Why a Strong Economy Means Nothing to the Poor and Middle Class

Concerning the current state of discretionary cash for the American Middle Class: Sept. 9 - There were over 1.6 million bankruptcy filings last year, up 7.4 percent from the previous year. And according to a new book, more people will end up in bankruptcy this year than will suffer a heart attack, than will be diagnosed with cancer or graduate from college, and it’s not who you would think. Elizabeth Warren is a Harvard law professor and bankruptcy expert and discusses these findings in her new book “The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Mothers and Fathers Are Going Broke.” She discusses the book on “Today.” Read an excerpt here: MSNBC.com

It just keeps getting worse. Warren says in her book “The Two-Income Trap is thick with irony. Middle-class mothers went into the workforce in a calculated effort to give their families an economic edge. Instead, millions of them are now in the workplace just so their families can break even. At a time when women are getting college diplomas and entering the workforce in record numbers, their families are in more financial trouble than ever.” If it’s this bad for the Middle Class with college degrees under their belts, what’s it like for the desperately poor. Food banks, DSHS, welfare, and other programs are targets for the GOP cutting block. Bush and the GOP says to let the Faith-Based programs pick up the slack, but Faith Based programs rely almost exclusively on donations from Middle Class folks, who are tightening their belts because the current economy is not friendly the those on the lower half of the economic ladder. President Carter used the Misery Index (unemployment + interest rate) to illustrate how bad things were for Middle Class America in order to mobilize people to get out and vote. Regan used it, and Bush points to it today to show hoe good things are. It’s true that the index is down to about 7.4 percent, but the index has never taken into account how much discretionary cash is left in the purses of the middles class. We already know that there is virtually no discretionary cash in the pockets of the poor. The squeeze that Elizabeth Warren writes about is a fact that the GOP doesn’t want you to know about. Right now the discretionary income is about $2,400.00 less than last year, and the trend is for even less discretionary cash in the future. The AP said this: “Bush does not fare as well under a new version of the “Misery Index,” created by Kerry strategists, that measures seven indicators they say are a better indication of middle class welfare — the prices of gasoline, health care and college tuition, the number of jobs, median family income, personal bankruptcies and homeownership.” See the entire story at http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5270959/ Top 20% of Americans and Corporations receiving the benefit of this economy. So the rich get richer and he poor get poorer.

1. The gap between the Upper Class and the Lower Class gets bigger.
2. The number of Middle Class Americans is dwindling away.
3. The on-the-ground forces for the security and safety of the Nation falls on the shoulders of the Middle Class and the Poor, yet Bush has sought over and over to reduce the benefits of the Veterans that have paid the price for freedom.

The message is clear. The GOP doesn’t give a damn about anything Middle Class or Poor, except how to glean their votes from their cold, hopeless hearts and minds.

Is It Really Bad To Be A Liberal?

The GOP would have us all believe that the Dems are more liberal than the Nation can possibly allow; that liberals are for quitting Iraq, raising taxes, condoms for kids, clean air, hugging tress, quality education, killing babies, as well as a variety of other things which the GOP would paint as “evil”. That is to say that Liberals are just too evil to be allowed power in government.

Let’s look at George Bush’s top two election issues:

Quitting Iraq – the GOP has called the Dems the Party of Cut and Run, while they call themselves the Party of Stay the Course. That staying the course is good for the Nation.

The Bush Policy has increased the number of terrorists, making the US less safe. Washingtonpost.com.

The Bush policy says that it’s ok to listen in on our phone calls with out court permission. The Bush policy says that Bush can declare anyone an enemy combatant without evidence. The Bush policy say that Bush can order you held without writ of habeas corpus, which means you don’t get to talk to a lawyer, and you don’t get a trial. The Bush policy says that while you’re being held, you can be tortured.

Now Bush is stealing the Democrats plan for the war by establishing “Benchmarks” and “Timelines”. Another way of saying the same thing is “Let’s establish dates for withdrawing troops”.

Raising Taxes – The GOP has reduced taxes for the wealthy while they continue their out of control spending on Pork Barrel projects. Now the Nation is in debt up to their eye balls, with no plan for balancing the budget. One of the techniques the GOP uses is to pass legislation like No Child Left Behind, and The Wall between Mexico and the U.S., and not fully funding them.

