Vote Republican?

Why any working class, middle- or lower-class schlub out here would vote for this guy is beyond me.

But then this is also true for anyone in the middle- or lower-classes voting Republican.

As the saying goes, there are two kinds of Republicans--

The rich, the millionaires and billionaires...

and the suckers.

If you vote Republican, check which one you are.

International, Killing Pandemic? The Rich Are Getting Richer

Important article more Americans need to see and read, from Forbes.

U.S. Billionaire Wealth Surged 

Since The Start Of The Pandemic

"Since the start of the pandemic, collective U.S. billionaire wealth has surged by more than $584 billion, while $6.5 trillion in household wealth has disappeared. That's according to an Institute for Policy Studies and Americans for Tax Fairness analysis published on Friday which stated that the U.S. billionaire class saw its wealth climb 20% between March 18 and June 17 with 29 new billionaires added to the total. Using Forbes data, the analysis found that the total net worth of the 643 U.S. billionaires climbed from $2.9 trillion to $3.5 trillion. During the same period, 45.5 million Americans filed for unemployment."

But tax the wealthy at a higher rate?

Fuggedaboudit!

Thanks, Mr. President!

Thanks Republicans!

Timely Quote of the Day

The--Very--Racist History of Banking In Our United States

What so, so many Americans don't know. Or ignore. And/or disavow.



Also ignoring the segregation that got us here and the poorer schools and far less opportunities for jobs and so, better pay.

Sure.

Let's ignore or deny all that.

What Have Poor People Ever Done For This Country?

So many in America call out the poor as "moochers" and the programs for them as unnecessary and even wasteful. They say having these "welfare programs" keep them poor and "enables" them to be and stay poor.

Being Sunday, I think it an especially good day to examine just what and who the poor are and what, exactly, they do.

What Have The Poor Ever Done For Us

1. They built it. The country was literally built on the backs of poor immigrants and slaves. To this day, construction workers are some of the hardest working people in the country, yet their average wage is only $50,000 per year, which includes management. People that maintain the roads driven by the wealthy (and everyone else) are paid only $30,000 per year.
2. They care for our children. The average nanny is paid only about $30,000 per year, usually without benefits.
3. They teach our children. The average teacher makes around $45,000 a year, which might not sound poor, but for that salary, most positions require advanced degrees.
4. They make the world beautiful. It would be difficult to determine the average salary of an artist, but very few of even the most talented artists achieve financial success.
5. They inform and entertain. Writers, actors and filmmakers are just as likely to live in poverty as visual artists.
6. They create. Inventors are often poorly paid for their inventions, if paid at all.
7. They are entrepreneurs. Two thirds of startup businesses fail. Many of them fail because they were simply out financed (think the big coffee chain moving on to the same corner as the independent coffee house).
8. They keep our world clean. People that do the dirtiest jobs are notoriously some of the least paid, yet can you imagine a world without people emptying our trash and cleaning our toilets?
9. They keep you alive. Without poor people, produce would rot in the fields. There would be no goods on the shelves. There would be no store clerks to sell them to you. Most Americans would most likely starve.
10. They fight for our country. The average starting salary of enlisted personnel is about $30,000 per year.
11. They save the world. Many of history’s most selfless people live their lives in or near poverty. They join the Peace Corps. They work for or start charitable organizations.
12. They pay their taxes. Much is made of the statistic that between 40 and 50 percent of people don’t pay federal income tax. That is typically because they are too poor. But even if they don’t pay federal income tax, they pay taxes. They pay Social Security taxes. They pay state taxes. They pay the identical sales tax on food and clothing as their wealthy brethren. They pay identical gasoline taxes as their more fortunate counterparts. Unlike the wealthy, taxes deeply impact the well being of the poor, yet, unlike the wealthy, they are unable to take advantage of the loopholes that were designed to specifically benefit the wealthy.

What have the poor ever done for this country?

Everything.

Of course, we can debate the definition of the word, “poor”, but the fact is that the gap between the people that have the most and the people that have the least is growing. People are not becoming less valuable. They are simply getting paid less.

