Lately in the news I’m hearing more comments from various sources that claim the republicans are purposely fighting anything that will improve our economy, and improve the plight of poor people — because if they can keep the economy in bad shape, and make poor people even more desparate — they can win elections in the fall. I’ve also heard more rumors that employers who are republicans are delaying hiring because they want to keep unemployment rates high — again for the sake of elections. If this is true, how despicable and mean-hearted can you get? As I write today I’m feeling angry about the lack of cooperation of the republicans in getting our country into recovery. I’m looking for that recovery, and instead I find politicians who put winning for themselves over our recovery.
If the above is true I don’t ever want to hear another republican claim that they put country first. Now, I also don’t think it is wise to take the comments as fact until doing a little thinking about this. However, even just a quick glance at the news makes it pretty obvious that the republican party, whose members walk lock step with each other like robots (than you don’t have to be independent thinkers) are obstructing everything that has a chance of improving things. They are completely, and I mean completely unwilling to give the democrats a chance to try anything that could work. They cannot afford to let the democratic party have success at improving the mess the republican administration left behind. Instead of giving new ideas a chance, they block and obstruct absolutely everything. They even recently obstructed the desperately needed unemployment benefit extensions. What amazes me is that in spite of this continued obstruction the democratic party can get anything done at all! Imagine what could be done if the republicans cared more about us and our country than they do about winning elections! Imagine if they cared enough to come up with good ideas of their own! They won’t even do that. Everything for them is tax cuts for the rich — as if that has ever worked for the rest of us. Phooey.
Now, as a real estate professional I want an economic recovery — now. Those of us in real estate know that it is only with a strong middle class economy that our real estate industry is strong. Having a growing group of billionaires at the top, a shrinking of the middle class, and a growing low income servant class is not good for us in real estate. Therefore, I don’t want people playing politics with our recovery. I especially don’t like it when I see those who are supposed to be the people’s representatives seeming to side with corporate billionaires, instead of siding with the people. (Apologizing to BP????? Phooey!) I have no respect for those in the Supreme Court who have overturned years and years of precedent by deciding that billionaire corporations can spend as much as they want on elections, and thus have the ability to unduly influence our elections. I guess republicans and many democrats,too, believe that the money will come to them and they can win. Winning for themselves is everything to a politician. It is easy to see that the republican administrations have stacked the court with activist judges in order to support the continued rise of a class of billionaire elites. Before you know it, if things keep on as they are, we will be a society like that found in the books of Charles Dickens.
Time and time again, Democrats in the House have sent legislation to the Senate to create jobs. What is it that the middle-class — what did middle-class families ever do to Republicans in the Senate that they would snuff out every opportunity for job creation that has been sent to them? Why can’t they develop any ideas of their own to create jobs? Why can’t they give a glimmer of hope to America’s working families — to some who have jobs, but fear losing them, to some who want better jobs, to some who are concerned about their children or their neighbors or other family members being able to get a job?
And so here we are again — we sent a jobs bill in December. They did not pass it. Now we’re sending it another jobs bill to them. And we hope that they will act upon it. But so far, they have said ‘no’ — they have said ‘no’ when we have talked repeatedly. When we have talked about summer jobs, the Republicans have said ‘no.’ When we talked about tax breaks to unleash billions of jobs in research and development, Republicans have said ‘no.’ Read more
What was it like in the 19th century days of Charles Dickens? There was a great disparity in society, with the very rich at the top, a very small merchant group in the middle, and lots of hardworking, struggling poor at the bottom. Health care, education, art, theater, good housing, good food and nearly all good things were for the rich at the top, and there were no safety nets for the poor. This does make for a stable society, as the poor are kept so desperate and fearful they don’t have time to rebel against their fate. Only when you have a strong middle class are there challenges to the rich, and the ways of the very rich. You can see why some people would prefer to return to these Dickensian days — if they are rich.
You know, if we would simply raise the taxes on the very rich (and I’m not talking about anyone in the middle class!!!) we could solve many of our economic woes a lot sooner. Why is it we are so reluctant to ask anything of the rich? We watch people losing their homes, their cars, their health, and their lives, and are ready to make even more cuts to the social safety nets for the working poor, cuts in education, cuts in public features like parks and museums, but we don’t want to ask even a small percentage increase of money from the rich, who, let’s admit it, wouldn’t really notice any loss at all? They would continue to have more houses than they can live in, more cars than they can drive, more servants, food, clothes, shoes, jet flights to other countries, and money to spend on every frivolity they can imagine. They would not suffer the slightest thing. And don’t give me that line that it is the rich who create jobs — Phooey. We have rich right now who just sit on their money, and are not creating any jobs whatsoever at a time when we need those jobs. Even today job creation is coming from the remaining middle class, and we know that it is the middle class who create the best jobs. Rich corporations create lousy, low paying jobs only to make themselves more money. And they are quick to fire everybody and take those jobs overseas if they believe they can pay even less in wages, treat people even more poorly, and therefore make more money. The very rich are not our friends, and we need to wake up and realize this fact. They are predators and see most people as prey.
We do NOT live in a Christian country, because if we were a Christian country the priority would always be on taking care of the least ones amongst us, not the richest.
Tags: economy, elections, jobs, keep the economy in bad shape, obstruction, republicans, unemployment
