Posts Tagged ‘middle-class’
The Republican Economic System explained in one picture
September 29th, 2010Financial Regulation and Government Oversight- [Strong Dems]
April 19th, 2010
RESPONSE:
The days of ‘Wall Street gone wild’ are over.
We HAD 8 years of high-risk, low taxes on the rich, and small Government regulation…
How did that work out for you, America?
FOLLOW-UP:
I think the Republicans are becoming the Financial Lobotomy Party.
After President Obama was elected, the GOP willfully forgot everything their ideology had created.
The Republican approach to this financial crisis is: Less Protection, More Fraud.
The Democratic approach to this financial crisis is: More Protection, Less Fat.
UNCOVERS:
Why listen to the failed arguments that have been a proven failure?
Being sore losers, and good friends to Financial Lobbyists, isn’t going to help the economy for the middle-class.
SIDE POINTS:
Clinton Says (Conservadems) Rubin, Summers Advice on Derivatives Was ‘Wrong’
Cut Spending Means Cut Services- [StrongDems]
April 15th, 2010
RESPONSE:
“What services are you going to CUT?”
SPENDING = SERVICES
When Republicans say “cut spending“, they are really saying “cut services.”
FOLLOW-UP:
Let’s be very clear here:
SERVICES (like Medicare, roads, Social Security, schools, Fire departments, Police departments, the FDA, the Military) are requested by ‘We the People’. That requires SPENDING money that the Government raises in TAXES.
If you want to lower TAXES, you lower SPENDING, by cutting SERVICES.
Everyone wants to eliminate Fraud, Waste, and Abuse, so that isn’t even a valid argument.
When someone says, “cut spending” or “lower taxes” you response should always be, “What services are you going to CUT?”
UNCOVERS:
It is very easy for Republicans to say “cut spending“, but very hard to make the concept of “service cuts” palatable to voters in their districts.
SIDE POINTS:
Ask them to name one Republican bill that was aimed at helping just the middle-class, and NOT the wealthy or Corporations.
Activist Judges or Legislate From the Bench- [Strong Dems]
April 12th, 2010
RESPONSE:
When Republicans say, “ACTIVIST“, think “UPPITY“.
When Republicans say, “CONSERVATIVE“, think “CORPORATE“.
Uppity Judges want to protect individual liberties from the control of big-money elites.
Corporate Judges want to protect billion-dollar corporations, wealthy political candidates, extremist churches, and homophobes.
You choose.
FOLLOW-UP:
Look, the Republicans have no interest in anyone who doesn’t agree with them. When Judicial Activism is in their favor, like Bush v. Gore, or unlimited campaign contributions by transnational corporations, or
When activists like Scalia, Thomas, Alito, Chief Justice Roberts, or former Chief Justice Rehnquist laid down the MOST extremist activist decisions, there was not a peep from the Republican party.
But when Liberal Judges defend the middle-class, the least among us, or the protections afforded to all of us in the Constitution, they are Uppity Activist Judges.
UNCOVERS:
The GOP should just change their name to the Hypocrisy Party and be done with it. Their arguments at this point are tired and transparent. The drive-by politics that they engage in is not meant to be serious or constructive, it is about insuring their anti-democratic legacy.
When all is said and done, ‘Individual Liberty and Constitutional protections, NOT Corporate rule‘ should be the message of the Democratic Party.
SIDE POINTS:
- McCain Opposes Activist Judges, Unless They’re Conservative
- Psst … Justice Scalia … You Know, You’re an Activist Judge, Too
- “Conservative Activist Judge” is NOT an Oxymoron
- Supreme Imbalance: Conservative Activism on the Supreme Court
The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
June 28th, 2010Career analyst Daniel Pink examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don’t: Traditional rewards aren’t always as effective as we think. Listen for illuminating stories — and maybe, a way forward. TED:
Here is the RSA version of the speech:
UNCOVERS:
FDR said, “Necessitous men are not free men.” Once a person is out of poverty, and makes a decent wage, the motivation for success and progress is not huge sums of money. The excesses of the last 30 years of failed Conservative Economics is based upon the “money = results” model of CEO pay, and Wall Street bonuses.
Since the great depression, the middle class grew due to strong unions, strong government oversight, and strong caps on what society looked at as unnecessary (and harmful) wealth. Once this wall was shattered by Friedmanomics, and Reagan in particular, the United States now has the most wealth disparity of any nation on the planet.
Our definition of success has been perverted.
Children are looking to become millionaires instead of curing sicknesses. The smartest among us are applying to finance jobs, rather than physics, chemistry, or engineering. Get-rich-quick schemes, and immediate gratification rates of returns are the assumption of success, not long-term, slow-growth strategies which bring stability and security.
Greed, for the lack of a better word, is NOT good. It is a cancerous byproduct when altruism is removed from Capitalism.
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Posted in Commentary, Offense
Tags: altruism capitalism ceo pay greed middle-class Motivation TED wealth disparity