Income inequality at an all time high

[ccbatson]

Pick the conservative approach everyday and twice on Sunday.

[Omaha]

As a Colbert Conservative and Social Darwinist, I will always favor the conservative line…without it the rich don’t get richer. The top one-tenth of one percent were smart enough to choose their parents well…or God in His infinite wisdom blessed them with their wealth.

“The rights and interests of the laboring man will be protected and cared for - not by labor agitators, but by the Christian men to whom God in His infinite wisdom has given control of the property interests of the country, and upon the successful management of which so much depends.� George Baer, President of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad [[one of the largest coal operators) 1902. When asked about the conditions of those working in the coal mines, George Baer replied, “Suffer?!...They don’t suffer! Why, they can’t even speak English!!�

Liberals like A. Lincoln were terribly upset when they implied that labor is the source of all wealth. He was a RINO if there ever was one.

“Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much higher consideration.� Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States in his first message to Congress, December 3, 1861

Unions say that they exist to end the “reverse auction� method employers use to hire folks at the lowest possible wage. They claim that they just want for their members their fair share of the wealth they create. Every dime union members get is taken out of the pockets of the owners. It’s thievery. It is a violation of the 8th Commandment, ergo it’s anti-Christian.

“Any man who pays more for labor than the lowest sum he can get men for is robbing the stockholders. If he can secure men for $6 and pays more, he is stealing from the company.� Stockholder of American Woolen, [[Lawrence, Massachusetts) told to the Rev. Harry Emerson Fosdick, 1911

When union density is high and the “spillover� effect boosts the wages of non-union workers, every dime these overpaid employees get taken out of the pocket of the owners.

I like a greed-driven system that gives the rich and well-born more and more and more.

I hate laws that limit an owner’s freedom to use child labor, pay people of color less than whites and women less than men. They limit an owner’s LIBERTY to get employees for the cheapest possible price. Heck, those laws maybe Constitutional but they are anti-Christian too.

[ccbatson]

Labor and capital are inextricable...one can't exist without the other and they both work to the greatest degree when they hold the same values and priorities...Capitalism is the only economic philosophy that results in this kind of congruency.

[lilpup]

You'll love this, Omaha:

Martha’s Vineyard – summer retreat for the likes of Bill ~Clinton, Harvey Weinstein, Spike Lee and now the Obamas [and Rush Limbaugh gets a mention] – depends on thousands of Brazilians to do the hard labour. Unlike earlier influxes, these newcomers are mostly illegal [[estimates are as high as 70 per cent)...

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/e737b6c6-8...44feabdc0.html

[ccbatson]

Why shouldn't the statist leader of the new America Socialist Republic enjoy the stolen fruits of the labor from the populace?

[Lorax]

When the average person cannot feed their families, pay for health care, find a job, get an education- we all suffer.

The policies of the Rethuglican Reich want class warfare, and promote it at every turn, especially since Obama became president.

For eight years we had a fascist administration which disallowed protesters anywhere near a presidential appearance unless they were caged in behind chain-link fences. They were forbidden to wear shirts that challenged the party line at presidential events.

Now we have fascist militia thugs showing up with AK-47's to Obama's events.

What amazes me is how the rich never learn their lessons. The French Revolution comes to mind, as well as the civil rights movement, the Detroit Riots, etc. These were racial/social, poor/rich movements which highlighted the disparity in how we treat the members of our society.

The Rethuglicans are a dying breed, thankfully, but they still think there is a majority of people who believe their dogma. There isn't.

Rethuglicans will at every turn support the rights of the wealthy against those of the poor or middle class. Corruption is indemic with them, greed the all consuming passion.

Without a middle class to purchase goods and services provided by the wealthy corporations- Walmart comes to mind, especially, then they too will suffer.

Nothing starts a revolution faster than the unvarnished greed of the haves against the have-nots. I hope the Rethuglicans keep it up, since it will ultimatelly lead to their excoriation from our society, much like diseased leper.

I personally am advocating at every turn to achieve this, going so far as to volunteer to raise funds for Saracuda Palin for President, since she would be the fastest path to a complete collapse of the society as we know it.

The faster we can wash out the current system, the faster we can achieve a socialist structure much like Democratic Europe enjoys today. Democrats unfortunately are too scattered to achieve this, and too timid, even with complete power and control at the moment.

If health care fails this time around, then the only answer is to carpetbag the system with the most socially retarded, ignorant stump we can find to run as president, and that would be Saracuda Palin.

[ccbatson]

The fencing in you refer to were at partisan events both Democrat and Republican..specifically at the conventions.

[Lorax]

The fencing in you refer to were at partisan events both Democrat and Republican..specifically at the conventions.

Ah, the only fencing in was at Rethuglican events, throughout the 8 years, everywhere Tush went.

