Until we loose the “I got Mine” mentality

[FreakinDJ]

American Workers are working harder but making less

First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the socialists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me.

America's Shrinking Middle Class

During the reign of the Bush years we saw Manufacturing Jobs leaving this country at an unprecedented rate. Literally Millions of Good Paying, Family Supporting blue collar Jobs shipped out of this country for the betterment and benefit of a limited few wealthy elitist and Corporate CEOs.

Before that it was IT jobs from the Clinton Boom years exported to China and India which took the Dot-Com to the Dot-Gone economic slump of 2000. And even before that it was the once thriving Electronics Manufacturing Industry which actually used to produce every thing from TVs to Calculators, HERE in this country.

ALL of these jobs, all of these industries were undermined and doomed by Washington Legislation, voted in and signed into law by Washington Bubble Living, Corporate Sponsored Lawmakers - Democrat and Republican alike.

NOPE – Obama is not going to save the day on this one, nor could Bernie Sanders raise the issue with any kind of support to have even the tiniest glimmer of hope of passing the gauntlet of Corporate Interest occupying Capitol Hill.

This is strictly a “We the People” issue

And we the people are the only ones who can do a dammed thing about it. Until we loose the “I got Mine” mentality and start realizing our children and grandchildren don’t stand a “Snowball’s Chance in Hell” of achieving the American Dream or any type of meaningful existence, then we just might as well get used to standing in line for the Corporate “Feel-Good” handouts.

[liberal N proud]

1. Theme song, I want it all and I want it now

That seems to be how the wealthy operate.

[FreakinDJ]

4. Cheering while standing on the Backs of Middle Class Workers

[libdem4life]

2. Hopefully the Millenials will bail us out. There is a bit of a turnaround starting, they say.

[B Calm]

3. Lose or Loose?

[FreakinDJ]

5. In line for your Corporate hand out already

The rocks taste like shit

[B Calm]

26. ?

[RebelOne]

8. Glad you caught it.

I didn't want the backlash if I had posted the error.

[Blanks]

17. Isn't that one of those intentional misspellings like 'Moran' and 'Hugh' !!1!1?

[RebelOne]

19. I do not think so. It is a common grammatical error. n/t

[Thinkingabout]

6. There is need to join together and elect strong Democrats and we need to stand behind our

Democrat president. The stronger stand Obama can take the more will be accomplished. W was not a strong president but he had his crowd and along with a Republican Congress he got everything he wanted. A strong leader will get his approval numbers up and in turn with a Democrat Congress perhaps in 2014 this country could start turning around. It happened for Fourty years when there was a Democrat Congress and this could get the real economy going to help the 90%.

[Fumesucker]

9. Dubya was the limp handshake glove over the Terminator hand of Dick Cheney

It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.

[Thinkingabout]

12. He had his republican Congress behind him and a large cheering section of American

Citizens who cheered everything he did. The finally sent him a bill to veto so he could claim a veto. We need to back Obama instead of every move he makes the critics and I might add we have a group right here on DU who raised hell. The 90% is losing and will continue until the 1% game plan is kicked to the curb and the full 90% game plan gets into full action. Too much time is concentrated on issues pushed by the 1% crowd and the 90% is spending too much effort on these diversions. Our wages are stagnant and the corporate world is happy to take our efforts on issues other than wages.

[FreakinDJ]

11. We gave Dems a Majority in 2006 House and Senate and then elected Obama

Worse then Nada, Zelch, but a Big FUCK YOU American Working Class

any more ideas

[Thinkingabout]

14. Do you think the labor movement accomplished everything in seven years? Hell no,

Yes we elected Obama in 2008 and with some protest we only had the majority in Congress for a few short months. In 2010 the House went to GOP majority, and we know what happened. It is not going to turn around over night but this continuous criticism is not going to make Obama stronger. Now with this continuous criticism the 1% is getting their game pls accomplished. Stop playing their game, let's put them on defense for a while.

[FreakinDJ]

15. Labor Movement didn't reward Banksters with $85 Billion per month

and just to be accurate Obama's major campaign contributors include Wall St Financiers

[Thinkingabout]

16. OMG, did you follow the bailout of the banks closely? Go back and see when the bailout bill was

Passed and the time frame the rules was set up. The bill was passed in 2008, rules was set up in 2008. Also the Glass-Stegall act was repealed and replaced with a Republican bill which allowed the banks, etc to run wild and they did. Did the auto companies get a bailout, yes, have they brought factories back, yes they have, BTW, labor unions worked hard getting their members back. Don't keep on falling for RW propaganda, look for the good unless you want the 90% to continue to fall further behind.

[FreakinDJ]

18. WRONG - Try Again

Quantative Easing QE1, QE2, and now QE3 are the "Brain Child of the Obama Administration

Were not talking TARP funds

I know it may be difficult but please do try to follow along

[Thinkingabout]

20. QE1 began in 2008, brainchild of the Obama Adminstration, now try to follow along,

Guess Obama administration began before his inauguration, interesting, he wasn't inaugurated until January of 2009.

