5 Myths About Our Land of Opportunity

[Charles Stucker]

So at least we are in agreement that the standard of living for working people has fallen...what can we do about it?

That's the million-dollar question.

I don't think there's an effective long-term solution.

Do what Texas does at the national level
Texas has no Debt - because the Texas State Constitution forbids deficit spending.
Texas spends less than 1% of the state budget on state welfare programs - because the Texas State Constitution forbids spending more than 1% on such ineffective socialism.

That long term solution will have the US as prosperous as they ever were. Federal spending on social programs ruins the economy, whether it occurs during a republican or democratic administration. One note - all the big socialist programs - Social Security, Welfare, and Medicare/Medicaid were instituted by democrats. Cut those out and the US could pay off the debt in a decade or so.

 

[Polk]

Prior to WWI, the American middle class would be considered impoverished by today's standards.

More like six in one, half dozen in the other.

 

[Toro]

thinkin like a lib is easy.

And thinking for a conservative is hard...

 

[ThePickledPunk]

thinkin like a lib is easy.

And thinking for a conservative is hard...

Thats why we dont ask you or anyone else to do the thinking for us.

 

[Toro]

thinkin like a lib is easy.

And thinking for a conservative is hard...

Thats why we dont ask you or anyone else to do the thinking for us.

Well, somebody's got to.

 

[ThePickledPunk]

And thinking for a conservative is hard...

Thats why we dont ask you or anyone else to do the thinking for us.

Well, somebody's got to.

You are a lefty. All heart- no brains. Which is to say nothin of your lack of any hormone even resembling testosterone.

 

[Toro]

Thats why we dont ask you or anyone else to do the thinking for us.

Well, somebody's got to.

You are a lefty. All heart- no brains. Which is to say nothin of your lack of any hormone even resembling testosterone.

You are a conservatard. No brains, no heart, no education other than three hours a day at the Limbaugh Conservative Institute and whatever you read on bumper stickers. You betcha!

 

[ThePickledPunk]

Well, somebody's got to.

You are a lefty. All heart- no brains. Which is to say nothin of your lack of any hormone even resembling testosterone.

You are a conservatard. No brains, no heart, no education other than three hours a day at the Limbaugh Conservative Institute and whatever you read on bumper stickers. You betcha!

I guess Law School didn't count as an education.... and the only people I see whose political beliefs are rabidly expressed on bumper stickers are you whiny lefties. in any event- the day I start whining like you about "My dad's life was better than mine because (insert excuse)" well..... that day will never come.

 

[Toro]

I guess Law School didn't count as an education....

Not if you went to the Pastor Hagee Law School.

and the only people I see whose political beliefs are rabidly expressed on bumper stickers are you whiny lefties.

That's because your dumbass, whiny right-wing bumper stickers to you seem to be great leaps of wisdom and knowledge, all wrapped in a sentence of six monosyllabic words.

in any event- the day I start whining like you about "My dad's life was better than mine because (insert excuse)" well..... that day will never come.

You just whine about everything else.

 

[ThePickledPunk]

I guess Law School didn't count as an education....

Not if you went to the Pastor Hagee Law School.

I attended a top tier regional law school in the southwest.

and the only people I see whose political beliefs are rabidly expressed on bumper stickers are you whiny lefties.

That's because your dumbass, whiny right-wing bumper stickers to you seem to be great leaps of wisdom and knowledge, all wrapped in a sentence of six monosyllabic words.

No, its because conservatives see litle point in covering a car with bumper stickers.

in any event- the day I start whining like you about "My dad's life was better than mine because (insert excuse)" well..... that day will never come.

You just whine about everything else.

Whining is a distinctly liberal quality- goes with that whole victimhood complex that explicitly underlies this thread you started.

 

[Toro]

Whining is a distinctly liberal quality- goes with that whole victimhood complex that explicitly underlies this thread you started.

You must be the biggest liberal here then because you're the biggest whiner here.

 

[garyd]

Chic New Home prices have climbed an astounding 2400% since 1953. Please show me where wages have done likewise.

 

[ThePickledPunk]

Whining is a distinctly liberal quality- goes with that whole victimhood complex that explicitly underlies this thread you started.

You must be the biggest liberal here then because you're the biggest whiner here.

Looks to me like you started this whiny thread.....

 

[PoliticalChic]

Chic New Home prices have climbed an astounding 2400% since 1953. Please show me where wages have done likewise.

Please document your statement with government stats.

While more recent data shows an increase in incomes, especially in lower income groups, I haven't seen government stats that compare recent with a 56-year time frame.
Yet, 2400% seems little enough over that time. If a home was $2000 in '53, what would it be today?

Here are some income stats:
The bottom 20% of earners in 1996 saw their incomes rise by an average of 233% by 2006! This is far higher gain than any other income group.
(http://treas.gov/offices/tax-policy/library/incomemobilitystudy03-08revise.pdf


Comparing the income changes of various groups from a) 1996-2005 and b)1987- 1996
Poor +109% +81%
Middle Class +26% +9%
Rich +9% -2%
SuperRich -23% -24%
UltraSuperRich -65% n/a
(http://treas.gov/offices/tax-policy/library/incomemobilitystudy03-08revise.pdf

 

[VodkaIce]

Until WE THE PEOPLE sever ties with the International Monetary Banks, the Rockwell Foundation, the Committe of 300, and it's Illuminati branches of CONTROL, THERE ARE NO OPPORTUNITIES TO SPEAK OF.