DEFINITION

lib•er•al (l b r- l, l b r l)

ADJECTIVE:

1.

a. Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry.

b. Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded.

c. Of, relating to, or characteristic of liberalism.

d. Liberal Of, designating, or characteristic of a political party founded on or associated with principles of social and political liberalism, especially in Great Britain, Canada, and the United States.

2.

a. Tending to give freely; generous: a liberal benefactor.

b. Generous in amount; ample: a liberal serving of potatoes.

3. Not strict or literal; loose or approximate: a liberal translation.

4. Of, relating to, or based on the traditional arts and sciences of a college or university curriculum: a liberal education.

5.

a. Archaic Permissible or appropriate for a person of free birth; befitting a lady or gentleman.

b. Obsolete Morally unrestrained; licentious.

NOUN:

1. A person with liberal ideas or opinions.

2. Liberal A member of a Liberal political party.

________________________________________

ETYMOLOGY: Middle English, generous, from Old French, from Latin l ber lis, from l ber, free; see leudh- in Indo-European roots

OTHER FORMS: lib er•al•ly (Adverb), lib er•al•ness (Noun)

SYNONYMS: liberal , bounteous , bountiful , freehanded , generous , handsome , munificent , openhanded

These adjectives mean willing or marked by a willingness to give unstintingly: a liberal backer of the arts; a bounteous feast; bountiful compliments; a freehanded host; a generous donation; a handsome offer; a munificent gift; fond and openhanded grandparents. See also Synonyms at broad-minded.

Antonym: stingy

The GOP has become the party of Lies, Gossip and Coercion

Beginning with the election of a Republican Congress, the secret drive to get and keep power in order to push forward a purely Republican agenda in the Good Ol' U.S. of A. was started. I suppose the same could have happened if the Democrats were in majority, but their track record pretty much says that isn't likely. See, Democrats are the Party of Diversity. There's no "toe the line or we'll ruin you" with the Dems. That means everyone is free to vote their conscience -- not a party line decided on by the most powerful in the party. Dems don't line up like the GOP. They didn't call Tom Delay "the Hammer" for nothing. He earned that name by keeping party members in line and maintaining support for the GOP agenda.

There are things that I have been noticing that I'm not happy about. G. W. Bush is stumping for GOP candidates. His big line is that only the GOP will maintain low taxes, and only the GOP will be strong against terrorists. Unfortunately, the President does not have to tell the truth. He's as free as other GOP politicians to lie, spin and gossip about their foes. Cases in point; the GOP has put the country in the worst deficit and danger than it has been in decades. We won't become solvent again by staying the GOP course of Pork Barrel spending. The GOP "Stay the Course" in Iraq has not worked, and in fact has been reported to actually have increased the number of terrorist recruits, and drastically increased the violence in Iraq, totally destabilizing Iraq to the point of civil war. The GOP does just the opposite of what Bush is advertising, and when you knowingly claim something false, that's lying.

Bush lied about Iraq in order to get the U.S., her allies, and the U.N. to validate an illegal war. Cherry picking intelligence is the same as lying. The GOP has become the party of lies, gossip and coercion.

Here's what I've been noticing:

1. In several states the Republicans forced redistricting giving great advantage for their taking state and national offices and keeping them.
2. In both Houses of Congress the power brokers are the ones to make the agenda and decide what issues will make it to the floor for debate and vote. Take a look at the items debated and the bills passed.
3. The House Ethics Committees have become a black hole. The first inkling that there was an Ethics Committee occurred when Tom Delay got in trouble. In a surprising move, the Republican Chairman brought Delay to the attention of the Senate on three occasions. The heat got so bad that Delay finally resigned from Congress rather than face the ire of his colleagues. For his part in Delays demise, the Chairman was fired by Dennis Hastert, and then politically destroyed by his fellow Republicans when re-election time cam about.
4. The Ethics Committee wasn't heard from again until Mark Foley was exposed for sexually harassing under-aged male Senate Pages. When this was first reported to the head of the Page program five years ago, Foley was simply told to stop, which he did not. The Republicans allowed the molesting of Pages to continue for another 5 years. Shameful.
5. In a Congress held by the Republicans, who say at every chance that they are for lower taxes, more has been spent on special projects attached to legitimate bills, than in any other period.

