Middle Class

Barack Obama Totally Correct: GOP Will NEVER Win Presidency Again Unless They Return To Political Center!

Ronald 2 Comments

President Barack Obama has made a statement that cannot be contradicted!

IF the Republican Party moves away, at some point, from the extremist right wing of the Tea Party Movement, and the influence of the old Southern Democratic racists turned Republicans because of the Civil Rights Act of fifty years ago, then they have the opportunity, and even likelihood, of eventually regaining the White House!

But if they insist on alienating women, African Americans, Latino and Asian American citizens and immigrants, labor, gays and lesbians, environmentalists, those who believe in science over religion, poor people, the middle class, educated people, and those who believe government is good rather than evil, then they will, Obama says, NEVER win the Presidency again.

The nation is turning “Blue” over time in Texas, Georgia, Arizona, and North Carolina, and already much of the Midwest has become more definitely “Blue”, as well as Florida and Virginia.

So, as Obama states, it is all up to the Republican Party! Moderate your right wing extremism, or your party is in the dustbin of history, as America is not a mean spirited, racist, nativist nation, just many of those who choose to call themselves Republicans.

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

Ronald 1 Comment

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!

The Argument For A Midwestern Governor For The Republican Party In 2016 Presidential Race!

Ronald 2 Comments

There is a growing feeling in the Republican Party, and among prognosticators, that the pool of GOP candidates for President in 2016 is lacking in so many ways.

Chris Christie is in trouble due to the scandal over the George Washington Bridge, and his handling of Hurricane Sandy money.

Scott Walker is in trouble over charges that he was involved in corruption during the 2012 recall campaign in Wisconsin.

Ted Cruz has made enemies every time he opens his mouth, and his push to close down the government in 2013 backfired, and caused division within Republican ranks.

Rand Paul is leading a fight against the “Establishment”, and is unlikely to be able to win support to be the nominee, with his libertarian and isolationist views.

Marco Rubio made enemies with his immigration reform plan, and is seen as having floundered ever since.

Paul Ryan has come across as someone who has no understanding of what middle class people go through, and with little compassion for the poor, and even fellow Catholics are often critical of him.

Bobby Jindal has come across as insincere, uncaring about his own constituents, and has lost whatever luster he once had.

Rick Perry may have gained classy glasses to wear, but he is still a horrible candidate in so many ways.

Rick Santorum is trying to reform his image as well, but he is still a former Senator who lost his seat ten years ago.

Mike Huckabee is an also ran from the 2008 Presidential campaign, and has sounded more looney than ever each month as his Fox News Channel show pushed him much further right than he had been in 2008, when he actually sounded reasonable.

Jeb Bush looks much better by comparison with other Republicans, but he is still a Bush, and has supported immigration reform and the common core education curriculum, both unpopular with his party, and besides, he certainly represents the “Establishment” more than anyone.

Mitt Romney claims not to be interested at all in running again, but yet he is seen by many as the fallback choice, despite his losing the Presidency in 2012.

Jon Huntsman, arguably the best candidate possible, seems to have absolutely no chance to convince the Republican Party that his moderate, practical conservatism is the right path.

The more one thinks about it, it makes sense that the Republican Party should seriously consider finding a candidate, preferably a Governor, from the Midwest, which is the true battleground of the Presidential Election of 2016!

None of the above mentioned candidates for the Presidency are from the Midwest, except for Ryan and Walker, both from Wisconsin, but both have fatal flaws hard to overcome.

But all of the Midwest, except Illinois, is arguably a battleground, although only Indiana and Missouri went Republican in 2012, and only Missouri in 2008!

Ohio and Iowa are true battlegrounds, and Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota are potentially up for grabs by either party.

So what seems to make sense is to give a hard look at two Midwestern Republican Governors, both of whom have served in Congress, and understand Washington, DC, but have also governed key states that are good models for preparation for the White House, at least in theory!

These two Governors are:

John Kasich of Ohio

Mike Pence of Indiana.

A lot more attention will be given to these two men as we get closer to the real beginning of the Presidential race at the end of 2014 and going into early 2015!

