HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?

Before you read anything into the posted photo on the right (and the right is definitely where the photo belongs) let me say that I truly have nothing against anyone rising to the top of their particular food chain and earning a great living.  We all strive to better ourselves and when we do we should not be looked upon with disdain or hatred.
Now of course most of us are human and as such we are always looking at the other side of the fence wondering how that guy keeps his lawn so much greener than ours.
But suppose we found out that our green-thumbed neighbor was actually stealing our seeds and fertilizer every night to pepper his field.
I make no determination as to how these gentlemen rose to the top of their unnecessary group (single payer would obsolete these vultures) but one still wonders.
But please do not think the pharma industry is the only one raping our coffers.
Bankers will not be in need of a telethon anytime soon, especially after we infamously bailed them out at the end of the Bush era. (error?)
Of the top earning bank CEOs the least compensated made $3.3 million last year and the average compensation was nearly $20 million.  (Looks like someone is going to demanding a raise!)
So let's juxtapose other Americans against the backdrop of the sweet elite of the pharmaceutical and banking industries and see how we're doing by taking a few items from the news.
(Click the title of each section below for the back-up and more articles on each subject.)

1. Student Debt:  Over 70% of college seniors graduated with nearly $30,000 in student loans which cannot be forgiven in bankruptcy.  Before you can really get going many have to finish their schooling.  And in order to do so you may have to pay an awful large sum of money to the institution of your choice for that education.  Unlike other more civilized countries in the world where they realize their young are their future and they subsidize their college years we treat our young as annuities for the ivy covered halls of higher learning institutions.
2. Living in Poverty:  One in Seven American is living in poverty!  That's over 46 million humans and it's the largest number of people in that undesirable sect in over 54 years!  While some are living high off the hog they seem to be doing so by hogging all the high profits from their businesses while allowing their employees the pleasure of scrounging around the sty for the remains.  And on top of that they are getting all the tax breaks the rest of us can only dream about.
3. Minimum Wage:  The CEOs of America are doing very well thank you but too many are surviving, if it can be called surviving, on a meager $7.25 per hour.  Okay many States are realizing the futility of trying to eat and keep a roof over one's head on that tiny amount and have raised their local wage minimums up but there are many, mostly of the Republican persuasion who are trying to persuade legislators NOT to raise the minimum wage as it will kill businesses and jobs.
4. Unemployment:  While it has gone down under the leadership of President Obama, yes that's right, under his watch the rate is still an unsatisfactory 6.3%.  Sadly this doesn't tell the whole story and while many a pundit will point to this number as proof of a growing economy a more telling number would include how many are so discouraged they no longer even look for a job.  And the best number to show how dismal it is even for those WITH jobs is
5. Household Income: During the twelve years from 2000 to 2012 the median household income fell 6.6%.  Take a moment to let that sink in.  In 2000 the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a high of roughly 11,700.  It hit a new high of 13,350 in 2012!  While that's only an increase of 1½% the Dow has since hit 16,800 at which time it sported a nearly 4½% increase.  The bottom line is while Wall Street and it's Dow Jones top earners are topping their earnings almost daily average Joes may be scrounging for their next meal.  And speaking of households - 
6. Foreclosures:  While the foreclosure rate has dropped overall many States are still way above acceptable levels.  And 1 in 96 homes are foreclosed on and 19% of all homes are deeply under water financially.
7. Homeless Veterans:  An argument for a National embarrassment could easily be started with the fact that many of those who risked their lives for our country come home to trade their military rank for the pleasure of joining the ranks of the homeless.  Of the 634,000 homeless people in 2012 over 62,600 were veterans.  And that brings us to - 
8. Unemployed Vets: This number is even higher than the National Average.  Those who fought our wars from 2001 forward are considered Gulf War-Era II Vets.  Their rate was around 9% in 2013!  Uncle Sam wants YOU! That is until we don't anymore!
9. Women's Health:  There are so many articles on how women's health issues are under attack that it was hard to choose just one article to point to in the above link.  You may 'Google' on your own and spend weeks reading all the fun stories of 'right wing' elements in America forcing Planned Parenthood clinics to shut because they may use the word abortion, a procedure which by the way happens to be currently allowed by law.  Coincidentally the following Republican majority States have placed rules and regulations on the people who run women's clinics that would make a sailor's hair turn white:  Louisiana; Texas; Oklahoma; Iowa; Oregon; Washington; Kansas; Wisconsin and the list is not even complete.  And finally - 
10. Voter Rights: While all the above abuse has been going on we in America still have one trick up our sleeve, the right to vote out the bad leaders and elect ones who will better serve our interests.  That is if we can get to the polls and actually cast our ballot!  Knowing how dangerous an educated electorate could be it is no surprise that certain factions within the government and the lobbies that own them wish to keep the status quo, quo by placing more and more road blocks in our way as we attempt to vote.  Leading the charge to disenfranchise those among us who have had enough and simply will not take it anymore are: Texas; Ohio; North and South Carolina; Florida; Arizona; Alaska; Louisiana; Mississippi; Georgia; Virginia and Michigan.  Scott Walker of Wisconsin wanted desperately to join the list but went too far and the courts overturned his unfair voter ID law.