Links:

U.S. inequality keeps getting uglier

Growing wealth inequality 'dangerous' threat to democracy: experts

Economic Inequality: It's Far Worse Than You Think - Scientific American

The American Worker Doesn't Know What He Doesn't Have---But Could

Wil Wheaton:

I was at work today for Labour Day and on TV was Good Morning America. The theme was celebrating the American worker and their accomplishments. I’ll tell you how it went down.

Kelly put on her glasses, smile wide, and pulled out a piece of paper which she read from. The paper was from an article (which I have issues with, but I will leave alone for now) by ABC news. Kelly proceeded only to read the opening of it, which reads: ‘Americans work more than anyone in the industrialized world. More than the English, more than the French, way more than the Germans or Norwegians. Even, recently, more than the Japanese. And Americans take less vacation, work longer days, and retire later, too.’

And everyone cheered.

And they kept cheering when Kelly put her paper down and smiled at everyone. (not continuing with the rest of the article which suggests that this may in fact be a problem).

And I just couldn’t BELIEVE that anyone was cheering. America. AMERICA you work more than the French, who are entitled by law to have 5 weeks off a year for vacation and can not work more than 35 hours per week. You work more than Norway, who average 33 hours per week and 44,000 dollars a year. Germany, where AGAIN, we see a shorter work week and better pay! And all of these countries have health care and better pay and free/affordable education!

WHY ARE YOU CHEERING?

I have a different interpretation of this information: the American worker is the most taken advantage of worker in the industrialized world. It’s plain and simple. You work long hours and get horrible pay. You take multiple jobs and work and work and work just to get by. Unions are disappearing, jobs are always looking for part timers and all you are doing is giving up your time for less money, less vacation, less safety and stability and less education than anyone else on the list.

Celebrate Labour day. Celebrate the accomplishments of the common worker, but don’t let these people trick you into thinking you should celebrate the theft of your time and energy, or the fruits of your labour.

They are using you. Stop cheering.

(via wilwheaton)

Republicans' "Wealthcare" Bill Is Just More Class Warfare

It needs to be said, pointed out and emphasized just what this new AHCA, "Trumpcare" is, at its heart. It is, at its core, not concerned with heath care virtually at all. If it were, more Americans would be assured of having health insurance, not less.

No, at it's core, this is yet one more, again, Republican Party, Right Wing money grab for the already-wealthy.

Republican Health Care Bill Delivers 

Big Tax Cut For The Rich

House Health Bill: Tax Cuts for Wealthy, 

Insurers, and Drug Companies, 

Paid for by Low- and Middle-Income Families

One Certainty of G.O.P. Health Plan: 

Tax Cuts for the Wealthy

The ACHA Bill Is a Tax Cut for Rich Americans

Senate Health-Care Bill: Tax Cuts for Rich, Skimpy Coverage for Everyone Else

Trumpcare: Republican Plan Is Big Tax Cut 

for Rich, Graph Shows

Rich get tax cuts under 

Obamacare repeal bill

Warren Buffett famously said it so right and this, some years ago.

“There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”

Missourians got, in effect, a pay cut when their new, Republican, pretty boy Governor, Eric Greitens and his fellow Republicans put in their "Right to Work" legislation recently. This just makes it that much tougher for the middle- and lower-classes to get, have and keep health insurance.

But they're proposing this for all 50 states.

Link:  Warren Buffett

Quote of the Day -- On Tax Cuts for the Already-Wealthy and Corporations

As we're seeing in Kansas with the Republicans' and Governor Sam Brownback's horrible economics efforts and all the deficits and education and other slashing budgets it's getting them.

Vote Republican!

Quote of the Day

An unusual yet oh-so-true and accurate description of that one political party. This is from at least a year ago. Not only is it still true but it's gotten worse, with their running the most infantile, irresponsible candidate for the presidency possibly, if not quite likely, in the nation's entire history. Note, too, that the quote comes, not from inside the country, but from clear across the world. It's an international opinion.

"Let's be blunt and acknowledge the biggest threat to the world's biggest economy are the cranks and crazies that have taken over the Republican party. Despite President Obama's goodwill and strong efforts, the national interest there was held hostage by the rise of the extreme Tea Party wing of the Republican Party. There can be few things more alarming in public policy than a political movement which was genuinely prepared to see the government of the United States default on its obligations in order to score a political point."

