Press: The issue nobody talks about

hvactec

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Jan 17, 2010
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John Edwards may have turned out to be a scoundrel. But, back when he was a candidate for vice president, he articulated better than anyone else one of the most serious problems facing this country.

"The truth is, we still live in a country where there are two different Americas," Edwards told the 2004 Democratic National Convention, "one for all of those people who have lived the American Dream and don't have to worry, and another for most Americans, everybody else, who struggle to make ends meet every single day."

Since that time, as we learned this week, the gap between those at the very top and those at the very bottom has only gotten wider. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 46.2 million Americans were living in poverty in 2010 - up from 43.6 million in 2009. It's the largest number of Americans in poverty in the 52 years that the Census Bureau has been tracking the poor.

Think about it. Here in the wealthiest nation on the planet, 15.1 percent of us - almost one in every six Americans - are living on less than $22,314 a year for a family of four. That's $429 a week for food, gas, rent, utilities, clothing, and any other necessary expenses. Try it.

The poverty rate's even more severe among minorities and children: 27.4 percent for blacks; 26.6 percent for Hispanics; 22 percent among all children; and a staggering 40 percent for black children.

Now, for a glimpse at today's widening income gap, contrast those shocking poverty statistics with results of a survey issued last month on executive compensation. According to the Institute for Policy Studies, 25 of America's top 100 CEO's took home an average $16.7 million last year, a 27.8 increase over 2009. Over all, as Sen. Bernie Sanders points out, today the wealthiest 400 Americans own more wealth than the bottom 150 million Americans combined. And, as reported by the IRS, the top 1 percent of taxpayers earns more income than the bottom 50 percent.

We are two Americas, indeed: the very rich and the very poor, with an ever-shrinking middle class stuck in the middle. Wages for the middle class, in fact, have been stagnant for at least a generation. In 1988, according to IRS data, "the income of an average American taxpayer was $33,400, adjusted for inflation." In 2008, it was $33,000. The top 1 percent of taxpayers, meanwhile, saw their income soar 33 percent.

Shocking? Yes. And here's what I find more shocking: Even though 15 percent of Americans are already living in poverty, nobody talks about it. When's the last time you heard a politician talk about the shocking level of poverty in this country? Not since Bobby Kennedy? When's the last time congressional hearings were held on how to help families lift themselves out of poverty?

The truth is, except for the rare few like Bernie Sanders, politicians ignore the poor. For one simple reason: They don't vote. Therefore, they don't count. And if poor people did vote, Republicans fear, they'd probably vote Democratic. So why bother? The poor today are on nobody's political agenda.

But it's worse than that. The current Republican leadership doesn't just ignore the poor. Their policies would actually make things worse. They would increase the number of poor - by destroying the very government safety nets that keep millions of Americans from falling below the poverty line. An additional 14 million seniors would be living in poverty today, according to the Census Bureau, if they didn't have the protection of Social Security.

Read more: Press: The issue nobody talks about - Framingham, MA - The MetroWest Daily News
 
An additional 14 million seniors would be living in poverty today, according to the Census Bureau, if they didn't have the protection of Social Security.

Sorry, but the simple fact is that if the average American put 15% of his life time earnings in private accounts he would retire with an estate worth $1.4 million. Under SS you get $1200 a month,( not $6500) have no estate, and may not collect a penny if you die at 65 or before. Thats liberalism for you!

Republican capitalism made every American rich, but the liberal stole the money!
 
<SNIP>But it's worse than that. The current Republican leadership doesn't just ignore the poor. Their policies would actually make things worse. They would increase the number of poor - by destroying the very government safety nets that keep millions of Americans from falling below the poverty line. An additional 14 million seniors would be living in poverty today, according to the Census Bureau, if they didn't have the protection of Social Security.

Read more: Press: The issue nobody talks about - Framingham, MA - The MetroWest Daily News

So you buy into the farce that says that "The Republicans want to destroy Social Security?"
Pure nonsense...
 
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So you buy into the farce that says that "The Republicans want to destroy Social Security?"

I buy into the idea that Republicans want to privatize it so all Americans can retire rich rather than have their money stolen by liberals
 
So you buy into the farce that says that "The Republicans want to destroy Social Security?"

I buy into the idea that Republicans want to privatize it so all Americans can retire rich rather than have their money stolen by liberals
Bush proposed that those who opted to could divert one sixth of their account to investments in the private sector, as do entire state plans. Eventually the benefit to the enrolled would become obvious and the gubmt would be deprived of its cash cow. Having those funds in the private sector economy would strengthen the overall economy, guaranteeing more wealth to support the stability of those accounts.
 
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Sorry, but the simple fact is that if the average American put 15% of his life time earnings in private accounts he would retire with an estate worth $1.4 million. Under SS you get $1200 a month,( not $6500) have no estate, and may not collect a penny if you die at 65 or before. Thats liberalism for you!

Republican capitalism made every American rich, but the liberal stole the money!

First you forgot to link you source, not that no one believes you…

Second, what of ‘below average’ Americans, those who live form paycheck to paycheck, unable to save one percent, much less 15. Are they to just work until they die. Or an American who losses his job during an economic crisis such as the December 2007 recession – all of his savings are gone paying the mortgage and other expenses.

It’s not so ‘simple’ after all.
 
D'j'ever notice that the people fighting the class war have no class?
They get elected though.
World of Class Warrior-thumb-700xauto-273.jpg
 

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