Furthermore there was $85m paid to banksters as a bonus from the TARP money.

[FreakinDJ]

21. Obama's Top 2008 Campaign Contributor ....... Goldman Sachs

No wonder no Banksters have been convicted for crashing the economy

[Thinkingabout]

22. You said QE1, QE2, & QE3 was brainchilds of the Obama administration and you had the $85m

In bonuses to the banksters wrong, do I need to go further. It was obvious Obama was going to win in 2008 and since there was many many contributions in very small amounts it could be possible Obama's large contributors came from Wall Street. Has Wall Street ever made contributions before?

[FreakinDJ]

24. Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, UBS, Morgan Stanley

All Major players in the 2007 Crash, all major beneficiaries of QE1,2,& 3 "which was the brainchild of Obama's financial team", and all emerged from the Financial Melt Down with huge profits thanks to my tax dollars

Now what has Obama done for the working class except recant his promises and offer up my hard earned social security funds to Republican Hacks

[Thinkingabout]

25. The crash was in October of 2008, let me say this, I am not happy about the bonuses going

To the same people who was in charge at the time of the failures.
I am not happy a lot if them are not in prison for their misdeeds, which was allowed after Glass-Stegall was repealed and replaced by Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, I knew this was also bad but you can't lay the bonuses and QE1 @ the feet of Obama. Yes he voted as a Senator for the TARP and wit it this many more things would have tumbled down, and it would have had tax payers paying pensions in the case of AIG deal so sometimes we have to take notice of how much more the tax payers are going to eat. As a Democrat I know we need to get thus country back on track so the 90% can have a lifeline and it has been my experience the Democrats has performed better at the task, I hope we can get a strong run in 2014 in returning the House to Democrats. Many more would benefit than the 1% currently kicking our butts.

[FreakinDJ]

28. " Democrats has performed better at the task"

For decades I would say this was true but currently I am starting to have my doubts.

Almost like Rats jumping the sinking ship, more and more Dems are voting down the corporate line right along with the Ratpublicons. I believe not until the average American starts to wake up to the reality of Corporate Take Over, Wealth exclusively at the top 1%, and get back to the anger at the Wealthy Elite like we had in the early 1990s, where they were too scared to be seen riding in a limousine. Then change won't be possible.

And of course our children and grandchildren will pay the ultimate price

[Romulox]

33. The bulk of the TARP money was distributed by the Obama admin. in 2009. Obama also VOTED for TARP

as a Senator.

Truth hurts.

On November 12, 2008, Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson indicated that reviving the securitization market for consumer credit would be a new priority in the second allotment.[16][17]

On December 19, 2008, President Bush used his executive authority to declare that TARP funds may be spent on any program that Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson,[18] deemed necessary to alleviate the financial crisis.

On December 31, 2008, the Treasury issued a report reviewing Section 102, the Troubled Assets Insurance Financing Fund, also known as the "Asset Guarantee Program." The report indicated that the program would likely not be made "widely available."[19]
On January 15, 2009, the Treasury issued interim final rules for reporting and record keeping requirements under the executive compensation standards of the Capital Purchase Program (CPP).[20]

On January 21, 2009, the Treasury announced new regulations regarding disclosure and mitigation of conflicts of interest in its TARP contracting.[21]

On February 5, 2009, the Senate approved changes to the TARP that prohibited firms receiving TARP funds from paying bonuses to their 25 highest-paid employees. The measure was proposed by Christopher Dodd of Connecticut as an amendment to the $900 billion economic stimulus act then waiting to be passed.[22]

On February 10, 2009, the newly confirmed Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner outlined his plan to use the remaining $300 billion or so in TARP funds. He intended to direct $50 billion towards foreclosure mitigation and use the rest to help fund private investors to buy toxic assets from banks. Nevertheless, this highly anticipated speech coincided with a nearly 5 percent drop in the S&P 500 and was criticized for lacking details.[23]

On March 23, 2009, Geithner announced a Public-Private Investment Program (P-PIP) to buy toxic assets from banks' balance sheets. The major stock market indexes in the United States rallied on the day of the announcement rising by over six percent with the shares of bank stocks leading the way.[24] P-PIP has two primary programs. The Legacy Loans Program will attempt to buy residential loans from bank's balance sheets. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) will provide non-recourse loan guarantees for up to 85 percent of the purchase price of legacy loans. Private sector asset managers and the U.S. Treasury will provide the remaining assets. The second program is called the legacy securities program, which will buy residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS) that were originally rated AAA and commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) and asset-backed securities (ABS) which are rated AAA. The funds will come in many instances in equal parts from the U.S. Treasury's TARP monies, private investors, and from loans from the Federal Reserve's Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF). The initial size of the Public Private Investment Partnership is projected to be $500 billion.[25] Economist and Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman has been very critical of this program arguing the non-recourse loans lead to a hidden subsidy that will be split by asset managers, banks' shareholders and creditors.[26] Banking analyst Meredith Whitney argues that banks will not sell bad assets at fair market values because they are reluctant to take asset write downs.[27] Economist Linus Wilson, a frequent commenter on TARP related issues, also points to excessive misinformation and erroneous analysis surrounding the U.S. toxic asset auction plan.[28] Removing toxic assets would also reduce the volatility of banks' stock prices. This lost volatility will hurt the stock price of distressed banks. Therefore, such banks will only sell toxic assets at above market prices.[29]

