Great Recession

What The Midterm Elections Will Tell Us About America And Its Future!

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We are now three days away from the Midterm Elections of 2014, and any political junkie is, by this time, worn out, and sick and disgusted at the constantly changing public opinion polls and the projections on Governorship and Senate races.

America has a choice to make, whether to move forward, and have a compassion and concern about those less fortunate, those who have been subjected to discrimination, those who simply want acceptance and respect, those who want a piece of the “American Dream”, and those who want to restore the middle class, which reached its peak in 1973, and has been in rapid decline since then.

If the Democrats lose the Senate and fail to throw out most of the seven Tea Party Governors who have been a nightmare to their states, then we have become, without any doubt, a nation moving toward the Gilded Age of the late 19th century, an American where racial minorities and immigrants were mistreated in horrible ways, women were second class citizens, and there was a monopoly of wealth and power by the elite wealthy over society, including exploitation of working people not treated with respect, and promotion of lower pay for women, exploitation of child labor, and the wholesale perpetrating of long lasting degradation of the environment.

It will also demonstrate that lack of knowledge, lack of education, lack of common sense, lack of caring about anyone other than oneself and close family and friends, leads to a reactionary society where there are no values other than greed and selfishness, and yet the victims in the long run are not just “others”, but these ignorant people who vote against their own advancement and welfare!

It is normal for a midterm election to promote some losses for the party in the White House, but to give the Republican Party massive rewards for obstruction, narrow mindedness, refusal to do what is good for the nation, and the promotion of pure hate, would be a sign of the failure of American democracy.

It would tell us that the goal is to confuse and divide the nation, while a small elite enriches itself and promotes wholesale destruction of the 20th century–including the New Deal and Great Society!

It would tell us that having provided millions with health care who never had it; has lowered the unemployment rate to the lowest since the Great Recession; has seen the stock market more than double; has eliminated Osama Bin Laden from the earth; has seen gasoline prices lower than in the past four years; has seen the deficit lowered by two thirds; has provided a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; and has done so much to make lives better in many other ways, has failed to convince Democratic and Independent voters that it is worthwhile to fight for what they believe in, rather than just sit home and let the enemy of all this take over, all based on lies and talk radio and Fox News propaganda!

If the Democrats lose, a lot of the blame will be on Democratic office holders unwilling to defend the record they have achieved and to defend Barack Obama, and instead to allow fear and panic and anarchy and hate and prejudice take over the American psyche, and allow a party with no ideas and no ethics or morality to govern us, and take us down hill as they have done so often in the past!

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Second Bill Of Rights (January 11, 1944) Not Yet Achieved In 2014!

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Now that THE ROOSEVELTS series on PBS, the seven part series presented to the nation by the great documentarian Ken Burns, is over, many thoughts and emotions cross one’s mind.

FDR offered so much to the nation in his New Deal, and in his leadership of the struggle against Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan in World War II.

But what struck this author more than any of this, while watching this 14 hour series over the past week, is an often forgotten speech, the State of the Union speech of January 11, 1944, delivered by FDR in a joint session of Congress.

The speech dealt with the issue of a “Second Bill Of Rights”.

FDR knew that the Bill Of Rights had made America the beacon of the civilized world, with the basic civil liberties it granted to all Americans.

But FDR was looking ahead to the end of World War II, and envisioned a nation that would extend the concept of a bill of rights to other issues that affected all Americans.

So FDR called for a future guarantee of everyone having a decent job with a living wage; a guarantee of decent housing for all Americans; a guarantee of a decent supply of food, clothing, and leisure for all; a guarantee of a decent education providing opportunity for all to advance; an expansion of Social Security beyond the beginning of the concept nine years earlier in 1935; and  provision for a decent health care system for all Americans.

Now 70 years later, none of these have been accomplished, although Social Security has improved tremendously for the elderly, and for women who are widowed and children who lose a parent or are orphaned: Medicare has done so much to help the elderly and disabled; and ObamaCare, under great duress, has provided health care for millions of Americans who never had health coverage before.

But yet, conservatives and Republicans are out to make Social Security and Medicare privatized, and want to destroy ObamaCare!

But we have too many people who cannot find work, due to the Great Recession of George W. Bush and cannot even gain extension of the New Deal concept of unemployment compensation; many Americans live in substandard housing; many people go hungry and live in dire poverty; many have to work multiple jobs and cannot have time for leisure, with most Americans not able to have vacation time, less than any European democracy, or Canada or Australia;  and many children are denied a good education system and can only gain minimum wage employment as adults.

