have americans turned into mean shits?

[spanone]

OREGON, WIS. - Michael Wernick, 61, a longtime body and fender man, says his financial fortunes have gone nowhere but down over the past decade. His salary is stagnant, and his 401(k) has shrunk, derailing his retirement plans.

So as he watches Gov. Scott Walker (R) take on the public-employee unions by not only demanding steep reductions in their pension and health care benefits but by also insisting they give up many of their collective-bargaining rights, Wernick is quietly cheering him on.

"Maybe there is a little bit of jealousy here, but public workers have what I don't have," Wernick, a political independent, said as he sipped coffee in this bucolic village a few miles outside of Madison. "It's nice to have these things, but if there is no money you can't afford them."

It is a view that Walker and the other Republican governors who have staked their political futures on challenging public-sector unions are convinced is widespread.

With many working Americans financially battered by the recession and the years of economic uncertainty that preceded it, those leaders are aiming to be seen as friends of the middle class even as they challenge workers who themselves are middle class.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/26/AR2011022603971_pf.html

[villager]

1. The elites win when the poor (the rest of us) turn on each other..

An age-old formula. And make sure you dumb-down everyone's "education" so fewer and fewer can see it...

[spanone]

2. wouldn't you think a 'working man' would be for another 'working man'????

you'd think

[villager]

4. you'd think. But the propaganda here is mighty strong...

n/t

[Shallah Kali]

39. The wealthy control the blame pattern

Utah Philips explains http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjpTClVlrd8

[hfojvt]

42. should he be?

should a working man who makes $20,000 and has no pension or health benefits be for the health benefits of a worker who makes $50,000 and has a pension and health benefits? If so, why?

[EOTE]

56. You bet he should.

Unions increase working conditions for ALL. Even if he's not in a union directly, employers know that because unions exist, they must provide better salary and working conditions lest their employees to go find employment elsewhere. This changes a bit as the economy provides more and more of an employer's market, but it still provides a net gain for the non-union employee.

[hfojvt]

57. that sounds like trickle down to me

and I am not sure it works. Especially since the union is mostly teachers. The factory owner does not have to worry about his workers going to work for the school system because they don't have the education to get one of those union jobs. Even if it was a union factory in a small town, the practical fact would be that it would be very difficult to get a job in that union plant, so other employers would not lose much because the union plant would have very low turnover and do very little hiring.

No, I think this is the Gompers mistake coming back to bite the unions in the a$$. By working to increase their own privileges instead of working harder to benefit all working people, they have just made themselves into a privileged class, and a very small privileged class.

[EOTE]

59. Then I don't think you know what "trickle down" means.

"Trickle down" economics has nothing to do with competition. It says that by giving the wealthy more money, they'll create more jobs with it and the economy will do better off. In actuality, the wealthy keep more of their money, don't spend it (because they have far less of a marginal utility of the dollar than the general public) and the economy suffers because of it. In actuality, trickle up economics works, not trickle down. But that has NOTHING to do with the additional competition that unions place on behalf of employers. Nearly EVERY working man or woman owes a huge debt to unions for 40 hour work weeks, overtime, weekends and quite a bit more. Unions make it so that employers have to step up, whether their work force is unionized or not. I honestly don't understand how you can associate that with trickle down economics.

[hfojvt]

68. no, it is the same principle

it says, give a benefit to a wealthier person and that benefit will trickle down to help the poor too.

In the same manner, your argument is that you support high wages for some people and that benefit will trickle down to minimum wage workers with no benefits.

The mechanism may be different to explain how it works, but the principle is the same - give something to somebody who already has more and it will (somehow) benefit the people who have less.

The 40 hour week came to be, after a long struggle, in 1937. So it is kinda hard to ask people to be grateful for that now. What have they done for me lately?

