"As is the concept that this is somehow new to this administration..."
-----I never said that. But the fact remains that this administration has nearly doubled the deficit--$8 trillion which has been added on to the $10 trillion generated by all the previous administrations combined.
"...that it is somehow creating "children" of the American people."
-----Simple example is the snow storm that's moving up the east coast. The mayors and governors are telling people, "Stay home! Do not go out! Don't shovel snow, you could get a heart attack. It's cold out, wear plenty of clothing if you do have to go outdoors. Stock up on nonperishable foods! Etc, etc, etc." Even in my short lifetime, I cannot remember a time when governments talked to their citizens like a parent talks to their child. As though we don't have the good sense to protect ourselves. And the sad thing Treehumper, more and more, they're turning this country into a place where people can't think for themselves. They're starting to rely on the government for this sort of parenting--in every aspect of life. You see, America was founded, molded, and became great because of self-sufficiency. I know it's not seen or promoted anywhere else around the world, but that's what has set America apart and made it great. We're loosing that. As we become more socialistic, we can't have any individuality or self-reliance. We have to lean heavier and heavier on the "Nanny State."
"So what should be people do when the economy tanks and business takes a step back leaving huge numbers without. Let's look back into the past to see what happens, oh yeah, parks are turned into shantytowns of the displaced, etc….."
-----I'm assuming one of your examples is the Great Depression? My grandparents lived through the Great Depression. My dad and his 8 siblings were raised in it. Rather than look to the government for help, they helped each other. Rather than plead for socialistic coddling, they strove harder for the American Dream. Two of the boys were drafted for Korea, two volunteered. When their service was up, they went to the workforce as laborers. Rather than go into the details, let's suffice it to say that they all became sufficiently successful. Not because of a safety net, but because of hard work.
"What is lacking here is the patriotism at the corporate level that is expressed by the small business person."
-----What are the numbers on this? Or is this just more of the "corporations as the bogeyman" mantra?
"Stop blaming the government and start putting the heat on corporations and businesses that are unwilling to provide living wages to their American compatriots, through sacrificing record profits and dividends to their shareholders and support Americans who will then in turn support American business…"
-----Rather than turn this into a volume; let's examine oil alone. According to the Energy Information Administration, in February 2008 state and federal excise taxes
accounted for 13% of the average price per gallon of regular gasoline sold in the U.S. while the oil company's earnings came to 8.3%
-----Think about the article that Tom posted over on the 'fair wealth distribution' thread. It stated that the 62 richest people have roughly $1.75 trillion. The article stated that "The number of people lifted out of absolute poverty over the past two decades has been encouraging, says the report, but had inequality not risen at the same time, as many as 200 million more people could have been lifted out of poverty over the same period. “That could have risen to 700 million had poor people benefited more than the rich from economic growth,” said the report."
What if the $8 trillion that is now on our deficit had not been squandered? How about the roughly $3 trillion last year that was brought in as revenue and spent on this social program and that? You tell me not to "blame the government." It's a little difficult for me to ignore the nose on my face.
Living Wage? It's just like the question, "What ratio of wealth distribution would be acceptable?" It's relative to who is asking, who's answering, and what their circumstances are. Nobody agrees. NO ONE can answer it, or NO ONE will. At the end of the day, a living wage is what I give my children. That same magic number is also what the government wants to take from the working taxpayers and give to the tax recipients, ie. their children.