The right wing extremists are trying to destroy the New Deal and Great Society reforms, and return American to a century ago before there was social justice and economic opportunity and political reform offered, starting with the Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt.

How can any decent American not rise up in protest and anger at the selfishness and greed of the elite one percent and their propagandists, who do not care what happens to anyone other than their own class?  Why is acquisition of obscene wealth and power so important that these right wingers have no humanity, no common decency, no desire to see their fellow Americans have a chance to succeed as they were given?  Why is the hatred of taxes so vehement, as if one can take his or her wealth to the grave, or give it in obscene amounts to offspring who will never know responsibility or the virtue of accomplishing on their own?  What is wrong with this nation, that 70 years after the “Second Bill of Rights” speech of FDR, we have made very little progress on the goals of the speech, and have even backtracked on them, and we have evil forces wanting to destroy the most significant programs of the New Deal and Great Society?

Barack Obama Success Versus The Public Opinion Polls

Ronald 5 Comments

Barack Obama has been the most successful President in economic affairs in modern times, surpassing Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan.

So says the conservative journal FORBES, and who is to argue with them coming up with this conclusion?

Obama has presided over the greatest stock market growth in American history, but also has seen tremendous economic expansion and creation of jobs not seen since the Clinton Administration.

Of course, unemployment is still 6.1 percent and many people have dropped out of the job market, and unemployment compensation has not been extended.

And of course, the minimum wage has not been increased, and should be, if based on the cost of living, would be triple what it is now–$7.25 an hour!

Infrastructure spending is essential, but has been prevented by the Republican Party.

The point is that despite the inherited Great Recession, Barack Obama has done miracles on the economy, and has succeeded in killing more Muslim terrorists than anyone else, including Osama Bin Laden and Libya’s dictator, Muamarr Gaddafi.

And yet, despite all this and much more, recent public opinion polls show a low point in the 30s for Obama, including one third disillusioned Democrats.

But it is clear that these polls are not to be relied on or believed, and it is obvious that those polled do not understand what has happened, and are clueless as to public affairs, and are more reacting to the right wing attacks on Obama, rather than using their own intellectual abilities.  It is scary how a large portion of the nation is ignorant, and ill informed!

The Obscenity Of Cutting Off Water To The Poor In Detroit!

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We are living in very difficult times since the Great Recession of 2007-2009, but one of the worst elements is the total lack of concern about basic human decency and life itself, if one does not have the income to pay one’s bills.

So now in Detroit, a depressed city in a state run by Republicans who have taken away home rule from the Motor City, we are seeing many residents, many of them poor and/or unemployed, who are unable to pay a basic water bill, and therefore, are having their water supply totally cut off, as if water is not a basic part of sustenance!

Without water, one cannot wash and bathe.

Without water, one cannot cook meals for basic sustenance.

Without water, babies and children are endangered, even more than adults.

Without water, toilets cannot be flushed of human waste.

Without water, if fire breaks out, one cannot protect himself against the dangers of injury and death.

Without water, a human being is being told his or her life, and that of his or her family, does not matter one iota!

Without water, people will die in a country which has many religious people insist all fetuses should be born, but apparently,once born, to hell with your children and your personal need for water!

What is wrong with America, that most people will hear about this, and dismiss it, as, after all, they have water?

Should the lack of money tell us that therefore one should die? Apparently so, but that is an obscenity that no moral or ethical person could ever accept!

The Reality Despite Quinnipiac Poll: Lowest Unemployment Rate And Highest Job Growth Since 2008!

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The Quinnipiac Poll may show Barack Obama to be the worst President since 1945, but it is clearly an outlier, and should be totally ignored.

The facts are that we have just learned that the unemployment rate is now, at 6.1 percent, at the lowest since September 2008, and over the past five months, more than a million jobs have been created, and last month, 288,000 jobs were created, the most in any month since the end of 2008.

So Barack Obama has succeeded in taking us out of the worst conditions of the Great Recession of George W. Bush. Additionally, the economic growth is really taking off, according to economists, the fastest growth in the first half of the year since 1999.

This has occurred despite constant obstructionism and refusal to cooperate of the Republican Party in Congress, and the only reason that wages are not higher, and the middle class and the poor are still in crisis, is due to their refusal to cooperate in creation of infrastructure jobs, raising the minimum wage, and extending unemployment compensation. So private sector jobs have been created in larger numbers than any previous President, but public sector jobs have become victim to the machinations of John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, et al.

But the Republicans are failing to prevent great progress, including the highest stock market finish in history today, and they will pay for this at the midterm election, as the Democrats can now say that the economic policy of Barack Obama is working, and that will motivate more Democrats and Independents to come out and vote in the midterm Congressional elections and the state elections.