Here's what I would note. The guy making $25,000 a year pays 12% of his income in state and local taxes - sales, property, and state income taxes. (according to this study http://www.ksrevenue.org/pdf/kstaxincidencestudy.pdf) He/she does so, in order, largely to pay the salaries of people who make over $40,000 a year - sometimes much more than $40,000. Meanwhile, those making over $50,000 a year are only paying 9% in state and local taxes and those making over $100,000 a year are paying 8% or less.

At the start of Kansas' recent budget troubles, our Democratic Governor, Kathleen Sebelius, took tax increases off the table. Her excuse was the Republican talking point - "a tax increase would hurt Kansas families". Granted a 1% surcharge on incomes over $100,000 would never pass the Republican-controlled legislature, but the Governor and the rest of the party - DIDN"T EVEN TRY.

Then Sebelius abandons Kansas to become Secretary of HHS. So Mark Parkinson becomes Governor. At least he fights for a tax increase, but what tax gets increased? The sales tax. Only by a penny, which is not a big deal, although Republicans claim it is an 18% increase.

There's no sales tax on rent or utilities, so the guy making $25,000 is only gonna pay about $120 a year more, but tell me, why shouldn't he favor a $50,000 a year worker taking a $400 pay cut instead of having him pay another $120 in taxes?

[EOTE]

73. Not really.

Not at all, actually. Unions provide better work conditions and pay for all regardless of the pay of any particular job. Some union members might make a good deal less than the person in question. He still benefits by union activity because of their bargaining, they help to achieve better conditions for all workers. This has nothing to do with trickle down economics. I'm all for a more progressive tax code, it's something we should aspire to. Pitting workers against each other is something republicans do. Having us fight over the scraps couldn't make them more pleased.

[MedicalAdmin]

64. Because it makes more sense mathematically and ethically ...

... than a tax cut for a billionaire. These people he is envious of are his neighbors and friends. They will come to his aid. Koch will piss on his kids grave and dance while doing it.

[hfojvt]

71. that gets tiring

I feel like I am in a Saturday night live skit. The one where this guy named Matt Damon meets the actor Matt Damon, and complains "I will never be THE Matt Damon". Then his reseatch partner, Ben Affleck, tells him that they have discovered a cure for cancer, and he thinks he is now THE Matt Damon. The final scene is a newspaper with a huge headline MATT DAMON TO GET MARRIED and then in the corner is a smaller article "Matt Damon discovers a cure for cancer".

Koch happens to be my name too, and my dad's name and my brother's name, and my uncles' names, and their dad's name, and my great uncle's name (although some of those people are long deceased.)

Now everyone is saying "Koch this" and "Koch that" and "fuck Koch" and "Koch sucks" as if David, Charles, and Fred are the only ones with that last name. Like they are THE Kochs and all the rest of us are mere echoes.

Anyway, that is a long tangent. The other thing I would say is that you seem unaware of realities. Those people do not live in the same neighborhood. They live on opposite sides of the track. I have lived this. For over a year I lived in a basement and had no hot water. During that year not one of the richer people that I knew from church ever offered to let me take a hot shower at their house. Another example. One day I was walking two miles to the local Pizza Hut. As I walked, it seemed like 70-80% of the cars that passed me were waving at me. Almost everybody knew who I was. Then it occured to me, if 70% of the people going the other way know who I am, don't 70% of the people going the same way know me as well? It seemed likely, but none of them stopped to offer me a ride.

No, what Bender said (in The Breakfast Club) is true. "You don't know any of my friends. You don't look at any of my friends, and you certainly wouldn't condescend to SPEAK to any of my friends!"

Sad, but true. The middle class, particularly the upper middle class is just as divided from the poor and working classes and the rich are.

[MedicalAdmin]

72. OOOOOOkay.

Statistically speaking, someone local is more likely to be helpful than a Billionaire from out of state. Ethically speakiing, keeping the money local makes sense. Local money spins off in the neighborhood so it makes economical sense. Of course I could be wrong and you might not be implying that the local guy is not blowing sunshine up his own ass when he aligns his voting with that of folks like your namesakes.

