Economic Inequality: The Greatest Conflict in US Society Today.

[tenthertoo]

Merriam Webster:

Definition of IDEOLOGUE
1
: an impractical idealist : theorist
2
: an often blindly partisan advocate or adherent of a particular ideology
See ideologue defined for English-language learners »
Variants of IDEOLOGUE
ideo·logue also idea·logue \ˈī-dē-ə-ˌlȯg, -ˌläg\
Examples of IDEOLOGUE

1. <as long as there are ideologues controlling both sides of the aisle, legislative compromise is out of the question>
2. <the revolutionaries proved to be impractical ideologues who had no idea how to run a country>

Origin of IDEOLOGUE
French idéologue, back-formation from idéologie
First Known Use: 1815
Related to IDEOLOGUE
Synonyms: crusader, fanatic, zealot (also idealogue), militant, partisan (also partizan), red hot, true believer

 

[georgephillip]

Occupy Wall Street completely changed the national conversation.

And now the Republicans are putting up a candidate who is a poster child for everything that is wrong with our tax system.

Thank you, Republicans!

Let's hope the Republicans drag out their primary circus until Tampa.
If not Romney or Newt, would they nominate a compromise candidate who isn't taking part in the primaries?

As it seems 'none of the above' is leading the pack of would-be nominees an open primary could become a blood bath and potentially lead to a restructuring or splintering of Republican Party. The only thing the factions within the party share is hatred for the Democrats and in particular for the President.

Just this morning I saw mention of a "Draft Mitch Daniels" movement.
If unemployment stays above 8%, Obama is beatable.
Maybe a Christie/Rubio ticket would make things interesting next November?

 

[georgephillip]

Merriam Webster:

Definition of IDEOLOGUE
1
: an impractical idealist : theorist
2
: an often blindly partisan advocate or adherent of a particular ideology
See ideologue defined for English-language learners »
Variants of IDEOLOGUE
ideo·logue also idea·logue \&#712;&#299;-d&#275;-&#601;-&#716;lo&#775;g, -&#716;läg\
Examples of IDEOLOGUE

1. <as long as there are ideologues controlling both sides of the aisle, legislative compromise is out of the question>
2. <the revolutionaries proved to be impractical ideologues who had no idea how to run a country>

Origin of IDEOLOGUE
French idéologue, back-formation from idéologie
First Known Use: 1815
Related to IDEOLOGUE
Synonyms: crusader, fanatic, zealot (also idealogue), militant, partisan (also partizan), red hot, true believer

Oxford Dictionary of Current English:
Page 450

Ideologue: A person who follows a set of ideas and principles in a strict, inflexible way.

Ideas and principles...sometimes good.
Ideologue...sometimes bad.
?

 

[tenthertoo]

Ideas and principles...sometimes good.
Ideologue...sometimes bad.
?

I think - Ideologies are sometimes bad - ideologues usually are

I am definitely guided by ideals (principles and ideas) seeking always to find value in them.

Ideologies are far too complex and variously misdirected and loosely defined (often on purpose) for me.

 

[georgephillip]

Ideas and principles...sometimes good.
Ideologue...sometimes bad.
?

I think - Ideologies are sometimes bad - ideologues usually are

I am definitely guided by ideals (principles and ideas) seeking always to find value in them.

Ideologies are far to complex and variously misdirected and loosely defined (often on purpose) for me.

Sounds reasonable to me.
But then, I'm also old and not too bright.

 

[Unkotare]

"waking up"

another favorite empty lefty expression

 

[georgephillip]

"waking up"

another favorite empty lefty expression

"About two-thirds of Americans now believe there are 'strong conflicts' between rich and poor in the United States..."

"The share was the largest since 1992, and represented about a 50 percent increase from the 2009 survey, when immigration was seen as the greatest source of tension. In that survey, 47 percent of those polled said there were strong conflicts between classes."

From 47% to 66% in two years sounds like an awakening to me?
"Money Mitt" will open a lot more eyes between now and November.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/12/us/more-conflict-seen-between-rich-and-poor-survey-finds.html?_r=2

 

[Unkotare]

Gee, imagine that at a time when the obamedia is on a fucking crusade to make it the issue in their sweaty, desperate bid to keep their self-congratulation in the White House no matter in how much disdain he actually holds them.

 

[Lakhota]

We owe much to the Occupy folks.

 

[Skull Pilot]

None of you sheep have ever told me how someone making more money than you prevents you from making more yourself.

 

[editec]

An idealogue is someone who adheres to an ideology when when it proves to be unworkable in reality.

Economic inequity is part and parcel of the capitalistic system.

But when the economic inequity becomes too lopsided,. capitalism ceases working efficiently.

That's where we're at right now, kids.

 

[Mr. Shaman]

How about you dumb leftists crack open an intro to microeconomics book and learn about equilibrium prices and supply/demand for unskilled workers instead of crying to yourselves about how unfair the world is.

Yeah.....we wouldn't want to get too close to any History books.​

January 16, 2012​

"As the case of Disraeli illustrates, true conservatives are not complacent about inequality. They understand only too well that a capitalist economy must soon lose legitimacy if the benefits of economic growth flow only to a tiny elite.

