Defrauded livestock awakening

[tr027 0]

The beginnings of some hope of a better future for the people in U.S.A. The cancer-ridden wonder why giving up more money and power to the gov't only makes things worse:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36629520/ns/politics

"The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it. " -John Galt from Atlas Shrugged, 1957

[Lucky... 0]

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The beginnings of some hope of a better future for the people in U.S.A. The cancer-ridden wonder why giving up more money and power to the gov't only makes things worse:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36629520/ns/politics

The problem is the other option is to let corporations run things. How's that working out so far?

[Gawain 0]

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The beginnings of some hope of a better future for the people in U.S.A. The cancer-ridden wonder why giving up more money and power to the gov't only makes things worse:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36629520/ns/politics

The problem is the other option is to let corporations run things. How's that working out so far?

Let's see:

Amtrak, GM, Chrysler, USPS, Social Security, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Medicare and Medicaid, plus a whole slew of banks...all in the red...who cares if they make a profit or can sustain themselves, because you got the taxpayer to keep throwing money into the black-hole...

...or...

Microsoft, Verizon, AT&T, CSX, ExxonMobil, Berkshire Hathaway, Proctor & Gamble, General Mills, IBM, Louisiana Pacific, Cisco, Motorola, Qualcomm, FedEx, UPS......ad infinitum..

Care to compare the track records?

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[dreamdancer 0]

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The first thing people need to understand is that the economic crash wasn’t a crash for the people who caused it. In fact, these financial terrorists are now doing better than ever. In a recent report, titled “Social Inequality in America: Widening Income Disparities,” more evidence of the unprecedented transfer of wealth was revealed:

“As of late 2009, the number of billionaires soared from 793 to 1,011, and their total fortunes from $2.4 trillion to $3.6 trillion…. Despite the crisis, the list of billionaires has grown by 218 people and their aggregate capital has expanded by 50%. This may seem paradoxical, but only at first glance. This result was predictable, if we recall how governments all over the world have dealt with the economic crisis.”

The inequality of wealth in the United States between the economic top 0.5% and the remaining 99.5% of the population is now at an all-time high. The economic top 1% of the population now controls a record 70% of all financial assets. The point here is that while the economic crisis has been devastating for 99% of America, the Wall Street elite are awash in record breaking profits. The most profitable firm in Wall Street history, Goldman Sachs, just had their most profitable quarter in their 140-year history and Wall Street firms issued an all-time record breaking amount in bonuses.

http://www.alternet.org/story/146509/the_financial_terrorists_who_destroyed_our_economy_will_pay_zero_in_taxes_--_and_get_%2433_billion_in_refunds

stay away from moving propellers - they bite
blue skies from thai sky adventures
good solid response-provoking keyboarding

[Gawain 0]

This misses the point. It's not about income disparity in the US. It's about trust and accountability of those in the government. Your average "Joe" knows that it takes a business owner (or shareholders) to run a business, grow a business, and create jobs to sustain the business. Most people accept that reality. Many strive to better their circumstances so they too, can ascend the "ladder" and advance themselves.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20100419/D9F64DD80.html

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[lurch 0]

Problem: Society between rock and hard place. On one hand we have government which has never for a moment considered the possibility that it ought to earn its keep instead of confiscating it via taxes.

Along with gov we have Amtrak etc who also do not feel need to earn a living because government will confiscate that living from others and just give it to them.

On the other hand we have the corps who ARE succeeding in earning their keep but doing it in most matter-of-factly evil way possible. "We have to compete" has become the mantra that justifies anything and everything they can get away with.

Heres what the chinese go through so we can have cheap computer mice.

http://www.nlcnet.org/reports?id=0034

And its coming to the U.S. I'm a technical worker and have watched what my profession can command in pay be cut in half in the last 5 years. Jobs developing automation that now companies are suddenly only willing to pay 11$/hr for. Theres no big conspiracy here, its just economic climate change. And its coming to your town. I used to be and still am an Ayn Rand style free capitalism idealist. But there are no morals, no ethics left in private industry either. Anything a corp can get away with, they will do, as standard policy. Virtual slavery? No problem. After all, we've got to compete... I see no solution. Ideas, anyone?
-B

Live and learn... or die, and teach by example.

[sundevil777 102]

The possibilities are not just simply all government or all capitalist control. For a long time businesses have not been free to do whatever they want. The US is still somewhat balanced, but is tending toward more govt control and that concerns a lot of people.

Private companies are always trying to be more efficient - to do more with less. To a large extent they are indeed more efficient over time. If only government would have the same pressure to accomplish projects/objectives with less resources then our govt budgets wouldn't be so bloated.

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[billvon 3,120]

>On one hand we have government which has never for a moment
>considered the possibility that it ought to earn its keep instead of
>confiscating it via taxes.

That's absurd. They think about it very hard every election cycle.

>Along with gov we have Amtrak etc who also do not feel need to earn a
>living because government will confiscate that living from others and just
>give it to them.

I took Amtrak from Portland to San Diego a few months ago. They were working pretty hard. Try it sometime; you may change your mind.

>And its coming to the U.S. I'm a technical worker and have watched what
>my profession can command in pay be cut in half in the last 5 years.

Last 5 years? Try 500! The printing press put thousands of calligraphers out of work, replacing their artistry with soulless, repetitive, cheap machine printing. During the Civil War, the Springfield Armory started to mass produce guns using standardized parts, putting tens of thousands of skilled gun manufacturers out of work and replacing them with semi-skilled lathe operators. In the 1920's, Henry Ford replaced expert fabricators with unskilled labor on an automated assembly line.

>But there are no morals, no ethics left in private industry either. Anything
>a corp can get away with, they will do, as standard policy.

While that is certainly true in some places, it is also certainly not universal.

>Virtual slavery? No problem.

Calling capitalism "virtual slavery" is like calling the First Amendment a "virtual muzzle." If you are free to decide to be a slave or not, you're not a slave.

>After all, we've got to compete... I see no solution. Ideas, anyone?

Cultivate the talent to command a high salary; save up and retire early. Or use that same talent to make a decent salary by working 20 hours a week. Your choice.