My mistake. I mis-read who was saying what in your post. I agree with
you that the bush administration and neo-cons are out to destroy the
middle class.
Here is another article on the subject:
Middle class hurt by Bush's values
By Howard Dean
Ever since the purveyors of conventional wisdom pronounced that the last
election was about moral values, the beltway pundits have been endlessly
engaged in trying to divine What It All Means. After all, President Bush
presented himself as the embodiment of compassion and American values, and
has told us that the election was his accountability moment - proof
positive that the American people sup****t his policy priorities.
The simple truth is, however, that it did not take an election to convince
us that the American people are a deeply moral people. When we see
children pool their pennies to help tsunami victims, or a community unite
to pay for a neighbor's transplant operation - that is all the evidence of
compassion we need.
With the State of the Union address and the annual budget submission,
President Bush will have his op****tunity to unveil the most tangible
statements of his priorities and values. These two do***ents are a
distillation of hundreds of choices made and priorities ordered. It will
be interesting to see what he chooses.
Because in the course of making thousands of decisions that impact the
real lives of Americans, one decision that the president made has impacted
virtually all others, and that was the decision to completely change the
structure of our economy by dramatically ****fting the tax burden from
cor****ate interests and wealthiest individuals squarely onto the middle
class. That decision has put our nation in a financial straightjacket for
generations to come.
And now the president suggests that the deficits created by his policies
must be reduced by cutting the domestic budget, while his tax policies
remain off limits. But make no mistake - it is the middle class that will
feel the impact of George Bush's economic restructuring the most. While
cor****ations have historically been responsible for over 20 percent of the
tax burden, today they are paying just over 7 percent. Combined with tax
breaks for the wealthy, we are left with an economy in which the middle
class is shouldering a staggering load of the burden.
Ironically, rather than funding the services most of us rely on, taxes
paid by the middle class are going directly into the pockets of the
wealthy in the form of tax breaks. And most working families have much
more to contend with than taxes. Many employers can no longer provide
health insurance; our parents can no longer depend on nutritious meals
delivered to their homes; Head Start cannot accommodate enough deserving
children; and students know that the president's much-touted $100 increase
per year in Pell Grants will not put college within their reach.
The president has made his choices, and no matter how drastic the change
in cir***stance - be it war or recession or his proclaimed "crisis" in
Social Security - he refuses to revisit those decisions. Yet - as need
permeates the middle class and not just the destitute - it is hard to
believe that the American people favor more cor****ate handouts and endless
tax cuts. And whether they live in red states or blue states, whether they
wor****p in churches or temples or not at all, Americans do not want to see
their neighbors bankrupted by emergency medical care or watch military
families barely scrape by on meager salaries augmented by food stamps.
Fairness, after all, is a cornerstone American value.
So over the coming days, all Americans should be watching what the
president does, not just what he says. Will we have more of the same -
eloquent words masking a distorted economic system - or will the president
at long last put his money where his mouth is? The stakes couldn't be
higher.
In <afcOd.8165$pc5.1451@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>, on 02/08/2005
at 11:50 PM, Beach Runner <bob@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> said:
>letoured@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
>> In <X%MNd.38467$JF2.14975@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>, on 02/07/2005
>> at 04:51 PM, Beach Runner <bob@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> said:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>know_buddee@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
>>>
>>>>This generation will be the one that wipes the ugly face of poverty
>>>>from the face of the earth. Those who help will be blessed. Those who
>>>>selfishly fight against this will fail.
>>>>
>>
>>
>>>Do you believe this? In this nation alone the middle class is being
>>>destroyed with outsourcing to third world nations. It would be great
if
>>>it were true, but I see no indications of such.
>>
>>
>>
>> How ironic; A troll without a clue in an education group. Did we fail
>> you, or was it your drug use that caused your mental problem?
>Hardly. I was a teacher for many years, and then worked in the computer
>field for many years. I still do. I also teach. I'm no troll.
>But I'm watching the outsourcing of much of America's technology. Many
>great people have lost their jobs, replaced with people in India making
>$5K a year. I used to teach in NY, and even South Dakota. In fact, I
>taught in the poorest county of the US. Naturally, since I did a good
>job and had techie skills they pulled me out of the classroom to do
>techie work, write grants, and such.
>I've never lost my enthusiasm and interest in education. I think most of
>education is horrible, boring, and anti-thinking. I'm one of those
>radicals that think that when you tell a young child not to talk, you
>are telling them not to think.
>I think education should emphasize music, the arts, creativity, as
>opposed to this absurd trend of standardized testing. Check out some
>research on MRIs on the brains of young music students. But instead
>they spend their money on standardized tests.
>Yes, parents are a tremendous factor. If a parent reads to a child, I
>think that alone is critical.
>I'm sure because of events I will teach again. That was why I started
>following this group. A troll? Hardly. My point is quite valid.
>This nation went from being the most productive nation in the world to
>what? Try buying anything made in America. Now you're watching a brain
>drain. GE has Patent Lawyers in India doing their patent law and
>getting reviewed in the US. MRI's are being emailed to India to be
>analyzed.
>Meanwhile teachers live close to the poverty level, good ones working
>incredibly hard. With little respect.
>The day I left teaching and went to work in college people treated what
>I had to say with far greater im****tance. That is very sad.
>That's your troll.
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