The Pathology of the Rich: Disposable Citizens

[georgephillip]

We knew asbestos was bad news by 1900. Yet we continued to manufacture and use that material, thereby making a few very wealthy, and many, many workers and their families very dead. This is the classic case of the disdain of the very wealthy and corperations for the working class.

Some of us are old (and rocky) enough to remember actors wearing white lab coats on television pushing Camels. It seems like we've evolved enough to realize it's wrong to beat someone like a rented mule then steal their money; however many of us continue to believe it's perfectly acceptable to steal from those you can deceive with words or illusions.

 

[The Rabbi]

The Right really fell for that election tactic of calling the rich, job creators.

Because government creates jobs, right?
The OP is a pastiche of cliches and wrong headed misinformation.

And the above is what passes for "intelligent" Republican response. Just fuking ignore the fact that the promise of job creation by the very wealthy was a bunch of bull shit.

Where are all those promised good paying jobs rabbit? China? India?

It's Zeke, illiterate stumpbroke of USMB.
Hey, Zeke. Who does create jobs? Obama? Pelosi? The AFL/CIO?

 

[The Rabbi]

The Right really fell for that election tactic of calling the rich, job creators.

Because government creates jobs, right?
The OP is a pastiche of cliches and wrong headed misinformation.

How would you answer the following question, first posed nearly a century ago?

"'Did you ever ask yourself how it happens that government and capitalism continue to exist in spite of all the evil and trouble they are causing in the world?' the anarchist Alexander Berkman wrote in his essay 'The Idea Is the Thing...'"

Chris Hedges: Our Invisible Revolution - Chris Hedges - Truthdig

Maybe that War to End All Wars is arriving a century after it was first advertised?

The answer is that small government and capitalism have done more to help the average person than any other institution in history.
Dupe.

 

[Stephanie]

You have to love these people, they rail against the wealthy and Rich, then turn around and vote for them to be their Masters.. They also give themselves special privileges that we don't get they're so Special.

what a hoot eh?

look at all them Democrats out of the Top Ten in Congress


Rep. Michael McCaul $290.5 million R-Texas
Sen. John Kerry $198.8 million D-Mass.
Rep. Darrell Issa $140.6 million R-Calif.
Rep. Jared Polis $91.1 million D-Colo.
Sen. Mark Warner $85.9 million D-Va.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller $83.1 million D-W.Va.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal $80.1 million D-Conn.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg $56.9 million D-N.J.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein $47.2 million D-Calif.
Rep. Jim Renacci $36.7 million R-Ohio

 

[Spoonman]

wait, which party is proposing to add millions more of these disposable citizens to our society just to buy the latino vote?

 

[georgephillip]

Because government creates jobs, right?
The OP is a pastiche of cliches and wrong headed misinformation.

How would you answer the following question, first posed nearly a century ago?

"'Did you ever ask yourself how it happens that government and capitalism continue to exist in spite of all the evil and trouble they are causing in the world?' the anarchist Alexander Berkman wrote in his essay 'The Idea Is the Thing...'"

Chris Hedges: Our Invisible Revolution - Chris Hedges - Truthdig

Maybe that War to End All Wars is arriving a century after it was first advertised?

The answer is that small government and capitalism have done more to help the average person than any other institution in history.
Dupe.

Since the level of economic inequality has been growing steadily over the past thirty years in the US and it currently leads the developed world, does that mean capitalism has outlived it usefulness or that small government is a myth put forth by corporate hacks?

 

[georgephillip]

You have to love these people, they rail against the wealthy and Rich, then turn around and vote for them to be their Masters.. They also give themselves special privileges that we don't get they're so Special.

what a hoot eh?

look at all them Democrats out of the Top Ten in Congress


Rep. Michael McCaul $290.5 million R-Texas
Sen. John Kerry $198.8 million D-Mass.
Rep. Darrell Issa $140.6 million R-Calif.
Rep. Jared Polis $91.1 million D-Colo.
Sen. Mark Warner $85.9 million D-Va.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller $83.1 million D-W.Va.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal $80.1 million D-Conn.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg $56.9 million D-N.J.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein $47.2 million D-Calif.
Rep. Jim Renacci $36.7 million R-Ohio

Who are "these people", Hooter?
I guarantee Chris Hedges isn't among them.