   • The country went from having a surplus $400 billion in the bank (thanks to Clintons balanced budget program) to having a $400 billion dollar deficit. How do the Republicans expect to pay back the deficit without raising taxes and returning to a balanced budget program? An obvious plan for failure. It costs money to run a country. That money comes from taxes.
   • Taxes should be levied fairly. The way to make taxes fair is to charge a sliding percentage to all. This means that the poor will pay less (or nothing in some cases), the middle class would pay a higher percentage as they are able, and the rich would pay a higher percentage as they are able.
   • But not to worry, there are plenty of loopholes for the rich to hide their cash from the taxman.
6. At the request of the President, the Congress reduced taxes for the very rich, reducing monies that are needed to fund the very Pork Barrel projects the greedy Republicans used to buy off special interests. They've reduced taxes so that projects passed by Congress such no child left behind, and the 700 mile border fence for security are under funded or not funded at all. What is the purpose of passing a law, program or project with out funding it? That's just smoke and mirrors designed to make the public think that something is actually getting done.
7. Reduced taxes for the rich mean higher taxes for the poor.
8. September 11th happened and there was a great show of bipartisanship. Bush was given a huge blank check for bipartisan work. So what happened. How did we get from the beautiful purple Congress to the rigidly Red agendas.
9. We rightly followed the trail of 9/11 terror to Usama Bin Laden and Afghanistan. We waged to war on terror against Al Queda and the Taliban supporters. We has Bin Laden cornered, ready to take him out and then left him there to invade Iraq.
   
   

   • There were no nuclear weapons of mass destruction. LIE.
   • There were no biological weapons of mass destruction. LIE.
   • There were no chemical weapons of mass destruction. LIE.
   • There were no weapons systems capable of delivering WMD. LIE.
   • There were no ties between Al Qaeda and Iraq. LIE.
   • There was no yellow cake uranium from North Africa. LIE.
10. Bush used the War on Terror as an excuse his blatant violation of U.S. and International Law.
    
    

    • Illegal phone tapping.
    • Illegal prisoners taken.
    • Illegal torture techniques by the U.S. and our representatives.
    • Illegal laws passed doing away with habeas corpus and allowing Bush to decide on his own who is an enemy combatant.
    
    
    

    1. Bush can point his finger at anyone and make him/her and enemy combatant.
    2. Bush can define what torture is and what is not.
    3. Bush alone decides what techniques can be used in questioning prisoners.
    4. EVERYONE IS LEFT VULNERABLE TO BEING TAKEN IN THE NIGHT WITHOUT TRIAL OR EVIDENCE, CALLED AN ENEMY COMBATANT, AND TORTURED WITHOUT ANY POSSIBLE RECOURSE.

11. The GOP has made it a point to use Fear and Smear to coerce the American people to support their agenda. They've used this Fear and Smear technique so much that it's become like "crying wolf". The American public has begun to see through the rhetoric to what really is.




1. We went to war on a lie.
2. The war isn't going well for us or the Iraqis.
3. Almost 3000 American military men and women killed.
4. More than 150,000 Americans wounded and disabled in the War on Terror. That's 1 in 4 military members at least partially disable. DemocracyNow.org




• The GOP continues to under fund and undermine the Veteran's Administration. While George Bush called support of the disabled veterans a "DEBT OF HONOR", VA hospitals are vastly under funded. Vet patients are forced to take care of other Vet patients. There are not enough aids, nurses or doctors to do the job -- especially in light of the huge numbers of disabled vets coming from the war in Iraq.
• When I requested the number of Military disabled in Iraq on the Official DoD website I got this response:

Error 403--Forbidden
From RFC 2068 Hypertext Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1:
10.4.4 403 Forbidden
The server understood the request, but is refusing to fulfill it. Authorization will not help and the request SHOULD NOT be repeated. If the request method was not HEAD and the server wishes to make public why the request has not been fulfilled, it SHOULD describe the reason for the refusal in the entity. This status code is commonly used when the server does not wish to reveal exactly why the request has been refused, or when no other response is applicable.

