10/31/2006

YoYo Economics a Poor Disguise for Class Warfare

by Dave Wheelock

A look at last week's U.S. Census Bureau report on income, poverty, and health insurance coverage shows the Orwellian nature of what is becoming known as the Republican's YOYO - "you're on your own" - economics.

The report shows that in the last year the median income for American households fell by $275, part of a trend that since 2001 has seen family incomes fall by an average of $2,000. In the past year under this Republican administration the number of our citizens who have no health insurance has grown by 1.3 million to 46.6 million, or 15.9 percent of the population. In this, the world's biggest economy, whose gross domestic product rose at a 3.2 percent rate last year to the loud huzzahs of the Bush loyalists, 12.5 percent, or one in eight citizens, lives in poverty.

Read more @ OpEdNews.

Major Themes In Intensifying Class Warefare

1.Ownership Society
2. The Social Security “Crisis”
3. Global Imposition of Freedom—Cover for Global Class Warfare

Read more @ ZMag.

Budgeting for Poverty

The federal government says a family of four making $18,810 a year is living in poverty. But how far does $18,810 go in America today? How do you budget? What do you leave out? You make the hard choices.

For the answers, take a video tour.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey! I saw let them eat Ramen Noodles, work harder and get 5 jobs. I can't afford to be robbed anymore to support this social ballast! Haven't you ever heard of survival of the fittest?

Anonymous said...

There has always been class warfare in the U.S. -- waged from the top down.

Anonymous said...

There's no excuse to be poor in America. Why do you think God invented high interest credit cards and payday loan stores!

Housing $5274.00
Food $4815.00
Wishing you were dead rather than living like this-- Priceless!

Anonymous said...

Assembly district 30th candidate watch...
Did you know Republican Kitty Rhoades was down at the UW-River Falls campus handing out rama noodles? Evidently, she wants college students to get a taste of their future.

Anonymous said...

How many people can no longer afford health care? I've heared a considerable number of people in Hudson (some that would shock you)that take a risk without insurance, because they can't afford it. Some people have been denied insurance due to preexisting health conditions, and can not afford a coverage that would take them.
One person that I thought of as affluant told me that the next revolution will be over the lack of affordable insurance, and a government that does not care. Think about that borderliners, who care about self only. You may be in that situation some day, then do you want someone thinking of you as a unit. One of your buddies refers to people as that.
The system is broken, and it will be fixed, because the self serving politicians that have sold out for money will soooooon be gone.

Andy Rand said...

Norseman,

"The system is broken, and it will be fixed, because the self serving politicians that have sold out for money will soooooon be gone."

This is a noble sentiment which I share with you, but I'm afraid so much damage has been done by the current crowd that a fix may take a generation.

I remember when healthcare was non-profit. I don't know if he changed this directly but the "Amiable Dunce" Reagan is who set the tone of "for profit" medicine 25 years ago. Now these companies and their lobbyists own both parties. I only hope that I'm wrong about the timeframe for reform.

Anonymous said...

Let's not forget that President Carter started the deregulation push with the transportation industry.

Check out: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/transportation/jan-june03/airlines_1-9.html

Paul Soloman interviews Alfred Khan on deregualtion.

Andy Rand said...

anonymous,

You're correct about Carter. Despite the article you cite, I think it could still be argued that deregulation has created tremendous undesirable havoc in the airline industry. I can't imagine students functioning stably in a parallel environment for education. They wouldn't be able to complete a semester with the certainty that their schools would not be in bankruptcy the next.

Anonymous said...

Randy:

Obviously, you have not been paying attention to the platforms of your local Republican politicians. The reason our public schools are inshambles, breeding groups for drugs, violence, crime, sex and perversion is because they are PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Those thinks would never happen in private schools.

Let it start here, I advocate that we privatize electect government. No more costly elections. We bid on our representatives. The entity with the most cash gets the vote. The money goes to reduce taxes. We all live happily ever after.

Andy Rand said...

Sorry Ludwig,
"Obviously, you have not been paying attention to the platforms of your local Republican politicians."

And I would because????? Why???

I'm a life long Democrat? Sure I always pay close attention to people with duct tape over their mouths toting video cameras to school district employment interview dinners. They are they kind of people that exude brilliance and integrity.
Or are you referring to the people who want to slash the budget for everything public so that our kids can learn better in trailers?

"The reason our public schools are inshambles, breeding groups for drugs, violence, crime, sex and perversion is because they are PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Those thinks would never happen in private schools."

There must be some study verifying this right? Or this one of your assumptions like the school population isn't growing because the housing market has slowed? That must be why the demographers forecasts are pretty much right on the money.
Maybe you learned the "fact" on Fox News? or from Rush Limbaugh. Myself,
I always tried to think on my own, rather than being a ditto head.

I've never seen a more ridiculous comment here or anywhere else. Well, I take that back I can't include OTBL.
If your kids are involved in this stuff maybe you should look to the tree the apple fell from for answers.


"breeding groups for drugs, violence, crime, sex and perversion"

Maybe you're talking about Hill Murray. I know for a fact that drugs flourish there but you get to pay more for the priviledge.

There are a lot of great kids at Hudson High I know them personally. Take for instance the 16 year old who wrote to the HSO last week with more maturity than any adult letter in the paper.

"Let it start here, I advocate that we privatize electect government. No more costly elections."

Buying the elections? Oh, you mean the long running strategy of the Republican Party. I get it.
Are you (expitive deleted ) Nuts!!!!!

Anonymous said...

actually if the data were (publically) available, you would not find a difference between crime, sex, and drugs rates for students attending private, or public schools.

Anonymous said...

You're right Fuzz. But your point doesn't fit into the local wingnut agenda, so it'll be ignore by the local Anti-Education crowd.

Anonymous said...

It's like the old comment don't confuse the issue with the facts. Private education is a personal choice, not a mandate.
I could, and may say the names some day. But as for our OTBL users, they have cost all consumers a considerable expense in open records requests. Expense in employee time, and use of equipment. As a voter, and tax payer, I resent this flagrant abuse of tax payer money, and resources. A number of these people have run for office (and lost), and if they choose to run again, their record of conduct will become a noted issue.
They talk cost containment, but their conduct shows differently.
Believe what you want, but don't waist my money for your self fulfilling egotistical goals.

Anonymous said...

Noresman,

Not only have they wasted money in the ways you've described. They are costing taxpayers substantially more because costs are increasing as they've thrown their roadblocks to school constuction on the highway.
Brian Bell stated this well in the forum debate. Contruction costs are rising, interest rates are rising. These clowns are costing the taxpayers money, not saving it with their misguiede anti-community philosophy.
They are not only anti-public education, they are anti-community and anti-taxpayer despite their claim to the contrary.