Complaints Against Government Bureaucracy Directly Related To Loss Of Government Funding As Public Demands Grow!

Ronald 1 Comment

The American people are told constantly by Republicans and conservatives, and the media willing to report falsehoods rather than truth, that the government bureaucracy is a disgrace, that we are not being served well by those who work in the federal government agencies.

So we have complaints about the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Social Security Administration, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and really, every other government agency, declaring them incompetent, corrupt, tone deaf to public needs.

Are there government bureaucrats in many agencies who are incompetent, corrupt, tone deaf to the public? Absolutely, but that is endemic to “bureaucrats” in every corporation as well in this nation!

The people at the top of any government agency or private corporation are generally arrogant, cocky, only too willing to enrich themselves at the expense of their “bureaucracy”!

There is a need to clean up government agencies of those who have lost the purpose of their employment, to serve the American people with compassion and competence!

But that alone will not solve the problem of government services, as it is the Republicans and conservatives who are ultimately responsible for the problems created over time!

These groups hate government, except where they can benefit from it themselves, and are only too willing to cut government funding and personnel as the population of the nation, and the aging of the population, and the growing economic decline of the middle class and the poor due to the growing wealth of the top two percent, continues to escalate.

If one wants good government services, we must pay for it and expand bureaucracy, not cut it, as we only perpetuate the incompetence and lack of solution of major issues that arise.

Instead of attacking “bureaucracy”, let us recognize its significance and show respect for those, over 95 percent of “bureaucrats”, who do a competent, caring job every day, but never get credit for it, as the headlines dramatize the examples of incompetency and corruption that are exaggerated as being a statement on all “bureaucracy”!

Wealth Is Not Issue, Hillary Clinton! Commitment To Those Less Fortunate Is The Issue, So Stop Protesting Your Wealth!

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Hillary Clinton is causing all kinds of grief and problems for herself by stating that she is not “truly rich”!

Sorry, Hillary, you and your husband have over $100 million in wealth, gained mostly through books and lectures, and just being famous, where people are willing to pay you and your husband large amounts for your thoughts and insights!

This is nothing to be ashamed of!

What would be something to be ashamed of is a wealthy person who did not earn their wealth through hard work, but simply lived off their parents or other relatives, and never knew what hard work was, and there are plenty of such people among the top one percent!

What is also to be ashamed of is a wealthy person who does not give a damn about others, about the middle class and the poor, who does nothing to try to make the lives of other Americans better.

Such is the case with most Republicans and conservatives, who flaunt their wealth, and do not care one iota about the future of the nation, only about their own selfish welfare!

The Clintons are not such people, as they have worked to help the advancement of those who are not as fortunate as them, both in America and the world, through the Clinton Foundation and Clinton Initiative.

Other such people in the past included Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Ted Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, and numerous other Democrats and some Republicans who devoted their public lives to making life better for the American people in a myriad of ways. These are people with progressive and liberal values as part of their basic commitment.

So having wealth is not the issue, but whether one, by his or her words and actions, is committed to public service in a way which advances the lives of those less fortunate!

The Importance Of Higher Education Over A Lifetime Worth The Investment!

Ronald 2 Comments

Propaganda has been going around, promoted by conservatives and Republicans, that higher education is not worth the investment, that many students end up with a debt that will take many years to pay off, so that, instead, it is better to avoid college education. Their goal, ultimately, is to promote ignorance and apathy among the masses, so as to advance their agenda of impoverishing the middle class and the poor!

Yes, college debt is a major problem, and the interest rates charged are ridiculous, and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts wants to promote legislation to lower rates, stating that an investment in the long term future should not become victim of greedy lenders!

While it is true that many college and university graduates cannot find work in their chosen field, and that it has become particularly difficult for recent college students to find appropriate work, one must think in the long run, not the short run, and the evidence is clear that a college education, over a lifetime, pays dividends in higher pay, a better lifestyle, and a much more enlightened citizenry!

College graduates on the average make at least double the income of non college graduates, and over a lifetime, about a half million dollars is lost if a person has not attended and graduated a four year degree.