--Australia's deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer, Wayne Swan

Serving Whom?

Now this ad, by comparison for Jason Kander for the US Senate and against Senator Roy Blunt. This ad says it for me.

Who's serving whom?



Vote Kander.

Vote Blue 2016.

Your Sunday Thought for the Day

Another Way Raising the Minimum Wage Only Makes Sense

It's been pointed out that raising the minimum wage would, besides helping the worker, also increase demand for goods and services in the nation, thereby helping and improving the economy. That would help companies' incomes, their profits and so, their bottom line.

Underpaying Employees Can Hurt 

a Company's Bottom Line

McDonald's Wage-Hike Experiment 

Pays Off For All

And this is why the minimum wage needs to be raised:

For most workers, real wages have 

barely budged for decades

But it has been shown that, because of an increased demand for goods and services, a higher minimum wage actually increases jobs and reduces unemployment.

2014 Job Creation Faster in States that 

Raised the Minimum Wage

This Is What Raising the Minimum Wage 

Did to Jobs in 11 States

Raising the Minimum Wage Can 

Reduce Unemployment

The evidence is clear: increasing the 

minimum wage doesn't cost jobs

You'd think that would be enough but as they used to say on "Saturday Night Live", but wait, there's more.  There's now this, too:

Raising the minimum wage could improve 

public health

It only makes sense.

Burgeoning research in economics and epidemiology suggests that raising the minimum wage will improve the health of many Americans, especially low-income Americans, and this improvement should help bend the cost curve for medical care.

In a paper published by the University of Chicago Press, David Meltzer and Zhou Chen analyzed the relationship between obesity rates and the minimum wage, using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) from 1984-2006. The BRFSS interviews more than 350,000 adults each year, making it the largest health survey in the world. Meltzer and Chen test whether changes in the inflation-adjusted minimum wage are associated with changes in body mass indexes of adults. They find that gradual erosion in the inflation-adjusted value of minimum wages across states explains about 10 percent of the increase in average body mass since 1970. DaeHwan Kim and I found additional evidence that low wages predict increases in obesity in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). The PSID is a nationally representative sample of 5000 American families, who have been followed since 1968 by the University of Michigan’s Survey Research Center.Obesity is estimated to cost $190 billion in medical bills each year. A 10 percent decrease in obesity would result in a $19 billion of savings every year.

But it is not just obesity that may be affected by increasing the minimum wage; mental health can be affected, as well. The British government increased the national minimum wage in 1999. To measure its effects on public health, Reeves et al analyzed data on 279 workers in the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS). Their “experimental group” consists of 63 workers directly affected by the new wage and two “control groups”: 107 workers with incomes 10 percent above the minimum who were not directly affected by the increase, and another group of 109 workers employed in firms that did not comply with the new law. All 279 persons completed short mental health questionnaires as part of the BHPS. The “experimental group” (those who received the mandated minimum wage increases) reported improvements in anxiety and depression, but neither control group experienced improvements.

And there are more, other ways, too, the article shows that the health of individuals are improved. The clear results from that for a nation, possibly for us here in the US could be both improved productivity AND reduced health costs. Each, in their own right, are huge benefits to the nation to our economy and to the lives of the individuals, the Americans that get these benefits.

With all this, it seems clear raising the minimum wage is the right thing to do and for all the right reasons. Even businesses themselves get it.

Businesses Agree—It's Time To Raise 

the Minimum Wage

3 Out of 4 Americans Agree: It's Time to 

Raise the Wage

Religious organizations recognize it, too. This from U.S. Catholic:

Pay up: It's time to raise the minimum wage

So it's time, America. It's long past time. We need to raise the minimum wage. Let's get to it.

Happy Labor Day Weekend

If There's Any Hope for Kansas, It Should Be This Year

I just saw this headline today on the Facebook page of the Kansas Democratic Party, highlighting an article from the Wichita Eagle newspaper.
.

 

New poll shows presidential race tightening in Kansas

And it hit me.

If Kansas can't or won't "go blue" and vote Democratic Party now, when very Right Wing, Republican, uber-conservative economy wrecker and trickle down economy promoting Governor Sam Brownback has wrecked both the state budgets AND the economy and then a deeply irresponsible Donald Trump is heading up the Republican Party ticket for the presidency, it will never happen. There will be no hope. Ever.

