We're watching the genocide of the American middle-class.

[screembloodymurder]

Wake up people. It's your family they're out to destroy. This isn't about GM and Ford. Bush is out to rid America of union workers. None of this economic calamity is an accident. It's why Bush was put in office. He said it himself. Fool me once ...

[Breeze54]

1. Well, what did you expect? They already annihilated the poor.

Then they came for me... but no one was there to defend me...."

[screembloodymurder]

4. I expected: "Happy Days Are Here Again"

and a fireside chat.

[Hydra]

24. You got it

It wasn't a problem until they came of the middle class. My disabled relative and I have dodged 3 major bullets in the last 6 years, in each case, by only days. We're still hanging on by our fingernails.

Rome is burning, and they were roasting marshmallows until the fires reached their districts.

[Muttocracy]

2. I'd say destruction rather than genocide but it's amazing how many anti-union comments

come up in all of this.

[liberal N proud]

3. Two class society

Making America a third world nation where the wealthy have us to satisfy their needs as they see fit.

[screembloodymurder]

8. We need to organize and get militant right now!

Bush is the Sheriff of Nottingham and Obama ain't no Robin Hood.

[xiamiam]

5. annihilation of the middle class...people think it cant happen..but it is right now..in front of us.

and to us...a few will ride it out a little longer...some cant...but this is a dismal reality..

[magellan]

6. Flippin tell me about it

Everyone renting land in our mobile home estate received a love letter from the landlord today, saying we each need to pay him $650 in property taxes by the end of December. None of us has ever had to pay property tax before...we thought it was included in our rent (garbage collection fees are). So now we're all faced with having to figure out how the hell we're going to come up with this money in little over a month's time or face eviction.

Don't these rich scrooges understand that the more they put their boot down on us, the less THEY earn?

[Mme. Defarge]

7. Property taxes?

Wouldn't they have gone down along with the value of the property? Never heard of renters paying property tax on their dwelling. Can you talk to an attorney about helping you?

[magellan]

14. It's the land we rent

...not the house, which we pay separately for. A bunch of us neighbors got together this evening outside and decided to 1) get the local news involved and 2) look into getting a lawyer.

To be fair, it does say in our lease agreement that we're responsible for the property tax. But it was never charged before, to any of us, leading all of us to believe up until today that it was included in the land rent. As I said, garbage collection fees are included in our rent and typically that's part of property tax.

[Mme. Defarge]

28. Bonne chance, mon ami --

good luck friend.

[magellan]

31. The luck came through

I called the landlord's office again this morning to clarify what was going on (my words were going to include "double-taxation" and "our lawyer will be in touch"), but was told letters were going out to say the matter had been dropped...because, as she said, the landlord had decided it was too much of a hardship on everyone.

Too illegal is more like it, I think!

I'm sure we'll see hefty increases in our rent next year instead, but I don't think we can do anything about that (though I will be looking into it).

Thank you for the good wishes! :)

[Mme. Defarge]

32. I am happy for your good news!

[liberalmuse]

9. Shit!

Merry Fucking Christmas, eh? Can they get away with this? Are there any advocates in your area you can call? :mad:

[screembloodymurder]

11. Is that legal?

Refuse to pay, refuse to leave.

[magellan]

16. One of our neighbors is going to ask a relative who's a lawyer

I've contacted the local news too, hopefully they'll look into it and we'll see where it goes from there. We're going to get the neighbors rallied first. Shouldn't take much, we had six different households out on the street this evening discussing this, all of us incredulous. Three of them said they wouldn't/couldn't afford it and would rather be evicted. :(

[Breeze54]

13. THAT sounds like a scam!

Call the State Attorney General!

[magellan]

17. In FL?

I think we might find a local lawyer though! ;)

[morillon]

15. Y'all may want to talk to a lawyer about this.

If it's not in your lease, you don't owe it. (Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer.)

[magellan]

20. It is in the lease

That's the sticking point. The confusion arises because it's never been charged before (one of our neighbors has been here 9 years and has never gotten a bill from the landlord for property tax) and the lease isn't clear about it not being part of the rent. I mean, fuck, we pay close to $5k/year land rent -- why isn't the property tax coming out of that??

The main insult is the timeframe. A month and a half before it's due they send this letter out!! If they'd said something, say, back in May, at least people could've prepared for it. How do people on fixed incomes/wages come up with an extra $650 in that amount of time? With Thanksgiving and Christmas??

[Breeze54]

21. "How do people on fixed incomes/wages come up with an extra $650"- That's the point of it, isn't it?

They're cleaning out the neighborhood.

[CrispyQ]

22. They only think one quarter ahead at a time.

It will take several bad quarters before they realize they killed the goose that lays the golden egg.

[screembloodymurder]

23. My attorney tells me property taxes must be paid by the owner of the property.

Although, he is not certain this is true in all 50 states. Where do you live?

[magellan]

25. FL

And it's in our lease that we pay the property taxes, regardless of what the state says. We have no quibble with that. It's simply that we all thought it was being taken out of our rent because none of us ever received a property tax bill of any sort, and that's how taxes on rental properties (apartments, homes, land) are usually handled: by the landlord, through the rent.

Here's the really weird part. When we called the landlord's office today, we were told that he never acted on that clause in the lease until now. We're still scratching our heads over that. IOW he's been paying the property tax for all of us all these years without telling us, and is only now asking US to pay it instead??

:wtf:

I suppose it's possible he's that benevolent, but he's a very big property owner hereabouts, dealing in commercial as well as residential. I find it hard to believe.

There's something weird going on.

[leftofthedial]

10. rich fucking parasites

they need to be exterminated.

[screembloodymurder]

12. Like cockroaches.

:mad: Squash their fucking plans.

[lonestarnot]

18. How do I hate them? Let me count the ways!

[malaise]

19. It's global too

The greedy want everything - fugg workers' rights. Disaster capitalism is fighting its last fight.

[HamdenRice]

26. Calling it genocide might not sound so good to a Jew, a Native American, a Rwandan, Cambodian

or an Armenian or any other persons whose people really have suffered genocide.

That said, I agree that the middle class is being eliminated as a class. But that's something we can reverse.

[B Calm]

27. Cheap Labor Conservatism has been their goal from day one!

It's time for our representatives to put fair tariffs on all imports!

[MichiganVote]

29. They, the elites, want global slavery. Nothing else makes them happy.

[yodoobo]

30. I guess "genocide" isn't quite as bad as it used to be

In my day, genocide was alot worse than losing your job.