I guess when you look at all the things our leaders are doing to us rather than for us we really DO need these unbelievably rich pharmaceutical giants, just to get pills to ease our pain.
If only the damn co-pays weren't so high!

EVERYBODY'S GONE SERFING, SERFING USA!

History is filled with changing economic times.

There have been boom times where many lives were lifted out of poverty and financial disasters where the opposite route was taken.

Governments tend to bring order to the land and if possible stability.

Strong governments are fine as long as they incorporate checks and balances such as the basic hierarchy of the United States.

But without those features strong governments may turn harsh and corrupt as in North Korea and several Middle Eastern lands. A government that rules with an iron fist has many dangers.

But weak governments are worse and open the door to a coup or at the very least a loss of control that spirals down to anarchy.

Nations have been experimenting with different forms of government for centuries and naturally we in America believe ours, while terribly flawed is the best one in existence.

The lord of the Feifdom lived within these walls.

The Middle Ages saw a long period with no strong centralized government.  The land was generally ruled by lords of the land.  These landlords used the labor of what some might consider slaves to work the land for them as a method of paying off a debt.

The debt could be a fine for something bad the pauper had done or a fee for food he needed to survive.  He might owe money to the powers of the day because he sought to marry and asked the landlord to grant him a hut in which to live.  The landlord might oblige in return for favors with the bride and the use of the child’s labor once old enough to work.

But the bottom line was the ‘free’ man was indebted to the landlord and could lose all including his life if he stopped paying what he owed.

One could be excused for confusing this type of situation as slavery but history branded these poor unfortunates, serfs.

Other ‘ages’ followed such as that of enlightenment and the industrial revolution and while the World moved on toward our current modern times it was not without an occasional hiccup.

There were World Wars and the rise of Communism which in many ways can be considered just another form of feudalism.  And many humans still live under totalitarian rule.

We survived the stock market crash of 1929 and the ensuing great depression.

We enjoyed the post war era that ushered in the Middle Class and general prosperity for a majority of Americans.

We continued our rise as the most admired nation in the World and have seen continued immigration throughout and past the 20^th century.

But along with our march toward a more perfect union we have taken a huge step backwards.  And if we are not careful we will end up back in a new age version of Feudalism as the most affluent among us look for easy prey among the less fortunate. You might be excused for coining a new phrase as they GO SERFING!

Not your daddy's idea of surfing

Before you dismiss this out of hand as absurd think about all the other times people sat back and allowed their lives to be turned upside down and ruined due to complacency and denial.

As I stated earlier there are millions of humans living under the total control of a small number of evil greedy dictators even today!

And there are more would be tyrants plotting the takeover of other countries going on as well.

But think something like that cannot happen in America?

You know what’s coming, THINK AGAIN.