"The menace we face does not come from the insane wing of the Republican Party, which may make huge inroads in the coming elections, but the institutions tasked with protecting democratic participation.

"Do not fear Glenn Beck or Sarah Palin.

"Do not fear the tea party movement, the birthers, the legions of conspiracy theorists or the militias.

"Fear the underlying corporate power structure, which no one, from Barack Obama to the right-wing nut cases who pollute the airwaves, can alter.

"If the hegemony of the corporate state is not soon broken we will descend into a technologically enhanced age of barbarism."

Now, that will be a hoot.

Chris Hedges: Do Not Pity the Democrats - Chris Hedges - Truthdig

 

[georgephillip]

wait, which party is proposing to add millions more of these disposable citizens to our society just to buy the latino vote?

This thread isn't about Democrat OR Republican perfidy.
It is about how both parties depend on 1% of voters to fund their elections and retirements.

"Do not pity Barack Obama and the Democratic Party.

"They will get what they deserve.

"They sold the citizens out for cash and power.

"They lied.

"They manipulated and deceived the public, from the bailouts to the abandonment of universal health care, to serve corporate interests.

"They refused to halt the wanton corporate destruction of the ecosystem on which all life depends.

"They betrayed the most basic ideals of democracy.

"And they, as much as the Republicans, are the problem.

“'It is like being in a pit,' Ralph Nader told me when we spoke on Saturday. 'If you are four feet in the pit you have a chance to grab the top and hoist yourself up. If you are 30 feet in the pit you have to start on a different scale.'”

Chris Hedges: Do Not Pity the Democrats - Chris Hedges - Truthdig

We are thirty years into that pit; why would you think "choosing" between Republican OR Democrat in the voting booth will help extricate 90% of US voters from the hole both parties have created?

 

[Pete7469]

You're saying Aristotle, Machiavelli, and Smith weren't aware of the Masters of Mankind and their relationship to the 99%?

"We know a lot about poverty lines but there is no such thing as a wealth line and the word 'enough' is not part of the vocabulary of this class. You needn’t believe me. Listen to the expert who said 'All for ourselves and nothing for other people seems in every age of the world to have been the vile maxim of the masters of mankind.'

"That was not Karl Marx but Adam Smith, in his classic 1776 treatise on capitalism, the Wealth of Nations. Little has changed since then.”

Adam Smith's Lost Legacy: Adam Smith on 'the vile maxim of the masters of mankind'

What seems to escape you Sir, is that the "rich" you hold in contempt fund the leaders of the political whores who motivate you.

Not all rich people are evil, not all blacks steal, and not all whites are inbred.

Agreed.
Not all rich people are evil.
That doesn't mean all rich people don't depend upon an evil economic system for their success.
Possibly, the only way to get rid of the political whores is to eliminate all influence of private money on public office?

An evil economic system? How is a system based on an individual's entrepreneurial endeavors to enhance their standard of living "evil"?

The last group of people who followed an agenda of

eliminate(ing) all influence of private money on public office"

Killed untold millions of people.

Are you leftists seriously advocating that yet again? Your economic policy is evil, not mine. I don't want to take anything away from anyone beyond an agreed wage.

******* NAZIS.

 

[georgephillip]

What seems to escape you Sir, is that the "rich" you hold in contempt fund the leaders of the political whores who motivate you.

Not all rich people are evil, not all blacks steal, and not all whites are inbred.

Agreed.
Not all rich people are evil.
That doesn't mean all rich people don't depend upon an evil economic system for their success.
Possibly, the only way to get rid of the political whores is to eliminate all influence of private money on public office?

An evil economic system? How is a system based on an individual's entrepreneurial endeavors to enhance their standard of living "evil"?

