Thursday, December 15, 2016

 

Return of the Robber Barons

From the end of the Nineteenth century through the early part of the Twentieth century a class of wealthy business men and other rich people rose to dominate the economy and politics of our country. These men came to be called the Robber Barons. By the time these men were through, they helped contribute to the Great Depression which nearly destroyed the United States. Today we have the return of the new Robber Barons with the election of Donald Trump as president. Prepare the be stripped of your money, jobs and rights.

We can see the beginning of this with the President Elect Trump’s transition appointments. So far he has appointed wealthy billionaires that are heads of corporations and some with questionable ties to foreign nations like Russia. Many of these people hate the regulations and programs of the departments they will be running. They will be spending most of their time trying to dismantle programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, environmental protections, labor laws, welfare, etc. Programs and laws that protect and help people in our country who don’t have the fortune to be born rich or ever become rich ( the 99%).

The Preamble of the Constitution starts: “We the people. . . .” Make no mistake. These Robber Baron DO NOT CARE about workers, the middle class, working poor, those living in poverty or anyone else. Their bottom line is money and how to accumulate more wealth no matter who they exploit, rip off or make suffer. Their god is MONEY! Period.

The next four years are going to be rough. There will be rising inequality and an economy that favors the rich even more while the rest of us suffer. We the people will need to resist the Robber Barons and fight to keep our rights and programs. We have hope and the numbers. Take an active role and contact your representative to let them know you want them to listen to you or you will vote them out next election. The hope is that our Constitution and elected officials will  listen to us to stop the more egregious attempts at destroying our rights and country. Fight back or you’ll lose everything!!

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My Reaction to the Election 2016

It’s taken me awhile to work through the emotions after the election on Nov. 8. Like many people I’ve been on an emotional rollercoaster. Shocked. Stunned. Fear. Anger. After working through all these emotions, I’ve settled on anger. I hate the idea of Donald Trump as president, but have accepted the election results. Here are my thoughts.

First, I understand the reasons why people voted for Trump. They’re tired of the stalemate and stagnation in Washington, D.C. Many feel they’re being left behind by the economy with losses of jobs, stagnating wages and no opportunity. A certain segment of people want things to go back the way they were before the Civil Rights era. Others just didn’t want another Clinton in office. Some people are just miserable in their lives and want to spread the misery around. I’m sure there are many  other reasons too.

Unfortunately, I think the people who voted for Trump are going to be very disappointed. People don’t like change, but it’s a part of life. We can’t go back to the so called good old days. Those manufacturing jobs aren’t coming back. More importantly, rich, corporate people like Trump only believe in helping their own business and social class. He doesn’t care about rest of us, the middle class, working class or poor. This can already be seen by his cabinet picks. They are all wealthy, corporate people bent on taking what they can away from everyone to line their pockets.

Either way, I’ll fight for our rights with my voice and words. My anger will remain as long as Trump is president. We can’t despair or give up. We must make our voices heard. Leave programs like social security, medicare and many others alone. We must refuse to become the wage serfs/slaves of the corporations and rich. We must not return to feudalism or fascism and let our nation turn into a plutocracy. That is not what America is.

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Sunday, November 09, 2014

 

Election Nov. 4, 2014

The Republicans took control of the Senate. They now control both houses of Congress. We the preople are going to get two more years of do nothing government. Furthermore, the Congress is bought. They no longer serve us, the people, but their wealthy, corporate masters. When are we going to wake up to stop the corruption in government? When are the people going to demand their representation? It’s time to stop listening to the brainwashing. More of us need to exercise our right to vote and speak out, or we’re going to lose our democracy and see the U.S. as we know it go down the tubes.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

 

Libertarianism is a Scam!!

I have come to a conclusion about Libertarian philosophy. I don’t like it one bit. Libertarians say it’s about individual rights, that there should be less government and things will be fair for everyone. They say it’s about personal responsibility. From what I have read and seen happening, I’ve decided that this philosophy is nothing more than a social Darwinist idea that promotes greed and selfishness.

Of course Libertarians want smaller government. They don’t want regulation. They want to be free to rob, loot, exploit or destroy people’s lives without a watch dog to protect rights. Libertarians will try to convince you it’s about freedom and individual rights. It’s just a screen for the rich and corporations to funnel more wealth their way while everyone else suffers and sinks into poverty.

Libertarian philosophy is just a selfish, greedy method to make wealthy people wealthier without any protections for anyone else. We need to get this idea out of America’s head and politics.

