Few in the press seem to want to educate the public about how we got into this fiscal crisis in the first place or why projected budget surpluses at the beginning of the Bush years were so needlessly squandered. And remember, those surpluses were turned into deficits through "bipartisan" agreements, such as the Bush tax cuts, the wars, and the bailouts. There's also precious little mention of the grotesque inequality in American society these days, which is worse than even during the Gilded Age. The establishment press seems determined to avoid the obvious conclusion: The rich, the super-rich, and the super-duper rich (as well as the conglomerates) must pay more in taxes to get the United States through the crisis. Ending the two debilitating wars and rolling back what Eisenhower called the "military-industrial complex" should be next. And the billions of dollars wasted in corporate welfare each year must be diverted to human needs.then you'll really want to read the whole piece chez Arianna.
So you don't believe that there IS a class war out there? So you don't believe that it can ever happen to you? So, you agree with Republicans, led by "Orange John" Boehner, who will not vote to extend unemployment benefits? You believe that unemployment benefits encourage people not to look for jobs? OK then, just read about the increasing middle class reversal of the much-fabled American dream. Here's one example from the article linked to:
Walker used to make $100,000 a year as a nursing home executive until she lost her job a year and a half ago. Unable to find a new one, she shed her business suits and high heels and put on an apron and soft-soled shoes. This year, she and her daughter are living on $11,000: her unemployment benefits plus whatever she can earn selling home-cooked dinners for $10 apiece.In case you don't want to wade your way through the article - even though it's worth it - check out the accompanying photo gallery. Apologies in advance for having to sit through the online advertising first.
If some of those photos don't remind you - as they did me - of some of the bleakest photos taken during the Great Depression (except that these are in color) - then we may not be living on the same planet. Perhaps not even in the same universe. Certainly, thinking about this in the context of complete Republican obstructionism - for which the worst obstructionists were apparently rewarded on 2 November - sends chills down my spine.
The United States Census Bureau reports that the poverty rate (the number of households with annual incomes of less than USD 21,756 for a family of four) rose to 14.3 percent last year, the highest level in more than 50 years. The text of the full report, entitled "Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009," can be found here. Perhaps not surprisingly, two states, Texas and Florida, that have been burdened with Republican governorship for the past ten years or more, saw the most people fall below the poverty line.
Poor Texas! Its downward spiral began in 1995, when a certain George W. Bush defeated - by hook or by crook - the very popular Ann Richards, who was, by any objective measure, one darn fine governor. Florida's luckless descent began in 1999, when Bush's brother Jeb took over the state house there.
Of course, Jeb's sins are even worse than his disastrous economic and social policies in Florida alone. It was Jeb and his appointed henchmen and women who ensured that tens of thousands of likely Al Gore voters were disqualified even before the 2000 election in the hopes that the election would be swung to brother W. We all know how that election turned out. Most of the world is still reeling from the results. But for Jeb's actions in assisting his wastrel brother to become President of the United States, it is quite likely that the Census Bureau would be reporting a much rosier outcome today. I can also say, with a good deal of certainty, that there never would have been a 9-11, nor would the US be entangled in not one, but two disastrous and horrendously expensive - if not outright illegal - wars and occupations, had Al Gore become President in January 2001.
So when voters go to the polls and elect or return to office those belonging to the political party that is most accountable for the current mess and vote out, among others, the outstanding Senator Russ Feingold, who consistently fought for the most vulnerable among us, I have to believe that those voters have totally lost their minds.
It is true that poverty has worsened in the past couple years in large part due to Bush-era tax cuts, the disastrous wars and the financial bailout ensuing from failure to regulate. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) points out, however, that the situation would have been much worse without efforts undertaken by the Obama Administration during the past two years, including extending those selfsame unemployment (UI) benefits that Republican Scrooges have just voted against. According to the CBO,
Without the financial support provided to families by UI benefits (and under an assumption of no change in employment or other sources of income associated with the absence of that support), the poverty rate and related indicators of financial hardship would have been higher in 2009 than they actually were. For instance, in 2009 the poverty rate was 14.3 percent, whereas without UI benefits and under the assumption mentioned, it would have been 15.4 percent.By their votes, House Republicans have callously demonstrated that they apparently want even more Americans to fall below the poverty threshold. But where are the stories in the US mainstream media (MSM) that highlight this? What stories I have seen highlight that Republicans will not vote for this extension because there are no commensurate spending cuts. The stories do not highlight, however, that where Republicans want those spending cuts is in government programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, all among the last refuges of the most vulnerable.
Republican assault on government programs at the national level is not their only line of attack. Their Tea Party and other similarly-minded right-wing allies are currently attacking public budgets and public workers elsewhere. Because the MSM will not inform itself, it treats the crazies as if they were as credible as those of us with at least a few functioning brain cells remaining. So public workers literally have to come to their own defense, as one courageous New Jersey librarian has done.
Thanks for nothing, Fourth Estate!