• The VA tried to hide the numbers disabled, and it resulted in a shortfall of $3.5 billion in funding for the Veterans Administration. I wonder why the people hired to help our vets, to make sure our Nation Debt of Honor would actually work toward the detriment of our disabled veterans. It appears that the Administration is all for supporting the military men and women as long as it doesn't cost too much, while asking our troops to give their life in a war of Bush's desires and choice.
5. Almost 50,000 Iraqi CIVILIANS killed. Iraq Body Count
6. The infrastructure in Iraq is worse than before the war.
7. Civil war is almost a certainty.
8. The "democratically" elected government was elected along Sunni, Shiite and Kurd communities. The government is divided along religious biases.
9. 70% of the Iraqis want us to leave.
10. The Iraqi government, while needing the US to maintain what little stability there is (and that is diminishing), has welcomed Iran and Syria, and is beginning to demonstrate that this government will become just another theocracy, further destabilizing the area. MSNBC.com
11. THE GOP DOES NOT HAVE THE ANSWER TO MAKING AND KEEPING US SAFE.
12. WE ARE ECONOMICALLY WORSE OFF AND IN MORE DANGER THAN WE WERE BEFORE THE GOP REGIME!
13. 2006 is showing just how desperate the GOP is to maintain power. Candidates do not use negative ads containing lies, and gossip to energize their voters and try to change voters minds unless THEY ARE VERY AFRAID OF LOSING POWER.
14. In the end the GOP will reap what they have sowed. If you plant weeds, you're going to harvest weeds.
15. The GOP Culture of Dishonesty and Corruption is farther reaching than anyone thought.

These are just the things off the top of my mind. If I sat down and really thought about all the things that bother me, this blog would be too large publish in one effort.

And lastly, President Bush is stumping for GOP candidates today. He says that the Democrats don't have a plan for the War in Iraq. This is interesting to me because he just STOLE the Democrats plan for Iraq - to establish benchmarks and timelines for their achievement. Bush previously said that the Iraqis need to understand that the U.S. has limited patience. In other words, somewhere down the line the U.S. will leave Iraq, maybe before there is "victory in Iraq". At least the kind of victory Bush wants.

What's John McCain up to?

Here’s something I’m having a hard time digesting; John McCain, POW, torture victim, adamant about no USA torturing, came out strong against Bush’s effort to increase his power and do away with habeas corpus. McCain fought hard against Bush’s request to gain the power so that he [Bush], by his word only, could make anyone an enemy combatant. No evidence required. (Sound like "1984"?) The prospect of Bush having that kind of power is terrifying. No wonder McCain and company were concerned. So, one person holds the power to determine who the enemy is and to determine what is torture and what is not. Bush asked for the exact same power McCain’s captures and torturers in Viet Nam had. The exact same powers McCain was against. So what happened? Why did McCain change his mind? I think it goes back to the 2004 campaign for president. McCain looked strong – he scared the RNC stiff. The RNC wanted Bush to repeat, and McCain was causing waves. So the RNC produces the dirty campaign ads against McCain and McCain buckled. It’s my opinion that the RNC made a deal with McCain – 2008 for 2004. McCain flounders and drops out of the race, backing Bush on the way out. Now comes 2006 and Bush’s new bill making him the antiterrorist buster. Again McCain backs down. Was it the RNC forcing their 2008 card? We’ll probably never know. But, as I’ve said before, if it looks like a duck… well, you get the idea. It’s often said that “nothing changes if nothing changes.” I’m thinking that it’s time to change the look of the Congress and Senate. It’s time to change the décor. Let’s change the color of both houses to blue, or at least purple. McCain can take a hike next time. I used to think that McCain had integrity, but things are just to obvious to believe that any more.