On April 19, 2009, the Obama administration outlined the conversion of Banks Bailouts to Equity Share.[30]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubled_Asset_Relief_Program

[Thinkingabout]

37. Yes by the time the money was actually passed during the Bush Adminstration and initially

Set up by Paulson. There were contracts to pay bonuses to some of the employees and this was from an obligation of contracts in 2008. Do I agree with paying bonuses to some who was responsible for the collapse, no but sometimes this can not be negated. Obama did step in as much as he could and he had to play the hand he was dealt. I would hope there are smart people voting and understands the whole situation but to throw out information which might be the whole truth is nit necessary


Again we can either vote far and support the better candidates who has the 90% best interest at heart or vote for the party who does not care about the 47% and want everything to go to the 1%.

[etherealtruth]

7. If one listens to the tea baggers and the other right wing knuckle draggers ...

(aside from their uninformed ignorant spewings) I've got mine so FU, seems to be a unifying theme.

Many of them claim to be Christians ... ironic and sad

[backscatter712]

10. Gotta love that Eric Cartman attitude... n/t

[Nevernose]

13. A perfect opportunity to quote an excerpt from my favorite punk song:

From "The Decline"

And so we go, on with our lives
We know the truth, but prefer lies
Lies are simple, simple is bliss
Why go against tradition when we can
Admit defeat, live in decline
Be the victim of our own design
The status quo, built on suspect
Why would anyone stick out their neck?

Fellow members of
Club "We've Got Ours"
I'd like to introduce you to our host
He's got his, and I've got mine
Meet the decline

[Precisely]

23. What are you going to do about it?

[FreakinDJ]

27. I'm already doing plenty

Boycotting Walmart for years and now Mcdonalds for the fastfood workers. Most of my purchases come from small Mom and Pop operations and not the Big Box Corporate Chains. I've eliminated almost all debt, don't use credit cards and keep my savings in a small local credit union.

And I'm a member of a Union, I shop "Union Made"/"Made in USA" when ever possible and advocate the same. I practice what I preach

[Precisely]

31. Excellent!

[SamReynolds]

29. Sorry, but 'loose' is when you don't tie your shoes.

If you 'lose' your shoes, then your socks will get dirty.

[FreakinDJ]

30. that has already been noted

[Precisely]

32. "Loose" fit too

It does involve some letting go ......

[BelgianMadCow]

34. Here's to the "we"-mentality:

[Bunnahabhain]

35. The "I Got Mine" mentality is no good

but the "I want yours" mentality is equally as bad. Until the majority realize 100% of us are in this together there will never be societal unity.

Has anyone ever given someone asking for change on the street some money and then have them berate you because it's not enough? How did that make you feel? Let's apply that to society and realize the best way to convince people to help is not to constantly berate them.

[Avalux]

36. It's competition vs. cooperation.

Until human beings stop competing with each other and start cooperating, this will never change. We are conditioned from birth to be better than others, to try to accumulate as much as possible. I believe our true nature is to cooperate (which we often see during disasters) - maybe someday we'll figure it out before we destroy our species.

[Sirveri]

38. How do you know it's that attitude and not fear of losing position.

Those who have some semblance of stability and security are likely totally terrified that they will be bothered and lose everything. They look around, and they don't say fuck you I've got mine. They say, oh my God, that could be me, lets hunker down and do everything we can to make sure nothing changes.

Those who don't have enough aren't in a screw you attitude either, they want more, they're desperate and struggling, they NEED more, and the people with the biggest bullhorns are telling them that group X and Y and Z are screwing them over and picking their pockets and THAT is why they can't make it. The average worker used to be able to afford a vacation, now they can't, and the rich are shouting in their ears about how other people want the same amount of money they make. My personal approach is not to address their concerns about others, but their actual problems. Don't you think it's sad that you can't take a vacation anymore, you've worked hard for years, why do you have to suffer and take a pay hit while the DOW is at record highs? You used to take vacations, you used to have enough to get by, what happened, and why isn't it getting better. The point isn't to answer those questions, the point is for them to THINK about those questions, because once they start thinking about it, they'll start questioning things, you just need to get people to think.

[2ndAmForComputers]

39. I wish it was "I got mine, screw you."

It's worse.

"I got mine. You got nothing. HA HA. Wait... you have something? ARRRGGHHH NOOOO! YOU MUST HAVE NOTHING! NOTHING!"