I was listening to CSPAN the other morning when they were addressing what President Obama said about Social Security checks and how he couldn’t assure people that the checks would be in the mail if the debt ceiling bill isn’t passed by August 2nd. That morning I heard a caller from Texas on CSPAN lament the fact that she depends on her Social Security check to be there in August as she only has ten dollars left to her name. There were other calls with similar concerns. People were worried about how they were going to pay their bills. Now, just stop right there because I don’t want to hear about how she should pull herself up by her bootstraps or some right winger commenting on how pathetic she is for not having some savings to her name. In our country, we used to be compassionate first. Most of the working class people in the United States are merely a paycheck away from disaster at any given moment anyway. Do you think it’s because they planned to fail or failed to plan? Perhaps it has something to do with the regressive way that income has not kept up with inflation. We have been told that inflation is kept in check, it’s not bad. I think it depends on who is fudging the numbers. Most Americans are well aware of the continuing cost of energy in this country. From the high cost of gas for our vehicles, to the ever rising cost to heat and cool our home, and even the cost of food. Everything has gone up while wages for most Americans have been stagnant. So what is the response in Washington?
The Republicans want to hold fast on keeping the taxes down for the “job creators”. Yes, we all know that these are the new code words for “rich” people. We don’t want to refer to their wealth. We must refer to them as “job creators” because they have created so many jobs since the Bush tax cuts were implemented! Quit laughing! I know I can be quite sarcastic when I think of these things. We all know that those jobs have yet to materialize for most Americans, including young college graduates. Some of them are working, but many are stifled by huge school loans and struggling to pay these back. These rich people, aka “job creators” probably have created jobs….in China, India, Bangladesh, and anywhere else that might have cheap labor. Here is GM working in South Korea but these South Koreans better be careful and thankful for what they have or GM will pull out and go where labor is even cheaper. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/11/gm-korea-idUSL3E7IB00U20110711
So a few days later we hear this. http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110714/OEM/110719936/1277
So now GM is spending a little money over here in Michigan at Flint. http://www.freep.com/article/20110719/BUSINESS01/107190335/GM-invest-328-million-Flint-plant?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p
However, behind the story is one of workers that have agreed to a tiered wage system here in the United States. The young people of today are being screwed in every which way possible. http://www.indypendent.org/2011/07/18/will-autos-three-tier-wages-be-on-the-table/
I can’t say what will happen for these workers as they negotiate new contracts but I’m sure they won’t get what they want because there are other eager workers willing to work for less! That is the problem. We have created a pool of unemployed people that want to work but cannot find jobs. This pushes the wages down because the “job creators” know they can replace their workers with someone else or they can outsource their jobs to another country where the wages are even lower! The job creators might say why create jobs over here when we can make more money over there! It is kind of like when GW Bush used to say we are fighting them over there so we don’t have to fight them here. So, with all of this “stuff” in my head I keep wondering about all of the political posturing in Washington.
It almost seems like the two parties are clueless to what the American people are feeling or they just don’t care. Both sides think they can use this “issue” to garner votes in 2012. If more people think like I do, we would all be looking for a way to get third party candidates elected that are not loyal to either of these worthless parties. I, for one, wish Senator Barry Sanders would run for President. http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=58d258f8-01bc-417d-ae92-247951a1b9e2
Oh, yes, I know he is a self proclaimed “socialist”! He is a cancer among the pure Democrats and Republicans who are the wonderful epitome of the capitalist society we live in. Socialist isn’t a dirty word for me because as a born and raised Catholic, I was always taught about “social justice” and what is truly right and wrong! It doesn’t take a genius to know that there is something wrong with a country that has so much in wealth but cannot seem to take care of the least of its people. As the Republicans continue to posture and take care of “their” people, you know the “job creators”, and President Obama keeps his fake stance of indignation going, many people in this country are suffering and worrying about their futures. This bill the Republican House is working on today is nothing but a cut, cap, and crap bill. If they cared about balancing the budget, they would not have pushed so hard for extending the Bush tax cuts in December. Our country is in trouble. We are now involved in three wars with two parties that seemingly don’t care if we ever end them. We have two worthless political parties that care more about their individual next election than they do about the American people. In addition to this, we have those “SuperPacs” that will continue to run their ads infiltrating into the minds of common people to get them to vote for their candidate! http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/index.php
Doesn’t anyone see how corrupt these SuperPacs are when Stephen Colbert makes them into something he can use to get laughs with on his show? http://www.npr.org/2011/06/30/137527309/theres-nothing-funny-about-colberts-superpac
It was funny last night when I saw the names of his contributors scrolling across the screen but this is the price of our democracy! Neither party will do anything but what their “SUPERPAC” powers want them to do. So, if you really think President Obama is holding out for a deal for the American people, well, I suggest that you just don’t hold your breath or be too disappointed when once again the “common” people are left holding a bag full of empty promises! If you are a Republican thinking that Representatives Ryan and Cantor understand you and know your pain and will vote in your best interest, rest assured, they will both vote in their own best interest. If you are a “job creator”, aka “rich”, it could be yours as well!
I just got this tweet from Bernie about a “Fair Deal”.