If prosperity continues, by the time Barack Obama finishes his Presidency, he might be seen as one of the great Presidents on the issue of revival of the economy, and without a major war, which helped Franklin D. Roosevelt to push us out of the Great Depression after an equivalent six long years!

Quinnipiac Poll On Worst President Since WW II Is Sign Of Total Ignorance And Stupidity!

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A new Quinnipiac poll for July 4th rates Presidents since World War II, and comes to the asinine conclusion that Barack Obama, engaged in the typical “sixth year” doldrums, is the worst President since 1945!

Really? Give all of us a break! This demonstrates total ignorance and stupidity of American history, and how quickly people forget past Presidents and the records they have in office.

How could Barack Obama be the worst President since 1945, with:

The highest stock market in history, up 150 percent.
Gaining back of all the millions of jobs lost in the Great Recession, plus more jobs created despite GOP obstructionism.
The deficit falling faster than at any time since Eisenhower.
Hunting down and killing of Osama Bin Laden.
The capture of the perpetrator of the Benghazi deaths in Libya.
The passage of the Affordable Care Act, giving more Americans health care coverage than at any time in American history.
The passage of the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau despite opposition from Wall Street, corporations and Republicans.
The appointment of Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court.
The advancement of environmental protection on the road to the level of Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon and Theodore Roosevelt.
The promotion of the interests of the middle class against the Republican aim to destroy the middle class by lack of action.

Of course, any person could make a list of programs and policies of Barack Obama which have not worked out to their or our satisfaction, including this author.

But come on, compare Obama to George W. Bush:

Two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, both causing trillions of dollars in the national debt, and not accomplishing their goals, and the war in Iraq totally unnecessary, a war of choice.
The poor handling of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and Mississippi and Alabama.
The failed Social Security privatization plan, which would have destroyed the program in 2008.
The Great Recession of 2007-2009, worst since the Great Depression under Herbert Hoover.

And if we are to rate the worst Presidents, how about Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, who both did so much harm in office, even while admitting certain positives for both?

And to rate Mitt Romney a better choice, 45 percent, to be President now, after the failed campaign of 2012–face the facts, the American people made the right choice in rejecting Romney, arguably the worst candidate of the Republican Party since Barry Goldwater in 1964. This was a man who lied, lied, lied, constantly, more than any Presidential nominee in American history!

The fact that the poll participants showed no real knowledge of American history is troubling, as to come to such a ridiculous conclusion demonstrates total lack of understanding of what has gone on in this nation in recent years! All they react to is charisma, so that Reagan, John F. Kennedy, and Bill Clinton rank the highest, simply based on image!

What do these involved in the poll know about Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George H. W. Bush, as well as the Presidents that are rated high, and those rated low in the poll? Clearly, NOTHING!

A Fact That Cannot Be Denied: With Creation of 120,000 More Jobs, All Jobs Lost In Great Recession Are Recovered!

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A plain fact that Republicans and conservatives wish to deny is that the entire loss of jobs from the Great Recession under their President George W. Bush, the worst since the Great Depression, and actually in pure numbers, far worse, is nearing an end!

With next month’s report of job gains, the negative will finally have ended, six years after the total collapse!

Only 120,000 jobs need to be created, and every job created after that is additional, and the job growth will continue over the remainder of the Obama Presidency!

Yes, the author is well aware that this is not in itself something to rejoice, while we have so many people unable to make a decent living, and millions having to survive on the minimum wage or just above, and others further impoverished by the refusal of Republicans to extend unemployment compensation.

And manufacturing jobs, while reviving to some extent, are still losing to overseas competition, and too many jobs that are created are service jobs, traditionally low paid.

The fact of the recovery of the millions of jobs is to be saluted, but the need to create millions of new, high paying jobs is still the daunting task of Obama and the next President of the United States, but with GOP obstructionism, that will continue to be difficult.

The fact of the recovery of jobs, however, should be bragged about by Democrats, and should be a major factor in avoiding major loss of seats in the House and Senate, as if the Republicans had cooperated in the past four years, our economic revival could have been swifter and more focused on creation of good jobs, rather than just minimum wage jobs, which are in pay, 25 percent behind what they were in economic value in 1968!

The Most Despicable Act: Utah Elementary School Throws Out Lunches For Poor Children!

Ronald 49 Comments

So many outrages occur daily in this country in the past five years, all encouraged by the hardheartedness of the Republican Party, the conservative think tanks, the conservative talk show hosts, and the Tea Party Movement!

