I feel that in light of all that has been happening here in Wisconsin over the last two weeks, and considering the fascist nature of last night's "under cover of darkness" unexpected vote, (story, in case you hadn't heard) which lasted only a matter of seconds (SO short a time in fact that two republicans who meant to vote "yes" didn't even have THEIR votes counted - view that story)...I think that the time has come for the President to go into his closet, get out his basketball shoes and head over to Andrews. Once there, he needs to get on Air Force One - destination Madison, Wisconsin. Upon landing at the airport in Madison, he needs to step out the door of that airplane with his "comfortable shoes" in his hand as he waves them and says..."I'm here to fulfill my promise!"
Then he should head down to the capitol and stand with the workers of Wisconsin while he steps to the microphone and points out to the rest of the country that the union workers are NOT the enemy here!
The unions are not “trying to destroy the Middle Class" as Governor Christie of New Jersey tried to claim in a clip I saw last night. Instead, the unions are what CREATED the middle class. In actuality, it is (in my humble opinion at any rate) the current crop of oligarchs who are seeking to destroy the middle class through the destruction of organized labor (as they have wanted ever since the workers first had the audacity to organize rather than just accept the crumbs that dropped from the tables of the robber barons). Thank the unions for the minimum wage, the 40 hour workweek, holiday pay, health benefits, sick days, safety regulations and most of the other benefits that American workers currently enjoy.
Far from the “enemy” trying to take down the middle class, union workers ARE the soul of the "middle class" (or what's left of it anyway) just struggling to get by like the rest of us. They're our our family members, our neighbors, our friends...not this faceless 'enemy' that the far-right is trying to convince us that they are. They are NOT to blame for the budget problems that the Right has created.
The true problem in this country is wealth disparity and the fact that the super-rich just hoard all the benefits that come from the hard work provided for them by the workers, while they move jobs overseas (yet remain supposedly "American" companies), refuse to pay reasonable taxes and just demand lower wages for workers, tax cuts for themselves, service and program cuts for the people, and deeper business deregulation that allows them to inflict even more damage on the people and the planet, all while their profit margins are at record levels...these are the true enemies of the middle class, and the country as a whole.
It is no coincidence that the outrageous rise of the wealth of the super-rich is directly connected to the rise of the power of the Right and the decline of organized labor in this country (see the chart near the end of this post) which is, of course, their goal. They are “capitalists” that want to privatize profits and socialize losses, as was proved recently with the bailouts in the financial services sector. When times are good, everything is theirs, when things are not so good, they want to spread the loss around and expect tax cuts, subsidies and bailouts along with calls for the middle class to "sacrifice". Well, when do they have to sacrifice? There seems to be aboslutely no end to their greed.
The enemies that are destroying the middle class are not the teachers, nor the nurses, nor the EMTs. They're neither the snow plow drivers nor the garbage men. If you're looking for the enemy here...for what is truly destroying the middle class, one need look no further than the likes of the Koch brothers (New Yorker Story / Koch-Suckers), Ira Rennert (whom I discussed in a previous posting – read it here), Peter G. Peterson (my post on him), and their ilk. People like the Walton family that saw their ancestor, Sam Walton, create an empire based on the principles of “buy American” but then forced manufacturing to get outsourced to Asia in order to improve their profit margin (even “All-American” manufacturers like Levi Strauss and Radio Flyer). The oil companies making obscene, record profits while still getting subsidies from the U. S. Government. The hedge-fund traders and bankers that create absolutely nothing but spend outrageous amounts of cash via a Right-wing money machine that spends millions on advertising by groups like Citizens United, Americans for Prosperity, The Cato Institute, The Club for Growth, the Heritage Foundation, and even the Chamber of Commerce (among numerous others) in support of political campaigns that will work to their personal advantage (and in most cases in direct opposition to the best interests of the majority of the people).
These groups used a flawed Supreme Court ruling, which it's starting to look like they also bought…
This ruling allowed the multi-Billionaires to inject millions of dollars into the last election in order to brainwash the middle class of this country…to convince the American people to vote against their own best interests in favor of the best interests of the multi-billionaires that are trying to destroy them and turn them into nothing but the peasant class that is here to serve them and help them get richer while we stay FAR beneath...where we belong (in their self-important minds at any rate).
http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/16/news/economy/middle_class/index.htm
And maybe after we stop them from destroying organized labor, perhaps we can do something about the rest of the horrors that are in this "budget repair bill" that will allow this corrupt republican administration to slash health care for children, seniors and the disabled as well as allowing the GOP to sell off valuable assets (like our state's power plants) to private corporations without bids and make deep funding cuts to education and transportation that will probably cost my city our public transit system (story - after all, what do rich people care about busses? They'd never actually lower themselves enough to ride one). The time has come to stop the oligarchs, before it's too late...and President Obama needs to stand with us, like he said he would.
outstanding!
ReplyDeleteI found your passionate logic, presentation, thorough and a great help, thank you
Agreed, Outstanding!! Excellent work Ari!! :)
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