Our steady march to the Middle Ages began decades ago

But as with any slow and steady movement it may be hard to notice the trend until it affects your life.

To wit we first fast forward to 2008 and back to 1929.

We will bounce around in time from then but it’s a fantastic place to start as the lives of so many people were adversely affected in ways they may not overcome in their lifetime.

I offer herewith a dozen examples of how the wealthy are SERFING, SERFING USA!

1 – SECOND 'GREAT DEPRESSION' SERFING – As a result of the financial meltdown caused by the greed and subsequent appeasement of the wealthiest among us millions were thrown into turmoil for no fault of their own.

In fact the only ones not hurt by the financial crisis were the very same people who caused it!

It’s hard to believe it’s almost 6 years since the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

And the key players are not only still in power but have cemented their positions.  They have gained more wealth than one would have thought possible just a few short years ago.

And as far as catch phrases go; ‘Too big to fail’ has morphed into ‘Too big to jail.’

None of these criminals have or will see the inside of a cell unless it’s to visit those of us who end up in debtors’ prison.  Or maybe it should be called serfer’s prison.

I know it does not exist – yet.

2 – PARASITIC SERFING – If a company came to you and asked you to promote their product wouldn't you expect some form of compensation?

Let’s say you’re an athlete and Nike asked you to wear theirnew sport shoe so they could get a following and make a killing in the market.  Wouldn't it be nice if you could make a few pennies off their fortune as well?

If you are an athlete in college the powers that be say you are not only NOT entitled to get any money off the sale of your image or the promotion of your name etc but if you do accept money you could lose your scholarship and standing in the NCAA!

In other words the lords of college sports and businesses that make money off those sports have conspired to turn you into fodder for their feudal system.

Welcome the real world, Undergrad Serf, it's only the beginning.

3 – RETIREE SERFING – The awful buyers’ job market has spawned a new terminology, one that should strike fear into the hearts of every near retirement age American; Middle Age Interns!

Everyone knows it is immoral to use unpaid interns to do the job that a full time employee has done or could do but if you complain, well, see ya around pal!

Businesses don’t have to rely on workers sending in resumes anymore.  In fact many consider spending a dime on a ‘worker needed’ ad to be foolish as well as time consuming.

Who has the time to read through the thousands of resumes you will receive from incredibly overqualified serfs?

And besides, they can serf the web or put a sign on the front door for hopefuls to drop their papers in the mail slot.

4 – COLLEGE GRAD SERF – If you were a casualty of the 2008 middle class employment massacre that saw millions ‘laid off’ you suddenly found yourself in the same job pool as your dad or every other new college graduate.

With a tremendously large number of draft choices from which to choose and abuse businesses quickly learned from history.

You want a job?

You have debt?

You have a high rate student loan?

Would you like to intern with us?  We might even offer you a job if you work out well! (Or not.)

This offer of an unpaid form of servitude should be followed by, ‘of course I’ll respect you in the morning!’

However more businesses will say they can hire you but with business down they’ll have to pay you less than half what you are worth.
Oh and forget about a pension or other benefits.  Those are only for me and my friends.  You know the ones who can afford to buy their own with the tremendous profits we will be keeping off your labors.

And don’t think about leaving before normal quitting time or getting paid vacations.  In fact I may need you to work a little late, every night off the books of course!

Don’t like the deal?

NEXT SERF!

5 –PEACE OF MIND SERF – Insurance companies have long considered the average human to be an annuity for them.  First they put the fear of disease or death in your head and then they sit back and count their money as you are forced to buy their product.

Insurance in all forms is sold on a “Peace of mind” platform that lulls one into a stupor thinking you are covered in case of an emergency.  Sadly it isn't until you have an emergency that you find you didn't buy the right insurance or you neglected to note the size 4 font at the bottom of the contract you signed.

So sorry but you aren't covered for that!

You can fight and argue but does anyone really believe a lowly serf can defeat the armies of the overlords and their banks of attorneys?  Dumb Serf!