As each outrage occurs, one cannot help but become more frustrated, angry, furious, at “man’s inhumanity to man”, whether it be the 30 death threats daily against President Barack Obama; the cutting of unemployment compensation, food stamps, and refusal to raise the minimum wage one iota; the racial and ethnic hatred that continues to fester and boil over; the constant attack on the rights of women to their own bodies and dignity; the destruction of the middle class; the attack on labor rights; the vicious attacks by religious extremists on gay rights and same sex marriage; and a slew of other hateful, divisive, mean spirited statements and actions non stop!

But now a new low has been reached, hard to imagine that is possible!

Now we have a Salt Lake City, Utah elementary school, which has students whose parents are suffering from the long range effects of the Great Recession, and are behind in basic payments for school services of some kind. So their children, young kids under 10, are denied lunch, after it had been placed on trays for them, but then suddenly, the cafeteria manager takes the food away, because their parents are in arrears, and ends up throwing the food into the garbage, a total waste of taxpayers’ money!

How can ANYONE justify such an action, and the principal and the school board of Salt Lake City has refused to apologize directly to these unfortunate children, who are being sent a message that they are “garbage”, and are not worthy of being able to eat a meal with their friends and classmates?

Does one realize the psychological effect of such action on the psyches and self image of these children, who already live a more difficult life in poverty or deprivation, because of their parents’ unfortunate situation economically? It is as if there is no regard for human dignity, and everything is simply materialism, and if you do not have adequate money, to hell with you, and then throw out food that is not to be consumed by anyone else, and instead allow a child to go hungry!

But is this any different than the move to cut food stamps, when children of poor families are at least half of the recipients?

The cafeteria manager is on paid leave, but should be fired summarily, and the principal should be fired, and the school board should resign in disgrace!

And where is the Mormon Church, which dominates Utah politics and society, standing on this issue? They have been very silent, too busy fighting against gay rights and marriage, and forgetting that they were once victims of persecution and deprivation. But of course, now, the Mormon Church is a very well financed and prosperous group, that has lost the basis of its founding, nothing new, sadly, about organized religion, claiming to follow the teachings of its prophets, but doing just the opposite!

The Turnaround In California: Liberalism at Work Under Jerry Brown!

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Just a couple of years ago, California was called the classic example of the failure of liberalism, and conservatives and Republicans denounced the largest state as a total disaster financially, which it had been under Arnold Schwarzenegger, and also a victim of the Great Recession.

But now, under Governor Jerry Brown, California has had a renaissance, seeing a massive debt become a massive surplus, with liberal ideas, including higher taxes, and more regulations, and it has become a model of a “blue” state.

Not bad for a governor who was in office from 1975-1983, and then came back 28 years later, and is now seen as a hero and a genius, in regards to improving the future of California.

Understand that this author is not saying that California has no problems or issues, but it has seen an amazing turnaround, at a time when “red” states are in worse shape than “blue” states in all kinds of statistics.

It is not time to say that liberalism and the Democratic Party are dead, and we will see a revival of the story in California elsewhere, as soon as the citizenry realizes that they have been bamboozled big time.

Even the state of Kentucky proves this, where monstrous Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul rail against ObamaCare, but the Democratic Governor, Steve Beshear, has made ObamaCare a great success story, and is a hero!

Government is NOT evil, and it is time for voters to throw out the right wing extremists and return America to optimism and belief in the future!

The War On Poverty DId Not Fail! It Was Destroyed By Republicans, Led By Nixon And Reagan!

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50 years ago today, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced a War On Poverty In America, and poverty levels dropped about 40 percent over the next five years.

But then the conservative counterrevolution began under Richard Nixon, and was accelerated under Ronald Reagan, and today, poverty is spreading in the aftermath of the Great Recession.

And what is the Republican Party doing about this reality? It is declaring the War on Poverty failed, and doing everything to kick poor people and middle class people down into the gutter, fighting against extension of unemployment compensation to desperate people, having no problem in cutting food stamps to people who have inadequate nutrition, and fighting to avoid raising the minimum wage, which, if it was keyed to inflation, would be over $20 an hour right now!

The War On Poverty never got a full chance to succeed, as Democrats Hubert Humphrey, George McGovern, and Walter Mondale never had the opportunity to continue the mission of LBJ, and instead, selfishness, greed, and lack of compassion for those less fortunate, set in!

On this 50th anniversary, it is essential to recommit ourselves to dealing with poverty in America, realizing the majority of people in poverty are children, and also a majority are white, not minorities, which are used as an excuse to promote racial prejudice!