Americans used to be proud of their country’s reputation as a meritocracy, where anyone could aspire to get to the top with the right combination of inspiration and perspiration. It’s no longer true. Social mobility has been sliding in the United States. A poor kid in America now has about the same chance of becoming a rich grown-up as in socially rigid England. It looks like Downton Abbey has come to downtown U.S.A.

Left-of-center economists like Paul Krugman and Jeffrey Sachs explain this phenomenon with the following story. Financial deregulation by Ronald Reagan ushered in an era of rampant greed in finance; meanwhile, Republicans ruthlessly hacked back New Deal and Great Society social programs to finance tax cuts for their Wall Street cronies.

To make their point, liberals point to European countries like Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands, where the rich have not been getting richer and social mobility remains high."

Rich Pricks; Poor 99%

*

See: The Stockholm Syndrome​

​

 

[Mr. Shaman]

Yes, we all know there's growing income inequality, but neither you nor the lame article you linked can explain the reasons for that.

Tooooooooooooooo easy!!!​

"Circumstances playing into the Reagan-redux script include an energy shortage in the West, suspicions about terrorists from rogue nations, and a general slowdown in business activity, declining profits, and layoffs. Threatening to most of us, these difficulties fit right in with the Bush plans to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and, reminiscent of the supply-side theories of Reaganomics, a mega-taxcut with big bucks for the rich, trickle-down for the rest of us."

BU$HCO; A Subsidiary Of Reaganomic$​

 

[Mr. Shaman]

Pay people to do nothing or they will get mad.

How much more.....

.....do they need???

​

 

[Mr. Shaman]

People are becoming "sensitized" to a differentiation between income from "work" and income from investment and are being deluged with the perception that the latter is evil.

No....not evil.

If income, from investments, is considered worked-for.....the recipients can start paying the same tax-rates as.....

.....working-people.

 

[Mr. Shaman]

We import skilled workers from Asia because they work for a fraction of what US graduates demand and are entitled to. Any consequences of "illegal" immigration stem from the richest 1% bribing Republicans AND Democrats for "Free" Trade agreements that plunder the economies of the immigrants' home countries and result in massive waves of desperate migrants seeking some way of feeding their families.

Likewise our decline in manufacturing stems from our 1% bribing politicians for tax and trade policies that favor outsourcing millions of US middle class jobs to slave wage states like China. That's something that didn't happen in states like Germany where labor unions have voting members sitting on the boards of directors of the corporations they work for.

This explains why the richest 1% of Germans take home the same share of German income today that they banked in the 1970s while the American 1% have nearly tripled their share of US national income during that same time period.

In 1947 the median family income was $23,400, that doubled to $47,400 in 1977 and reached $58,400 in 2005. Compare that to incomes of those in the 99.99th percentile who saw their earnings swell from $2,000,000 in the late 70s to $10,000,000 in 2009.

Which economic group has had more influence on US tax and trade policies over that time?

Any remedy to problems like these probably starts with erecting a wall of separation between private wealth and the state, something the evil rich would likely oppose since much of their wealth would be taxed into productive as opposed to speculative pursuits.

There is indeed a monumental problem with the income disparity that has been creeping up with the return of conservatives to power, starting in 1980.

The Fi$cal-Responsibility O' Reaganomic$​

​

 

[Mr. Shaman]

We import workers from Asia because Americans are too unskilled and uneducated to do the kinds of work necessary for today's market.

....And, they're allowed to vote.

Valedictorians Of EIBS

 

[Mr. Shaman]

People are becoming "sensitized" to a differentiation between income from "work" and income from investment and are being deluged with the perception that the latter is evil. Of course "work" is portrayed as including politicians, community organizers, union leaders, and other agitators who are presented as the righteous ones. . Persons engaged in activities supporting the traditional "open market" philosophy are lumped in with the "investment class" and are vilified.

It appeals to the basest of human nature and is therefore quite effective.

For fun, let's define "Work":

noun
1.
exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something; labor; toil.

2.
something on which exertion or labor is expended; a task or undertaking:

3.
productive or operative activity.

4.
employment, as in some form of industry, especially as a means of earning one's livelihood: to look for work.

5.
one's place of employment: Don't phone him at work.


6.
materials, things, etc., on which one is working or is to work.

7.
the result of exertion, labor, or activity; a deed or performance.

8.
a product of exertion, labor, or activity: musical works.

9.
an engineering structure, as a building or bridge.

10.
a building, wall, trench, or the like, constructed or made as a means of fortification.

Nothing in this dictionary.com definition suggests destroying something. I use as an example the Sports Authority theme. In our region, and I suspect in yours, Sports Authority has replaced a number of smaller sporting goods stores, in many cases taken over the same building. Does Romney count as jobs created a person who simply changed jobs and now works in the same occupation as a 'new' job? You betcha.

To the liberals "work" is what they say it is (for the moment). To liberals everything is what they say it is.

Ah, yes....the alternative (in Teabaggers' eyes) makes much-more-sense....

 

[Mr. Shaman]

what will all ewe libtards do when the investors stop investing in America? huh? whine bout it?

They already have.
Better returns in China and India.

.....And, the S&L scam has.....

.....already been run.

 

[Mr. Shaman]

You neo-socialists know deep down more than anyone else that if the federal government confiscated 3/4 of the income of every so-called rich person, the Country would be worse off and you wouldn't see a dime of it.

Ah, yes......hypotheticals.....so-much-more entertaining (for Teabaggers & other such Dead-O-Heads) than Reality.