6 – KEEP THE SERF DOWN – And speaking of banks how’s that interest rate you’re receiving?

Is it enough to keep your head above the rate of inflation?

No?

That’s odd since the inflation rate is so low!

Didn't we bail those banks out with our money, our jobs, and our futures?  So the least you should receive in return is a small amount of payback, right?

Hah, you are such a cute Serf!

7 – RELIGIOUS SERFING – But banks take a back seat to the oldest profession in the world.  No I am not speaking of prostitution although in many ways it fits.

Even older than selling your body was the fine art of selling eternal peace, AKA organized religion.

Religion is the worship of anything and in the case of today’s, and yesterday’s religions that thing money!

The only thing scarier than an angry overlord is a so called holy man threatening an uneducated person with eternal damnation.

The preaching snake behind the pulpit is a constant reminder of the talking snake of Adam and Eve fame.

Religion has been around for centuries.

It was started when someone realized he could scare the hell, as it were out of another man by telling him lies of biblical proportions.

Perhaps after two men were fighting an eclipse of the sun happened and one guy jumped at the idea of the first religious scam.  He could tell everyone he caused the eclipse because he was angry!

He asked his friend the creature of the sky to make others do as he wished or face eternal darkness.  The creature obeyed him with a small taste of what that might be.

Not wanting to face that terrible future others treated the lying scam artist with more respect than he deserved.  Little by little the lie became fact and his power grew.

He passed his evil joke onto his heirs and the lineage of the faithful serfs began.

They gave what little they had to the man who spoke with the gods of the sky.  And they did so as faithfully as did the shop owners of Little Italy when paid protection was demanded by the powers that be.

And the rest is history.

8 – NON UNIONIZED SERFING – There is a virtual moat around the castle that is big business these days.  It is as impossible to ford as is the proverbial glass ceiling to break for most women.

Maybe if enough of us get together and form some kind of group we can finally go back across the Rubicon or rise above the invisible barrier to what once was an attainable American Dream.

Maybe we could form a union of sorts.

Oh, wait.  Those have been under attack ever since Ronald Reagan realized their inherent danger to the wealth and prosperity of the feudal lords.

When PATCO had the nerve to desire pay equal to their skills and importance Lord Trickle Down broke them and the trend has continued to this day!

Nowadays unions are under attack from every quarter and when the ones that still exist make any headway in talks with management they are vilified for causing rates to go up and costs to rise on non-unionized serfs.

Why you may ask would this happen?  Well in case you haven’t been paying attention there is no way management will lower their profit margins one cent so any give backs to unions will be passed along.

9 – STAGNATION SERFING – And as far as not paying attention goes have you noticed how little the Republican Party has done over the last 5 or 6 years?

They have stopped or tried to stop every ounce of progress or measure aimed at getting America back on the road to prosperity in favor of lowering taxes for the overlords.

They have proposed cuts to every social measure known to man while giving their full support to the serf makers.  Please don’t call them job makers anymore it’s embarrassing to anyone with a brain.

And still they are in office!

Polls show they will stay in office and even stand a chance to gain a majority in both chambers of Congress.

But with a little luck we can vote these dolts, these puppets of the overlords out of office and elect a more enlightened group to lead us out of our fiefdom.
We must break from our role as Voter Serfs!

10 – SUFFRAGE SERFING – (Nice segue, no?) Well it will take a lot more than luck since the landlords have hit upon another method to keep the slave revolt from taking place, blocking voter’s rights.

Many serfs cannot afford to take time off from work to vote on Election Day or their lords may insist they work a few extra 'off the book' hours on that Tuesday.

Luckily many states have early voting days and same day registration and extended hours if lines are long.

Oh wait, those have been ruled out by every State with a Republican held majority across America.

And even if you can get to the polling booth on time you may not be allowed to vote if you are a woman who has been divorced and you don’t carry proof of your married name change with you.

You cannot vote if you have ever been arrested or perhaps look like you have been arrested or if the guy at the front door of the polling place doesn't like your face!