Between that political party's gerrymandering and "voter ID" laws and then the propensity for Kansans to vote for these people?

Hopeless.

God help Kansas.

"My Last Employee" (Guest post)

My Last Employee

MARCUS BALES·SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016

That's my last employee standing there,
Protesting, wet and cold, and wondering where
His pension went. And how his former pay
Let's stop and watch him standing with his sign,
Decreased in buying-power, he cannnot say. 

Queuing in the unemployment line.
Nation it is to keep his wages low 

He cannot say because the GOP 

Has taught him how important to a free 

So I have monthly profits I can show,
I know that look -- as if you'd like to ask 

Creating rising prices for our stock 

By unemployment lines around the block. 

How I can sleep at night with such a task.
Or worker's rights! I’m planning how to slash 

I sleep just fine. And better than that guy, 

Who worries whether someone such as I 

Should care about community, not cash, 

Expenses sending more jobs overseas,
They work their unpaid overtime and bring 

Replace the rest with contractors like these 

Illegals I have found that I can cheat 

With deportation threats. They scarcely eat! 

Enormous profits -- more than anything
American workers just don't understand 

Before. And this guy and his fellows hate 

The cheaper workers coming in the gate 

Instead of Wall Street, me, my 

Board, or staff. 

You'd cry if money didn't make you laugh.
The Chairman of my Board's known munificence 

We take advantage of them with our brand: 

The right to work, and don't pay union dues, 

They medicate themselves with food and booze. 

Drive on, driver. It’s nearly time to meet 

The company directors. I repeat,
Your acquiescence to our acquisition, 

Is ample warrant that no just pretence 

Of yours to get a golden parachute -- 

You’ll see how I can play him like a flute -- 

Is likely to be disallowed; I'm sure 

You'll like the package offered to secure 

And me ascending to the top position. 

That Dale Chihuly cast in glass for me. 

Drive on! I hope you notice as we go 

The leather seats recline -- and watch the glow

Of flowers in the dome light, a rarity

That Dale Chihuly cast in glass for me.

Another--Big---Reason We Should Lift the Cap On Social Security

It's commonly known there is a cap on earnings for paying in on Social Security. If you're wealthy and making $118,500 per year or more, you don't get taxed on the rest of that income.

Basically, if you're already wealthy, you get one more break from the rest of us stooges. Thanks, Congress!

As if that's not bad enough---and it is---it's clear, too, that, given that the wealthy also famously and statistically live longer than the rest of us poor schlubs, they get more benefits from the system.

The Upshot:  Rich People Are Living Longer. That's Tilting Social Security in Their Favor.

So they live longer, already, what with the cushy lives and security and great food and second (or third or fourth homes), etc. So since they do, they reap more benefits from the system. It makes sense. They live longer so THEY GET MORE MONEY FROM THE SYSTEM.

Sweet deal, huh? They're already wealthy and they soak more from the rest of us. And being rich, I'd nearly bet most of them are "small government" Republicans and Right Wingers and Libertarians, to boot.

It's sick. It's just one more way "Them that has, gets", as the Andrews Sisters used to sing.

The great thing is that there is an obvious and simple solution.

How Taxing the Wealthy Could Save Social Security

News flash:  How about we lift that cap on what they pay in?

This way, they can still contribute to the system---the system they usually take more advantage of since they live longer. Meantime, THEY DO WITHOUT NOTHING. They pay in a bit more, up front. Is that asking so much? It seems clear the answer is no. They pay in on the incomes over $118,500 and they get back, later in life, thus saving Social Security for all of us.

It helps all of us, it actually strengthens the middle and lower classes, thus strengthening the economy. All that's true as if doing the right thing, as a rather human, even "Christian" nation isn't enough and doesn't have it make all the more sense. It's good for the people, yes, but good to great for the nation and even, hell, good for creating demand for products, for all the Capitalists out there.

It makes so much sense. It makes too much sense.

Probably why the Republicans in Congress will never go for it.

Quote of the Day -- On Business and Government

American History, Then And Now

Sound familiar?

What Socialism Is and Isn't