Also, the level of satisfaction at work, and the knowledge base of a college graduate, is far greater than a non college graduate. A four year college degree is still the best ticket to the middle class for anyone who is struggling to make ends meet!

The Total Hypocrisy Of Republicans’ Concerns About Future Generations!

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Republicans love to claim that they are concerned about future generations!

But they are unconcerned about the large number of poor children who do not have adequate education and health care, and their refusal to do anything to provide such services, because it might require the rich to pay more taxes!

They are unconcerned about the dangers of gun violence, as at Sandy Hook Elementary School, as an example and even the many incidents of children killed by accident by reckless parents or siblings, or simple lack of protection of weapons from children’s hands!

They are unconcerned about the dangers of climate change, with rising sea levels, erosion, and dangerous storms, which will destroy housing, lives, and security of millions of future Americans, most of them poor or middle class!

They are unconcerned how corporations and banks victimize poor and middle class people on a regular basis, without any conscience, including exploitation of their labor forces!

They are unconcerned about the quality of life of minorities, the poor, and those who are gay or lesbian, and are denied equal opportunity and fair treatment, which victimizes them all of their lives.

They are unconcerned about the sending of our young people off to wars to protect oil and other strategic interests, and fail to be concerned about proper treatment of these courageous veterans when they return home from war.

The Republican Party has no ethics or morality, only selfishness and greed about their own power, and protection of corporations, banks, and the wealthy one or two percent! Their hypocrisy is massive!

A society which focuses on the top two percent is a very sick society, and requires action on a large scale to change the attitudes and concern for the mass of Americans, who have to look to a long term future, and government should represent their interests, not the elite who already have too many advantages and too many assets!

Economic Revival And Success Of Health Care Law Should Favor Democrats In Midterm Elections Of 2014!

Ronald 4 Comments

More than ever, many public opinion polls seem to indicate that the Republican Party is to have a major success, gaining seats in the House of Representatives, and winning control of the US Senate!

But polls have been wrong before, and it is very hard to believe with economic revival reaching the recovery of the number of jobs lost in 2008-2009, plus the clear success of the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) after a difficult start, that most of the eight million and more people who have signed up are going, either to sit home, or to vote against their own economic interests!

If the polls are correct, then the people are at fault, either for failing to exercise their right to vote, or can simply be told that they have, out of lack of knowledge and understanding, voted against what makes common sense, support for the Democratic Party!

The old saying is that people get the government they deserve, so if millions of people choose to support a party that has undermined the middle class and the poor, nothing else can be said except maybe, some day, they will learn their lesson, and realize the mistake they have made, that has only enriched the very wealthy at their expense!

Republican Senators And The Minimum Wage Law

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The Republican Party has effectively written off those workers who are paid the minimum wage, not caring about how they are to survive in an economy with the situation stacked against them.

It has been nearly a decade since the minimum wage was raised, and people forget that the minimum wage was never raised during the 1980’s, and so the cost of living is way beyond what the minimum wage should be.

Originally established at 25 cents an hour in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. the minimum wage should now be about $15 an hour based on inflation, but instead is, nationally at $7.25 an hour for nearly a decade, although some states have raised the limit.

The bill that failed to get to a vote in the Senate, due to the filibuster tactic, would have raised the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour in stages until 2016, but NOT one GOP Senator, not even Senator Susan Collins of Maine, or Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, or a few others thought to have some “moderate” tendencies, voted for the rise in the minimum wage.

Many of the minimum wage workers are breadwinners for their families, and the stress of having too little income also affects their physical and mental health, but obviously Republicans and conservatives do not give a damn about those realities!

Today’s minimum wage is 25 percent below what it was in 1968, an absolute atrocity! Putting extra money in the hands of the working poor would make life easier, add to business profits, and would certainly all be put back into the economy, but the Republicans are determined to punish the poor for being poor, and in so doing, harm children and women, even more than men.

If this is not the new “Gilded Age”, what is it, not only for the poor, but for the dwindling middle class?

This is Scrooge at its best!