Here's a question for you, if you know that when people use the Kock brothers name that they are not refering to you, then why do you take it personally? My last name sounds exactly like what people say when it is freakishly cold out and I don't take it personally... just sayin.

[hfojvt]

75. a name is not the same thing as a word

you can say cook all you want, and that does not bother me even though that is how my name is properly pronounced.

However, I do not like the idea of the NAME Koch almost always meaning David, Charles or Fred. People can say Koch Inc. or Koch Industries if that is who they are talking about.

As far as local vs. billionaire, the odds might be one in a million chance that the local yuppie will help a poor person vs. one in a billion for a Bill Gates type. Either way, it's not good odds.

Apparently we only become brothers in arms when the yuppie expects the poor person to take to the barricades to protect the yuppie's higher pay.

[MedicalAdmin]

78. I'm not rich but I know lots of "yuppies" who do lots ...

... for the poor and downtrodden.

I guess we can both attest to the limits of stereotyping. No? I guess regarding your story of walking and having people wave ... if it was me walking and I wanted a ride I would communicate that by sticking my thumb out and not feel slighted because someone wasn't able to read my mind and pull over. But that's just me.

And yes, I walk just about everywhere. Can't afford a car anymore. And I stick my thumb out when I want a ride. I find someone will pull over and it is just as likely to be a beemer as a beater-mobile.

[rpannier]

82. The middle class, particularly the upper middle class is just as divided from the poor and working

classes and the rich are.

Sad, but true in far too many cases

Part of that I got mine, so F*ck You

[rpannier]

69. Because that's how we had a strong vibrant middle class in the 50's, 60's and into the 70's

People made more money because Union wages were the gold standard
A guy making 20K actually had a chance to make 40-50k and more
Now they're lucky if they don't go under and it seems there are many that are willing to take down as many other people with them as possible

I guess being a boat sinker is much more fun
Let's just sink everyone's boat and we can drowned together.

[hfojvt]

74. unfortunately, times have changed

when there were many union employees and when most of the jobs were semi-skilled manufacturing, then sure a non-unionized plant has to compete for employees with a unionized plant. Now the unions are NFL players, teachers, police, and firefighters.

Meaning that the retail or factory employer does not have to worry about losing his employees to a union job. Joe Average Worker cannot just quit his low paying service job or low paying factory job and join the NFL, or become a teacher, cop or firefighter. Even the last two jobs will require him/her to get a year or more of training.

Maybe if more people go in the water, then suddenly the people in the water will matter.

But if it was up to me, I would have reversed the Bush tax cuts and then used that money to bail out the states.

Unfortunately, Obama swept that off the table.

[bobbolink]

43. Nope. Not when you think that everyone except "elites" are "poor".

You see, you are denying the existence of those of us who actually ARE poor, which is why it is so successful to divide people against each other.

By leaving out those of us who are genuinely poor, you are part of the class war.

[rpannier]

70. I would add that's also because we continue to move the goa lposts

One million dollars isn't really rich
Hey, if you're living out of your car -- at least you have one.
Living in a box -- you could be living on the street without one
Look how bad people in (insert country here) have it. It could be a lot worse

It's become pathetic
I would add, "It's every man for himself."

[ladjf]

24. That is exactly how the plantation owners in the 19th C. treated

their slaves. It was forbidden from them to become literate. nt

[no_hypocrisy]

3. The issue is misstated: Wernik should be asking why his pay and benefits

aren't equivalent to those of union members.

[spanone]

5. so, he's just a mean shit

[no_hypocrisy]

13. and either confused or ignorant.

[hedgehog]

34. He thinks his money is going to pay those benefits - and it is,

but only because people with a hell of a lot more money than him aren't paying their share.

[MedleyMisty]

9. I saw a video of soldiers shooting protesters

Can't remember which country - either Libya or Bahrain?