It is countries such as Brazil under the honorable and ethical leadership of Hugo Chavez that are exemplary examples of WEALTH BUILDING after severing ties with the International Monetary banks, and the above ilks.

Hugo Chavez affords FREE MEDICAL CARE AND EDUCATION to all Brazilians, and the Prince of Dubai is yet another example.

While here in the United States, the Jewish Elites as seen with Pelosi, Feinstein, and other traitors would genocide their fellow Jewish constituents to continue the Zionists protocol. Universal Health Care is a SHAM.

Obama and those under his umbrella are nothing but harlots mongering to devour each and everyone of us. I concur with this accessment, ..."It would be incorrect to say that Barack Obama is the same as Adolph Hitler, but events surrounding Obama thus far are very similar to those that surrounded Hitler and they both served the same purposes of their capitalist masters and instituted very similar operations:

Self-promoting books used as Bibles (Mein Kampf and Dreams From My Father) for converts to the Hitler and Obama cults

Highly choreographed mass rallies

Intimidation of opponents in the press by thugs and crooked lawyers: Local law enforcement abusing their power to suppress dissent from Obama's message. In one case, a group naming itself "Barack Obama's Truth Squad," a group of prosecuting attorneys and local sheriffs in Missouri, traveled around Missouri to "fight the smear" and investigate anti-Obama literature as "criminal fraud.""

If we lose the battle with Universal Health Care, we have essentially lost our FREEDOM. The basis of the Constitution shall no longer represent anything, but tattered torn pages possibly to be shredded by smoldering ashes.

Stand Ready for the WOLF as he lodges the hologram (Nasa's Blue Star Project), it's the ANTI-CHRIST HOLOGRAM or Budda or whatever god/God you worship - research it.

I believe this site is honey pot for homeland security. We the bloggers are listed as insurgents. So which list might you be on, the red or the blue list - no matter, your dead on either list.

Roger out ....nano nano ... now, if you torture me endlessly, soon you shall find that I have install metal coverings to shut out your pschtronic mind control waves.

 

[Toro]

Whining is a distinctly liberal quality- goes with that whole victimhood complex that explicitly underlies this thread you started.

You must be the biggest liberal here then because you're the biggest whiner here.

Looks to me like you started this whiny thread.....

You display your lack of intellectual capabilities by confusing empirical contradiction of widely held beliefs with whining. Not my problem.

 

[ThePickledPunk]

You must be the biggest liberal here then because you're the biggest whiner here.

Looks to me like you started this whiny thread.....

You display your lack of intellectual capabilities by confusing empirical contradiction of widely held beliefs with whining. Not my problem.

What part of "my life is not as good as daddy's" does not qualify as whining?

 

[Toro]

What part of "my life is not as good as daddy's" does not qualify as whining?

It is not "whining." It is an empirical fact. If you are a white, uneducated male, your real income has fallen over the past 40 years. This refutes the idea that all cohorts do better than prior generations. That is the point of the OP - to refute commonly held beliefs. Understanding facts rather than wrongly held beliefs helps us as a society make better choices regarding government policy. If you don't think government should do a damn thing, then at least you have a better understanding of how and why people behave the way they do. Some people may want to live in a fog of ignorance and take comfort in false mythology. I don't.

If someone posted statistics that criminal activity was rising, would you say they were "whining" too?

 

[ThePickledPunk]

What part of "my life is not as good as daddy's" does not qualify as whining?

It is not "whining." It is an empirical fact.

No, it is not. There may be data to back up your opinion, but it is just that- your opinion. Which makes it a whine.

If you are a white, uneducated male, your real income has fallen over the past 40 years. This refutes the idea that all cohorts do better than prior generations.

It refutes the idea that real incomes have risen. Anything else is an opinion of yours.

That is the point of the OP - to refute commonly held beliefs. Understanding facts rather than wrongly held beliefs helps us as a society make better choices regarding government policy. If you don't think government should do a damn thing, then at least you have a better understanding of how and why people behave the way they do. Some people may want to live in a fog of ignorance and take comfort in false mythology. I don't.

If someone posted statistics that criminal activity was rising, would you say they were "whining" too?

No, but if you posted such statistics and then concluded that "my life isnt as good as my daddy's" I sure as shit would.

 

[Toro]

What part of "my life is not as good as daddy's" does not qualify as whining?

It is not "whining." It is an empirical fact.

No, it is not. There may be data to back up your opinion, but it is just that- your opinion. Which makes it a whine.

If you are a white, uneducated male, your real income has fallen over the past 40 years. This refutes the idea that all cohorts do better than prior generations.

It refutes the idea that real incomes have risen. Anything else is an opinion of yours.

That is the point of the OP - to refute commonly held beliefs. Understanding facts rather than wrongly held beliefs helps us as a society make better choices regarding government policy. If you don't think government should do a damn thing, then at least you have a better understanding of how and why people behave the way they do. Some people may want to live in a fog of ignorance and take comfort in false mythology. I don't.

If someone posted statistics that criminal activity was rising, would you say they were "whining" too?

No, but if you posted such statistics and then concluded that "my life isnt as good as my daddy's" I sure as shit would.

It is not opinion and I didn't say that all real incomes have fallen, n00b. I said that for uneducated white males, real incomes have fallen, which is the cohort that is often described as "the working class." I have seen the studies but the one I specifically remember is referenced in this book.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Moral-Consequences-Economic-Growth/dp/1400095719/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257556280&sr=8-1]Amazon.com: The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth (9781400095711): Benjamin M. Friedman: Books[/ame]

Real income for males without a high school education has fallen 13% since the 1960s.