser of two evils...

I had an inspirational Political Science professor in college that did so much to mold my political identity. He used to always say that choosing the lesser of two evils was no choice and not the right thing to do. That idea stuck with me. So back in 2000 who did I vote for? Nader. I thought my reasons were valid. I wanted a third party to get some attention. I knew he couldn't possibly win, but if he would have captured just 10% of the popular vote, his party would have gotten federally matched campaign funds during the next election and we could have had another choice, another voice being heard in the political arena. Now as I look back on that I wonder.... if all those Nader votes had of been Gore votes where would this country be right now? Would we have ended up in Iraq for no reason? Would we have lost all our credibility on the international stage? Would we be bankrupt? I knew things were going to be bad with Bush. I remember the two things I kept telling people were that gas prices would go up and that he would not be able to handle foreign affairs. Boy did I hit the nail on the head with that one. I never dreamed we would end up where we are today though. The absence of real leadership can really take the ship down fast. And now we are there again. I keep hearing so many people say they aren't going to vote because they don't like Barrack or McCain. I can understand where they are coming from. I don't consider myself a republican or a Democrat. But I tend to lean toward a little more liberal views on some things. But I can tell you this much, I'll be choosing the lesser of two evils this time! I honestly feel McCain will take us farther down the path Bush started us on. Middle class America can't take much more. It may be too late for us already. So Barrack will be getting my vote. I just wish I had more choices!

My first entry!

Well here we go!! I'd like to welcome myself to the blogosphere! I am new to this so bare with me. I just woke up today and decided I needed an outlet for my pent up political frustrations. Like many Americans, I feel as if I have lost my voice, my vote, my representation. I mean honestly, in the mixing pot we call America, how can just two parties adequately represent our vast array of beliefs and concerns? It seems a bit ridiculous when you think about it. Two parties? Like all 300 million of us can be neatly categorized into two groups!! So I will come here and voice my concerns, atop my little cyber soap box in hopes someone out there may want to listen!