One of the comments was "What are they doing provoking the soldiers?"

Completely broke my brain. I cannot understand the mindset that would ask that question, rather than "Why are the soldiers shooting them?"

How does one get through to people with that sort of warped view of the world?

[leftstreet]

37. No. He's responding to what he sees. The Economy R Broke

The M$M has been all over this, relentessly: Cities are broke, states are broke.

The Capitalists are hoarding money, banks aren't loaning, people are losing their homes, there are no jobs, prices are going up.

Politicians are claiming we all must tighten our belts.



He's responding to what he sees.

[HopeHoops]

6. "Selfish dumbfucks" is probably more accurate.

[Xenotime]

81. Ha! Exactly. americans are that.

[billybob537]

7. Thats their devide and conquer plan

If you fell for the Republics Lies shame on you' you'll be paying for it for the rest of your life.

[azurnoir]

8. this is nothing new, the republicans have been using this

gambit since Reagan when they pitted the working poor against the non-working poor, Blacks against new Asian immigrants, in short turned any groups that might form any kind of coalition against each other and the sad fact is that it seems to work, hence we see the BS that is going on now

[spanone]

10. it appears to be working all over again

[RKP5637]

15. Yep, same old shit, get the minorities fighting each other, divide and conquer. n/t

[PA Democrat]

11. "A little jealousy"???? I'd say all jealousy and no logic.

When people can no longer afford to have auto body work done, what does this guy think is going to happen to HIS job? Seriously, if you have to kick in hundreds of dollars a month extra for benefits, does he really think that people will have money to get dents repaired? Most people driving older cars don't carry collision insurance.

[Skidmore]

12. Public workers held onto worker rights given away in the

private sector.

[Frustratedlady]

14. He will learn that he is next in line...they come for the unions...and, then...n/t

[RKP5637]

19. Yep, if he thinks he's bad off now, they'll finish with him too, he's in the same line. n/t

[MedicalAdmin]

65. And then they'll fuck his children with a 2 x 4 and make him watch...

or worse. The guy is working poor and he isn't seeing the big picture.

So much money, or our money, of the America's money is going to the uber rich and not toward helping out ALL american's. Including him. Including his family.

Does he honestly think that tools like his gov. are going to stop after they get a taste for fucking the working class? I don't think so.

[CoffeeCat]

16. This is the key problem with the union issue....

The basic rights and job benefits that unions leverage--are things that every worker
should have. It used to be this way, but corporations got greedy and wanted to cut
costs by screwing the worker.

I remember growing up in the 1970's. Nearly everyone who had a job, lived a nice
middle-class life, took vacations and had a roof over their heads. You didn't have
to be a vice president or a big wig to be financially secure. I remember the people
on our block. Some were factory workers, some were insurance sales people, some
were teachers. I even remember a guy who worked at a local convenience store and
his wife was a receptionist. They had it all! Today, the wages at those jobs
would leave these people destitute and unable to support a family.

We used to get health benefits, pensions, more retirement benefits and wages kept
up with inflation. That's all going away. Instead of fighting for those things,
people are bitter and overworked. When they see someone with those benefits, they
get angry. And believe me, talk radio works 24/7 to convince everyone that unions,
people who belong to unions and workers who have those benefits--are selfish drains
on society who should not have these things. The workplace benefits that allow
us our dignity are now demonized.

Never, ever in my lifetime--did I think I would witness such ignorance and such
reckless stupidity. Everyone should be fighting for our dignity--decent salaries,
jobs, benefits, pensions, etc. We should not be lashing out at those who have
these things just because Glenn Beck puts icky-bad thoughts into our mushy minds.

It's very disheartening. How do you fight bottomless ignorance?

The sad thing is--that these bitter people who believe talk radio--are fighting against
their own interests--as the behest of the corporations that filter their messages through
Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.

[Horse with no Name]

21. Absolutely.

I remember those days too.