[ccbatson]

Oh, that's right, I forgot...the Dems bused the homeless and vagrants miles away with one way tickets, then they recycled the idea recently in New York, this time, many times further and out of state.

[Lorax]

Oh, that's right, I forgot...the Dems bused the homeless and vagrants miles away with one way tickets, then they recycled the idea recently in New York, this time, many times further and out of state.

LOL!!!!!

You are so lost. Just give up and save yourself!

[vetalalumni]

“The rights and interests of the laboring man will be protected and cared for - not by labor agitators, but by the Christian men to whom God in His infinite wisdom has given control of the property interests of the country, and upon the successful management of which so much depends.� George Baer, President of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad

Absolutely vomitous when pondered. Especially in the context of 1902. We are learning better ways.

[lilpup]

Absolutely vomitous when pondered. Especially in the context of 1902. We are learning better ways.

A thousand points of light?

[oladub]

A series of structural changes instituted by Bush II went a long way toward promoting economic stratification. Tax cuts for the rich, more favorable treatment of capital gains are two ways Bush favored the rich. But structural changes don't end with Bush's favors. WTO and NAFTA sent many blue collar jobs overseas. Those were bipartisan programs. While jobs were sent out of the country, both parties turned a blind eye to the flood of illegal aliens seeking some of the remaining blue collar US jobs. Supply/demand dictates that a larger supply of labor competing for fewer manufacturing jobs results in stagnant or decreased pay. So while the rich were benefiting from these structural changes, blue collar workers suffered from them.

Both parties also flooded the country with printing press dollars. A corollary of this policy is that those who get the first use of additional currency get the benefit of it. That would be the bankers and Wall Street. Which brings me to the most blatant example of government beeming up the rich; Bush's Wall Street bailout. It transferred money from all taxpayers to a small number of bankers and financiers. This was also a bi-partisan corporatist giveaway to the rich.

[Lorax]

Unfortunately for Obama and the rest of us, they miscalculated the deep seated anger at government, especially in light of the economic collapse, brought to us courtesy of the Tush Administration and 8 years of unregulated/deregulated corporate mischief.

Now his agenda will suffer tremendously beacuse of the corporate bailouts, continued business as ususal on Wall Street, the egregious salaries, bonuses for failure, etc. Realize, the expansion of government in dire times is really the investor of last resort, so I don't blame him for the spending, but the optics of spending so much while sitting at the bottom of this debacle will only water-down the effectiveness of health care, cap and trade, immigration reform, etc.

Bush really set the agenda of Obama's administration, and sadly, the Democrats don't have the spine to force the better legislation through congress which in the long run will benefit us as a nation. The short term polling, special interests like Big Pharma and Big Insurance will again, ultimately win.

[Lorax]

Perhaps a little justice in the works?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/20/bu...html?th&emc=th


The rich are getting some blowback in evading taxes, as mentioned here in today's NYT. Swiss banks aren't so great anymore for hiding money, apparently.

[ghettopalmetto]

Quote: "It's not the fault of the haves if the have-nots don't take full advantage of their opportunities and work for what they want."

No more true words have a I read today.

Nowhere else on the planet is so much opportunity afforded an individual as here is the US. Those that do not take advantage of it, have only themselves to blame.

So why aren't you a billionaire? Are you a lazy bastard or something?

[elganned]

The most specious and pernicious false assumption of the conservative "pull-yourself-up" Horatio Alger crowd is that opportunity is equally distributed on the ground.

No one wants to admit how huge a role plain ol' dumb luck plays in certain people making it to the top.

[oladub]

The most specious and pernicious false assumption of the conservative "pull-yourself-up" Horatio Alger crowd is that opportunity is equally distributed on the ground.

No one wants to admit how huge a role plain ol' dumb luck plays in certain people making it to the top.

Fortunately, you haven't convinced Korean, Vietnamese, and Somali immigrants yet. Korean and Vietnamese men set up lending pools to help each other get off the ground. Somali elders study how our system works and take full advantage of it. They decide which states offer low crime, cheap rent, and government opportunities. Their people are directed, for instance, from Atlanta and Boston housing projects, where the federal government put them, to Minneapolis and Maine. All three of these groups seem to be largely pulling themselves up with their own cultural bootstraps. Pity the poor Korean-American kids who dare to come home from school with bad grades.

[Sstashmoo]

Quote: "Are you a lazy bastard or something?"

You had it right the first time, "lazy bastard".

[elganned]

Korean and Vietnamese men set up lending pools to help each other get off the ground.

Gasp! SOCIALISM!! COLLECTIVISM!!

