And the beat goes on

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

...when he really is talking about anyone who makes more than 200K a year, middle class in many large cities in the US.....

I'll buy that.

When he starts attacking rich lawyers and the uber rich in Hollywood he might gain a gram of credibility.

Isn't that exactly what you say he's doing above?

Everyone who is a millionaire has suddenly become either a “producer” or a “job creator.”

This is such a joke. Right now US Corporations are sitting on hundreds of billions in cash. Why aren't they using it to buy equipment and hire more people? One valid reason, there's no increase in market demand, it's just good business sense.

OK, that begs the question, why is there no increase market demand? Easy answer... "it's the economy, stupid". Expanding on that, there are too many people out of work, too many people working but making less than they were 10 years ago, too many people with less buying power than they had 20 years ago.

Seems like a vicious circle, doesn't it? How do we fix it?

I'm really pissed off how the "1%", and big corporations, have corrupted our government. But honestly, that's not the cause of our demise. I've often bitched that the rich only care about money, and don't give a shit about the country. I still believe that, but the bigger problem is YOU, walmart shoppers.

Blue Light Special! Aisle 3! Don't miss out on a chance to buy some Chinese stuff, saving 39 cents and fucking your country. Hurry hurry hurry!

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. You couldn't possibly make ends meet without buying the cheapest crap you can find. You couldn't possibly get by with less crap. Plus you'll need those savings to replace it in a few months, because it was made cheap so it can't be repaired.

OK, I'm a dinosaur, a retiree. My "contributing" span was from 1964 through 2009, although I worked part time/paid taxes, for 10 years before that and still pay plenty of taxes. During that 45 year span and from WW II up until then, the economy had ups and downs but there was usually work at a living wage, mostly thanks to the unions.

Oh noes, not those terrible unions that sucked the profits from the benevolent bosses. Yeah those unions, warts and all, that practically created the middle class consumer base which allowed the bosses and the country to prosper.

Nope, technology, high or not, will not save us. Coming up with a brilliant innovation doesn't put people to work... except offshore. Even if the inventor manages to collect a small portion of the royalties due, that makes one more rich person... big whoop for him, his creditors and his gardener, but that doesn't help the millions of unemployed.

Of course I've heard how you, or your cousin's neighbor, became rich by clawing to the top through hard work and sacrifice. Kudos. But it's only possible to do that when you are living in a stable manufacturing/consumer society. Now that we, as a society, only care about me me me, more more more, we've screwed up that stability and ourselves.

By rallying around the extreme left and right political poles, fighting each other, we're distracted from the real problem. Yes, there are welfare cheats. Yes, there are billionaire tax cheats. But they are both peanuts compared to our real problems. Remember the enemy is us.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to drag this soap box to recycling. bump... scrape... screech...