[RKP5637]

30. Yep, I remember exactly the same. I have no idea how one reaches these people anymore, they

are beyond rationale thought, intelligence matters little. It will take deprogramming to get these people back on track. The willful stupidity and gullibility of many Americans is appalling. This will go down as the beginning of a new age and for most it's not going to be very pretty, but they just don't get it ...

Hopefully there is a momentum of people awaking with the protests, hope so, we'll see. I was just watching a program where the rent was projected at $50,000 per month. This is the kind of company the teabaggers and like think are with them. Fools.

[RainDog]

17. another American who doesn't recognize who his allies are n/t

[Overseas]

18. Yes. There has been a concerted, multifaceted campaign to devalue compassion

and encourage mean selfish Survival of the Fittest ideologies.

Sometimes those are cloaked in religious favor-- God has chosen to bless the favored people with great wealth, and we should honor them...

Sometimes it's people getting a kick out of the Bad Girls' Club.

And otherwise admiring folks who scheme to deceive others and win the reality show dollars.

Sometimes it's laughing at outrageous rudeness toward the poor, elderly and infirm. Wow, that's so cruel it's amazing cuz it's politically incorrect and shocks people, so he's really edgy.

Lots of different ways of undermining people's compassion are in play. Getting them to think of government compassionate assistance as "handouts" for "welfare bums" -- not as assistance we may need someday ourselves if we get hit by a car or something.

If we spend too much on good government and social services, we won't have enough to continue spending more on our military than all other nations combined. They used up too much of their money giving each other national health insurance and better social security than we have.

[Davis_X_Machina]

20. We've always been mean shits...

...because we're humans, and humans are mean shits.

Any political party predicated on appealing to the worst in people begins every election half-a-lap ahead.

Ever wonder why the GOP is first out of the blocks? The fundamental depravity of mankind works as a tailwind.

[Ishoutandscream2]

29. That should be an OP in itself. Big kick

[Davis_X_Machina]

32. No point. It would be savaged.

...All we have to do is elect the right guy -- or lady -- pass the right referendum, or Constitutional amendment, and poof, human depravity is fixed, forever.

This is DU -- a veritable salad bar of panaceas and messiahs.

Quick fixes of decades-long social problems while you wait, by the topical application of charisma, or messaging.

(Warning, charisma may stain clothing, and harm plastic surfaces. Test first on inconspicuous area. Do not use messaging around pets or food.)

Put not thy trust in princes...

[RKP5637]

31. Yep, you are right on track. I've always felt humans were/are/will be a bunch of

mean shits. One only has to casually look at what's going on in the world, this is really a F'ed up species. Humans will eventually be extinct, there is just no doubt about that in my mind. At minimal, we'll die off in our own garbage and pollutants.

[spanone]

22. this may be one of the saddest commentaries on the state of the united states of america

[young_at_heart]

23. Bankers and hedge fund managers---not union members!

His anger is misdirected.

[Codeine]

25. Stop asking why they have benefits and ask why you don't, dumbshit. nt

[Blue_Tires]

76. +1000

[AndyTiedye]

26. That's Why You're Hearing So Much about "Class War" These Days

They are trying to stir up a "class war" between the poor and what is left of the middle class.

[Desertrose]

27. There have always been mean people...

There are some really good people out there too, but we seem to celebrate & focus on the mean and ignore the good ones.

[old mark]

28. K&R- You realize that this is a power grab, and has nothing to do with

helping anyone or creating jobs or saving money-it is about destroying the unions and any organization that supports causes the right sees as "liberal".
The right wants TOTAL control of every aspece of life in the US. The right has spread lies about unions-and public service workers-since FDR's time. They want to eventually do away with civil service altogether and return to the patronage system where they could award public jobs to anyone they wanted, meaning anyone who paid them enough.