The last group of people who followed an agenda of

eliminate(ing) all influence of private money on public office"

Killed untold millions of people.

Are you leftists seriously advocating that yet again? Your economic policy is evil, not mine. I don't want to take anything away from anyone beyond an agreed wage.

******* NAZIS.

You may have noticed it wasn't communists or Nazis who crashed the global economy five years ago with subprime mortgage fraud; it was your pals the capitalists. And they are at it again in the car and truck market:

"Rates are low, credit is easy, underwriting is shoddy, and sales are booming.

"There’s your thumbnail sketch of today’s 'surging' auto market.

"It’s a carbon copy of the subprime mortgage fiasco that plunged the economy into recession 5 years ago. Now the same nightmare is unfolding in Cartopia, the emerging credit Shangri-la where anyone who can transport himself onto a carlot in an upright position can drive away in a shiny new vehicle no-strings-attached."

How will you brain-dead slaves blame "government" this time?

Easy Lending to Risky Borrowers Makes a Comeback » CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names

 

[Pickle]

More whining and jealousy because someone has more than you. Grow up.

 

[Pete7469]

Agreed.
Not all rich people are evil.
That doesn't mean all rich people don't depend upon an evil economic system for their success.
Possibly, the only way to get rid of the political whores is to eliminate all influence of private money on public office?

An evil economic system? How is a system based on an individual's entrepreneurial endeavors to enhance their standard of living "evil"?

The last group of people who followed an agenda of

eliminate(ing) all influence of private money on public office"

Killed untold millions of people.



Are you leftists seriously advocating that yet again? Your economic policy is evil, not mine. I don't want to take anything away from anyone beyond an agreed wage.

******* NAZIS.

You may have noticed it wasn't communists or Nazis who crashed the global economy five years ago with subprime mortgage fraud; it was your pals the capitalists. And they are at it again in the car and truck market:

"Rates are low, credit is easy, underwriting is shoddy, and sales are booming.

"There’s your thumbnail sketch of today’s 'surging' auto market.

"It’s a carbon copy of the subprime mortgage fiasco that plunged the economy into recession 5 years ago. Now the same nightmare is unfolding in Cartopia, the emerging credit Shangri-la where anyone who can transport himself onto a carlot in an upright position can drive away in a shiny new vehicle no-strings-attached."

How will you brain-dead slaves blame "government" this time?

Easy Lending to Risky Borrowers Makes a Comeback » CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names

I was going to spend the time and effort to correct you, but it would be pointless. You're just too stupid. You're consumed with the politics of envy and hate. Capitalism is the vehicle that allowed people to enjoy incredible standards of living. The Statist bullshit you regurgitate has caused the deaths of untold millions, and kept many more millions of people stranded in sqaulor and poverty.

Take your dumbass to North Korea. They have everything they way you want it.

 

[georgephillip]

An evil economic system? How is a system based on an individual's entrepreneurial endeavors to enhance their standard of living "evil"?

The last group of people who followed an agenda of

Killed untold millions of people.



Are you leftists seriously advocating that yet again? Your economic policy is evil, not mine. I don't want to take anything away from anyone beyond an agreed wage.

******* NAZIS.

You may have noticed it wasn't communists or Nazis who crashed the global economy five years ago with subprime mortgage fraud; it was your pals the capitalists. And they are at it again in the car and truck market:

"Rates are low, credit is easy, underwriting is shoddy, and sales are booming.

"There’s your thumbnail sketch of today’s 'surging' auto market.

"It’s a carbon copy of the subprime mortgage fiasco that plunged the economy into recession 5 years ago. Now the same nightmare is unfolding in Cartopia, the emerging credit Shangri-la where anyone who can transport himself onto a carlot in an upright position can drive away in a shiny new vehicle no-strings-attached."

How will you brain-dead slaves blame "government" this time?