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Wednesday, March 16, 2011

 

Austerity

The economy worldwide has been terrible the last three years. People have lost jobs in large numbers. Conservatives, the wealthy and corporations have pushed governments into lowering or eliminating taxes around the world. This has resulted in decreased revenues for governments and exploded deficits, which increases the call for cuts in spending. Austerity has become the buzzword for these governments. Governments are enacting austerity programs to control the huge deficits. Austerity programs are unjust.

Why are austerity programs unjust? Austerity means drastic cutbacks in everything. It means sacrifices must be made. European governments have begun these types of programs, cutting back on social programs, salaries, benefits and raising taxes and fees on some things like education. The injustice comes in on who makes the sacrifices. People shouldering the burden for these austerity policies are students, elderly, the disabled, the poor and members of the middle class. While these people take the brunt of the burden, the rich and corporations are enjoying tax cuts. This is totally unjust.

If these programs must be enacted, then the sacrifices and suffering should be shared by every citizen. Governments should make the rich and corporations share the sacrifice by paying higher taxes. In any democracy that claims all citizens are equal then the suffering people go through should also be a part of that equality, shared by all.

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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

 

Tucson Tragedy Aftermath

The violent attack on the U.S. Congresswoman and her constituents last Saturday left six people dead and many others gravely wounded. Among the dead is a nine year old girl and a federal judge. Everyone is condemning the attack and many of those are saying the cause is the vitriolic political rhetoric put about by the right wing and left wing politicians. Many are calling for civility, but is anyone listening? No. Both sides have already labeled the killer. Conservatives are calling him “liberal lunatic” and the left blame the Tea Party for his attack. We may never know what this insane man’s motives might have been. Either way, the poison being spewed should be unacceptable.

Free speech is an important part of our freedoms in the U.S. However, that freedom shouldn’t be used to incite violence against people who don’t agree with certain opinions. People can voice their opinions on subjects but then must let others decide on their own whether they agree or not. You can’t force your opinions on subjects but then must let others decide on their own whether they agree or not. You can’t force your opinions down other people’s throats. That’s the main problem between conservatives and liberals today. Both sides think they’re in some kind of a war and that one side will prevail. That is not going to happen. It’s time both sides accept this fact and tone down the words.

I don’t believe we want to see our country become a violent, living hell where a citizen fears voicing an opinion because they might be killed. I certainly don’t want to live in that reality. Do you?

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Tuesday, November 02, 2010

 

Attacks on Unions

There is a war on to destroy unions in this country. Since the 1980s, big business has done its best to push American workers into minimum wage slaves without benefits. Workers are now faced with low paying jobs without any pensions, health care or other benefits. This has come about by propaganda aimed at destroying unions, which has led to a decline in them. Not satisfied with destroying private sector jobs, corporate America is now aimed at destroying the public sector jobs and unions of police, firefighters, teachers and other public employees. They claim these unions are too powerful and are special interests that hurt taxpayers. Which taxpayers? The rich and corporations of course.

We must stop these attacks and keep these jobs as they are. I agree some reform must happen, but people can’t allow the wages, pensions and benefits to disappear. This would lead to a further decline in the quality of life for Americans. Let’s face it, no one is going to put their life on the line or become a teacher for minimum wages and no benefits. We can’t allow these good paying jobs to disappear.

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Wednesday, October 20, 2010

 

Voters Beware!

With the midterm elections coming in two weeks, it is time to do some serious thinking and not vote out of emotions. I know people are angry. We are angry about the lack of jobs and a bad economy. Those who voted for President Obama are angry because they have not seen change. Conservatives are angry because they lost the last election and could not pursue their agenda of turning this nation into a fascistic, theocracy. Still, we need to control the anger and think about what we are really voting for.

Throwing your votes away on the Republicans and Tea Party candidates is wrong and dangerous. By doing this voters are playing into the hands of corporations and the wealthy. This will only consolidate their power, which will hasten the destruction of the middle class. In the name of tax breaks and controlling spending, they will destroy social security, Medicare, Medicaid, welfare, public education and any programs that help people. The tax breaks will only benefit them, while our taxes remain the same or increase. The lack of tax revenue will lead to more cuts in services.

Our nation is in danger of becoming a plutocracy with a government by the rich and for the rich. Our democracy will fail if we let this happen. People have moved too far right by listening to ideas that are supported by the wealthy and big corporations. The people need to take back our control. We need to grow the middle class and restore the American Dream for everyone not just the few. If we vote out of anger and ignorance instead of thinking our nation will do down the toilet.

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