Mean shit for sure.

mark
Retired AFSCME Steward

[RKP5637]

35. Yep, they are rolling out their plan and the willful stupidity fraction of Americans will

willingly help them. Is this one dumb fuck populace or what... The country is being yanked out from under them and many Americans are still DUH!

[RKP5637]

38. Ha, I remember well my parents telling decades ago, long gone now, never work for a

company that doesn't have a good pension plan and health care. They would be startled at this shit today. Maybe when the min wage is gone more Americans will wake up, but I have my doubts. Yeah, the 401k worked well, my got blown apart, thanks Mr. Bush.

[treestar]

33. This is just one guy

We have nothing to show such petty minded people are becoming a majority.

[spanone]

45. but the story is about a lot of guys like this.......saying it's 'widespread'

and that guys like walker are using this.....

[shanti]

36. "MAYBE" it's a little jealousy???

come ON!

[pacalo]

40. I think all the union-bashing is generated from the corporations -- people

like to think they have all the answers, yet they don't like to go through the trouble of researching it & really thinking about cause & effect for themselves, so they get their "talking" points through the drive-through window of Fixed News.

The sudden surge in union busting, imo, may have to do with all those companies that have outsourced to third-world countries. I'm thinking that a lot of these companies may miss living in the U.S. & ate growing weary of living a backward lifestyle (anyone who has seen "Ice Road Truckers: The Most Dangerous Roads" filmed in India know what I'm talking about; India is like a different planet).

In order to relocate back to the U.S., it would make the fat cats really happy if they could continue paying employees less money, less benefits. Attack the unions, who are responsible for raising the standards for ALL employees, then if they bust the unions, they could get away with lowering the pay/level of benefits everywhere.

Voila! They're "creating jobs" by getting these greedy corporations back in the U.S. But at what cost to us, when everything but the paycheck has gone up for the past 30 years & these "new jobs" are paying much less than the current standard of living?

[NNN0LHI]

41. Laid off during the 1980's and my neighbors were out buying non-union versions of what I once made

Don't think I wasn't wondering if Americans hadn't turned into mean shits way back then. Because I was.

Anyone blame me?

Don

[Lyric]

44. Americans are just following the example of their government leaders.

When all that your hear on TV and the radio are leaders, wannabe-leaders, and the corporate cronies that fund them blasting the "dependent", the "lazy", the "irresponsible", the "welfare queens", the "Unionist whiners", what do you think is going to happen?

40 years or so ago, the right-wing decided that the best way to finally hand over America to the wealthy elites for good was to convince working people that their neighbors are getting something that they aren't--to encourage resentment, selfishness, and greed as patriotic virtues, and to denounce compassion, charity, and working-class pride as "weak, bleeding-heart, commie ideas". They lied to us and said that the only way you can ever be proud of yourself is if you make it entirely on your own, convincing us that working together collectively is a contemptuous, shameful thing that only weak people do. But the reality is that we ARE weak--at least compared to the wealthy elites--and if we want to have any hope whatsoever of reclaiming America for the working people, coming together collectively is the only way we can be strong enough to stand up to the moneyed elites.

In terms of power, the wealthy are oak trees and we are twigs. Alone, we are easily broken. We can't ever hope to win a contest of strength against the wealthy if we stand alone. But tied together in thick, tight bundles, we are STRONGER than the wealthy because there are far more of us. We're bigger than oak trees--we're an entire oak forest.

The right-wing has convinced us that it's shameful to be part of that bundle. That there's something morally wrong with adding our strength together in order to stand up for ourselves. If we want to win this class war (and it IS a war, make no mistake) then we have to undo the brainwashing. We have to convince people that no matter how different we seem on the surface, we are ALL still twigs, and standing together is the only chance we have to keep from being broken. Some of us are stronger. Some of us are weaker. But when we come together, those things don't matter. Every little bit of extra strength helps.

[Solly Mack]

46. Petty little idiot. Walker isn't on his side.

His support for harming the public worker does nothing but harm the private worker as well.