Somali elders study how our system works and take full advantage of it. They decide which states offer low crime, cheap rent, and government opportunities. Their people are directed, for instance, from Atlanta and Boston housing projects, where the federal government put them, to Minneapolis and Maine.

Gasp! Gasp!! CENTRALIZATION!! PATERNALISM!! DESPOTISM!!!

You make my case very well. The go-it-alone individualism advocated by the conservative right is, and always has been, a myth.

[ghettopalmetto]

Gasp! SOCIALISM!! COLLECTIVISM!! Gasp! Gasp!! CENTRALIZATION!! PATERNALISM!! DESPOTISM!!!

You make my case very well. The go-it-alone individualism advocated by the conservative right is, and always has been, a myth.

Unless, of course, you're smart enough to be born into wealth. Or marry into it. Or both, like my buddy Mark "Bootstraps" Sanford.

Sorry, folks. You're gonna have a tough time convincing me that Paris Hilton is one of the most productive members of our economy.

[Mama Jackson]

Nobody has mentioned the elephant in the room, the reason for the income disparity: the approval of NAFTA. As long as the companies of America can move off shore, pay their employees pennies, and return those goods to America for HUGE profits [[in other words, not giving the consumer's the benefit of the decreased production costs) we will always have this problem. I would have rather seen Pres. Obama follow through on his campaign promises to renegotiate NAFTA to fair trade than the Health Care reform. Health Care reform is needed, but not as much as fixing the NAFTA agreement.

[oladub]

Mama Jackson, NAFTA was mentioned in post 38. It is a millstone carried by workers. Senator Obama did criticize NAFTA on the campaign trail as necessary but "Obama's NAFTA-bashing "should be viewed as more about political positioning than a clear articulation of policy plans." ...Canada's CTV News reported that a "senior member" of Obama's campaign had phoned Wilson personally to advise him to "not be worried about what Obama says about NAFTA." http://www.slate.com/id/2185753/

elganned, The most communal groups in this country, as far as I know, are the Hutterites and various religious orders. You try to make the case for large government. I mentioned private initiatives although the Somalis, especially, make government programs a part of their equation. But yes, within the network of their communities, these groups have shown that hard work, cooperation, and family have proven more successful than just waiting for handouts,programs, planning from the government. Another difference; none of these groups try to impose their cooperative or communal lifestyles on their neighbors either.

[lilpup]

Slight error, there, Ms Jackson, and that's about not giving the consumers the benefits of decreased production costs. Consumers are seeing the lower costs reflected in most pricing, which just further undercuts the domestic producers making it difficult for them to keep operations in the US or stay solvent if they do.

What's really happening is the undercutting of the entire US economy because consumer greed and apathy have set the trend for all our wealth being given to offshored and foreign production without enough of it being returned by hiring or producing here. It's "spend your money with us but we aren't going to hire or pay you." So now the average US residents keep spending away their wealth while fewer and fewer jobs or other means are available to reestablish income and replenish that wealth.

[Gistok]

Once liberal suckers buy into class envy like this, they will do anything in pursuit of "fixing" the inequality...even if it means doing themselves great harm by allowing liberals to dismantle the very economy which makes it possible to prosper. It is a complete farce, they become so short sighted that they somehow believe that socialism is the answer even though countless times in history it is clear that socialism leads to misery for the citizens under it's oppression.

Wealth is the fuel of an economy...period. Prosperity requires individual achievement which only occurs to a sufficient degree when there is an incentive to achieve. That incentive is the ability to retain the fruits of one's own labor and efforts. Furthermore, wealth held by individuals ALWAYS feeds back into the economy [[via reinvestment, consumption, both). Who, and how many people prosper in the process of building a large mansion for a wealthy customer?

On the other hand, what happens to resources [[wealth) in the hands of a socialist tyranny? It steadily dissolves away to nothing...costs go up, and quality goes down towards an inevitable disaster of unresolvable insolvency [[witness Medicare, Social Security, State economies, deficits/debt, and on, and on).

Wake up libs and recognize your real oppressors and real enemies....it is not the successful and wealthy individuals and corporations [[comprised of individuals), it is the radical socialist lying to you and inciting you to hate your own lifeblood...freedom and individual property rights.

Only thing wrong with your "let them eat cake" and "trickle down economics" fallacies is that the "socialist" economies of France and Germany are now coming out of the global recession... while free market America seems to still be wallowing in it....

Have you ever even been to Europe cc?? Life is miserable in western/northern Europe, isn't it?

The roadways and infrastructure are in great shape. They must be spending less on building mansions and more on infrastructure... an even better way to benefit ALL of the people, not just the rich.

In western/northern Europe the trains run on time... and the people work fewer hours, live longer healthier lives, are less stressed, and get more benefits than Americans.... It's a true Socialist Hell Hole, isn't it cc??