Easy Lending to Risky Borrowers Makes a Comeback » CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names

I was going to spend the time and effort to correct you, but it would be pointless. You're just too stupid. You're consumed with the politics of envy and hate. Capitalism is the vehicle that allowed people to enjoy incredible standards of living. The Statist bullshit you regurgitate has caused the deaths of untold millions, and kept many more millions of people stranded in sqaulor and poverty.

Take your dumbass to North Korea. They have everything they way you want it.

Why would I move to North Korea when I can read collectivist propaganda like yours without leaving home? Are you too brainwashed to notice the statist resemblance between
North Korea's "Brilliant Comrade" and Boeing CEO Raymond Conner?

"Some months ago, the Boeing Corporation dropped a bombshell by declaring that unless it got substantial tax breaks (and by “substantial” it clearly meant “unprecedented”), it would be forced to begin looking for another site on which to build its much anticipated 777X airliner.

"To say Boeing is big is an understatement. Its influence is enormous. While the Boeing Corporation may not be as critical to Washington’s economy as, say, the textile industry is to Bangladesh, it is vitally important.

"Consider: In 2012, Boeing was responsible for $70 billion of the state’s $76 billion aerospace industry revenue..."

"Accordingly, in early November, at the urging of state Governor Jay Inslee (generally regarded as a “liberal Democrat”), the Washington state assembly, in a special session of the legislature, voted to give Boeing a huge tax break.

"The 'Los Angles Times' (December 9), reported the package to be worth $8.7 billion, making it the largest corporate tax subsidy in U.S. history."

Sure you are, Comrade.

America Soon to Become a Corporate North Korea? » CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names

 

[georgephillip]

More whining and jealousy because someone has more than you. Grow up.

How did they acquire more, Pickle?

"For every dollar that the wealthiest 0.1 percent amassed in 1980 they had an additional $3 in yearly income in 2008, David Cay Johnston explained in the article '9 Things the Rich Don’t Want You to Know About Taxes.'

"The bottom 90 percent, Johnson said, in the same period added only one cent.

"Half of the country is now classified as poor or low-income.

Do you remember 1980?

Chris Hedges: Let?s Get This Class War Started - Chris Hedges - Truthdig

 

[OODA_Loop]

Wow they make more today than in 1980.

**** me.

 

[Seawytch]

Wow they make more today than in 1980.

**** me.

Yes, the richest one percent have seen their income tripled since 1980...tripled

 

[georgephillip]

Wow they make more today than in 1980.

**** me.

Yes, the richest one percent have seen their income tripled since 1980...tripled

By shifting their share of the tax burden onto labor instead of capital.

"39.6 percent: Top tax rate in 2000
31 percent: Top tax rate in 1991
50 percent: Top tax rate in 1986
70 percent: Top tax rate in 1980"

Historical top federal income tax rates, 1915-2010: Sunday's Numbers | cleveland.com

 

[georgephillip]

Wow they make more today than in 1980.

**** me.

That's exactly how 0.1% of US taxpayers got an additional $3 in 2008 income while the bottom 90% of taxpayers added $0.01 to their 1980 annual earnings. Did you remember to say "thank-you?"

 

[editec]

The Right really fell for that election tactic of calling the rich, job creators.

Because government creates jobs, right?
The OP is a pastiche of cliches and wrong headed misinformation.

The "rich" (read the giant corporations) create about 1 out of ever 8 jobs in America

The REST OF THE JOBS IN AMERICA, Lad, (88.5% or so) are created by and in small businesses of less than 5 people.

 

[Darkwind]

Was it?
I thought I was making the point that rich losers like Bush are handed one opportunity after another in spite of their failures. JFK was born with a silver spoon, but he never failed as spectacularly as Dubya, and he never had a father elected to the White House to pave his way to the Presidency.

So, what is your endgame? Do away with inherited wealth and let the 'state' raise children?

No.
Raise a wall between the state and the influence of private wealth.
Tax the rich instead of borrowing from them.
Raise you own children with the state providing free education (K-GS) and health care (Medicare for all ages).

Where do you people come up with this notion that it is free?