DONALD RUMSFELD “SPINS” OUT OF CONTROL – AGAIN

Donald Rumsfield, again, shows that he simply doeS not have the ability to give the press and the American people a straight answer to simple questions. He was asked today, October 26, 2006 if there were going to be consequences for the Iraqi Government and Military if they do not meet the deadlines or benchmarks established for their taking over the running of their country. Rumsfeld’s answer showed his extreme dislike for being called on the carpet. President Bush said the Iraqis have to understand that the America will not remain patient forever. In other words, there is an end to our goodwill and the inferred consequence is withdrawal of American Forces. Rumsfeld would not acknowledge the President’s statement. Instead he focused on browbeating the media for asking the question. He said over and over during his press conference today, that Iraq is a complicated situation, as if that was some kind of excuse to "Stay the Course". Reporters and the American public aren't dumb. We know Iraq is complicated. But setting benchmarks and establishing consequences is easy. Certainly Nation Building is complicated. It’s really ironic that Bush, Rumsfeld, Rove, Rice and other NeoCons didn’t understand that before the decided to overthrow the sovereign government in Iraq. If they had, they would have had a better plan of action to begin with, or perhaps they would have decided to leave Iraq in peace. No one argues that Hussein wasn’t a terrible dictator. No one thinks that Saddam's killing of his own people was an ok thing. There is simply no debate that he was evil - but that was never part of the discussion for invading Iraq. The fact that our own intelligence was so poor as to become the basis for Bush’s decision to invade Iraq is unbelievable. While taking an electronics class in 1971, my instructor, who had been a temporary employee of the CIA, said this concerning Russia’s launch of their Sputniks, “We knew exactly what they were doing and when. Our countdown [to their launch] was more accurate than theirs.” And that was during the Cold War. I don't believe that our intelligence agencies have become so lame, rather, I believe with technology and other advances, they have gotten better. My conclusion is that the Administration picked the intelligence they used to make decisions, knowing what was strong and weak, in order to convince the American people and Congress that we MUST make this war. The Administration shared their intelligence with other governments in order to make the case that these countries should join our Coalition of the Willing. In other cases, in my opinion, countries were outright coerced to join the Coalition. In the end we had a Coalition of the Duped and the Coerced. Rumsfeld further stated that we should “Sit back and enjoy the democracy that is there” [in Iraq]. Rather, I sit back and wonder how it is, that while we were fighting a real War on Terror in Afganistan, on the verge of capturing Usama Bin Laden,mBush and his cronies performed the biggest “Bait and Switch” campaign in the history of mankind, that we, the American people, let him get away with it. Shame on him. Shame on us. All of this talk about timelines, benchmarks, and the like are exactly what the Democrats were talking about when they suggested a timeline for withdrawal. There is absolutely no difference, regardless that the Administration would like us to believe that there is. Simple semantics are involved. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. If the Republicans, led by Bush, call the Democrats the Party of Cut and Run, then by their own definition, they have finally become the Official Party of Cut and Run. What’s really going on here is that Bush has finally conceded that the DEMOCRATS ARE RIGHT – WE MUST ESTABLISH BENCHMARKS that must be completed by a certain time so that American service members can be relieved of duty AND COME HOME. Using different words the Bush camp is now saying what the Democrats have been saying for a long time. That says to me that the Democrats are the Party of CUT THE CRAP.

Truth in Politics

I have found in researching political advertisings, PACs, parties and candidates can say whatever they like without regard to truth and responsibility. The reason given is that the First Amendment guarantees their right to do this. I disagree. The First Amendment says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” It’s the section that says “or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press” that is pointed to as the reason that nothing can be done about political ad content. This is just wrong. As private citizens we enjoy laws that protect us against libel and slander, which somehow does not violate the First Amendment. So how is it that being in politics somehow voids libel and slander laws? The First Amendment coupled to FCC Regulations concerning equal time for candidates, topped off with laws that have no teeth, feed the current climate among political candidates of lies and outright false statements and innuendos against rivals. It appears expedient for the judicial system to not referee political advertising, yet it is apparent to all who see these ads with lies, exaggerations and complete misrepresentation of the facts, that something MUST be done. The history of appalling ads and FCC forceful assertion that lies, slander and libel, misrepresentations, racial slurs and worse, must be run and be printed, is documented in newspapers, electronic media and internet sites. Unfortunately, these reports are all too often placed where the masses wont see them. Where there are state commissions to monitor and restrict false advertising, there are no teeth. These commissions simply have no power to stop or pull ads. That power is relegated to the individual that placed the ad, and if they don’t want to cease running the spot, it will continue running its course. The damage done by these ads is unbelievable. Candidates have had their reputations and their lives ruined. Citizens have been duped into voting for liars and malicious political hacks who prove by the method they achieved office that they do not have the best interest at heart, but only their craving for power.