He should be asking why salary is stagnant and why his 401(k) has shrunk..and he should looking for answers in the direction of those who control things and not at his fellow worker.

[Teaser]

47. house slave

.

[eppur_se_muova]

48. Reagan made it OK for people to acknowledge their inner mean shits.

He revived Nixon's approach of letting (R) stand for Racist, among other things.

[Shagbark Hickory]

49. Every man for himself.

The nutbagger motto.

[w8liftinglady]

50. When I mentioned that teachers had not seen a COLA in Tx in over 4 years,a local asshole...

told me "I haven't seen a cola since 1996"
I told him that this was a crime, and things like that are exactly what unions fight for.

"they are shipping our jobs overseas"

I told him
"THEY are who is at fault, not the union workers standing in solidarity"

"you are UnAmerican"


It will never end,will it?

[Iris]

53. shipping jobs overseas is American?

jeez - these people have lost many, many brain cells

[Canuckistanian]

51. Guys like this seem to think there's a fixed amount of money out there

So if someone else gets more, it means less money for them.

In the meanwhile, the top 1% are driving every working person's wages down. Obviously and right out in the open. Because they KNOW it'll never be shown on TV.

[Iris]

52. yes. n/t

[bemildred]

54. "Stupid shit" is more like it. nt

[EstimatedProphet]

55. "turned into"?

There has always been a mean, vindictive side to this country.

[Bunny]

58. Yes we're mean, even those who call themselves liberals.

You need look no further than the recent food stamp threads to see ample evidence of that.

[Dappleganger]

61. +1000

[MedleyMisty]

66. That's why I hide those threads

Obvious trolling, and I don't need to see the classism and get raging mad and play right into the troll's hands.

[Joe Fields]

60. There is a fine line....

[Kurovski]

62. Americans have been mean shits for as long as my ass has been alive.

It used to be you could rely on everyone to agree that shitting on certain groups was a great way to get your hate on. You could even have group hate parties, even at work!

That way you could blow off steam built-up over time cause your mom and dad treated you like a little piece of shit when you waz lil, or smacked you, (or whatever your fucking problem was.)

I feel sorry for the tighty righties because now they have to work over time to get a new hate club going, build up enough steam so that assholes will be cranked enough to vote for the economic death of their own fucking family.

[Raine]

63. "Divide & conquer", pit the people against each other

call it what you want. It's the same old, same old and the best tactic of those in power to keep themselves in power. The public will fall for it and turn on each other fighting for the scraps, while THEY divide the spoils among their 2% and laugh about it. x(

[KT2000]

67. what an idiot

these people are not even putting their own selfish interests first.
If his business is declining with the economy, how much work does he think he will get when workers' wages are reduced?
The wealthy elite don't do fender, body work on their cars.

[defendandprotect]

77. No -- only GOP/right wing and corporate influence creates "mean-shits" -- !!!!

[guitar man]

79. in a nutshell

[jp11]

80. Some are, they don't see big business stealing our country's wealth and robbing

their futures as wrong or if they even can do that, they may think they are untouchable gods but the SOB working for the government with benefits is within their reach so with their anger they can strike at them and make them suffer like they are. Some how that can make it 'right' even as they sit there watching TV hearing Exon brough in record profits last year and paid no taxes, or read the paper the next day with the Bank CEO getting a 9 million dollar bonus.

It is only right that those SOB's take one for the team they get paid with their taxes, not like the contracted companies that made out like bandits off of Iraq and the lives of american soldiers or the weapons systems our country has had developed for decades paying contractors for useless crap that doesn't work just to pay them.

[NuttyFluffers]

83. "i'm a petty prick, thus approving boots pressed against the throats of my brothers in pain"

there, i corrected his quote.

[madinmaryland]

84. Rather than bitching about his own woes, maybe he should be out

fighting for the rights that public employees have and that private employees used to have.

I can understand his resentment, but it should be at the corporations and the wealthy that are screwing him.