Voter’s rights are going the way of the unions in our American fiefdom and it will take a huge concerted effort to stem that tide from drowning our freedom.

11 – KEEP ON SERFING – The righteous fight for Democracy in America will take a great deal of money.  And it is money most of us do not have.

The vast majority of workers are paid far less than they deserve and many take home levels considered below the poverty line.

The meager money these workers make forces the government to subsidize them with programs such as food stamps from SNAP.

But the same companies that pay their workers these obscenely low wages spend fortunes to stop any increase to the federal minimum wage laws.  They vilify these low paid workers calling them lazy takers.

The truth is it is the CEOs of the large corporations who are the takers.

With their ownership of five ninths of the Supreme Court they have taken our labor, our money and our futures and placed them firmly in their off shore tax havens.

The ‘Citizen’s United’ ruling clearly unites only the citizens with unlimited wealth, aka our new overlords.

And these overlords of America fight anything that threatens their fortunes.

They have grown so sure of themselves that they were totally blindsided when their last champion lost his bid for the White House.  They were so certain he was going to win the Presidential election and take back America from the low class takers that even when the polls closed and they showed a massive victory for the other guy they sat stunned claiming fraud.  It was a pathetic show of hubris but certainly not their first and surely not their last.
Serfs of America may be forgiven for a bit of schadenfreude but sadly it didn't last and it was soon business as usual in Feudal America.

12 – SERF THE IGNORANT – The overlords are even waging a war on education and science refusing to believe in any man made or man assisted climate change.  Perhaps they feel if they keep their heads in the sand or somewhere else the sun doesn't shine nothing will stop their ascension to total lords of the World.

Friends of the wealthy who perpetrate and perpetuate this perp-laden practice regularly appear on friendly networks such as Rupert Murdoch’s FOX to keep the under educated just that.

Lulling the masses to sleep with tales of how the Democrats are out to take away your freedom or worse, your guns scare their base almost as much as did the preachers of old.

And since the Republican Party is the puppet of the wealthy one must conclude that they realize an educated electorate is their worst nightmare.
Sad ill-informed Serfs!

Anyone with a brain or a modicum of intelligence must feel frustrated to do anything about this system.

If we continue to act as if it’s futile to fight we will end up in a feudal light!
If all we do is Bitch Boys (and girls) nothing will change.

Our leaders have abdicated the throne to the landlords of the Fiefdom and as the glaciers melt and the oceans rise one wonders if they can swim.

They had better learn fast.

But until then sadly they will continue to serf.

Because everybody’s Serfin, serfin USA.

If we all had a notion

Across the USA

Then no lords would be serfin’

Like they are today!

UNDERSTANDING DSP

Big business has always had many tactics to increase profits.  But little by little they have found a cool way to get blood from a stone and squeeze every last bit of moisture out of a dry sponge.  They don’t want you to notice until it’s too late.  I call this tactic Divide, Separate and Profit!

DSP is a simple thing really and I am surprised it took so long for the greedy bastards to completely espouse its use!  But now that they have it it is de rigueur in the business arena.

Here’s how it works:

Say you are in the home owners’ insurance business and you have maximized your client base.

You may get a few more suckers here and there but frankly the only way to keep making more profit is to expand that which you cover or insure. (I am leaving out the obvious way of merely denying al claims since that is business as usual.)

•        Step one, have some clever attorney or accountant hide in a room and comb over policies you write, including the tiny almost invisible small print.
•        Come up with some notable omissions.
•        Turn them into codicils to be sold as if new coverage.

This was done when suddenly every insurance company started to offer the homeowner flood insurance. Since then the flood of new ways to squeeze consumers hit the market.

It was always included before just not actually written as such.

For example other types of DSP already in existence are “Renters insurance” and coverage for “Off Premises Theft (OPT.)”

OPT makes me laugh because simple analyses will show what a fraud this one is!

Say you live on Long Island and your friend lives in Brooklyn and the two of you vacation TOGETHER in Ohio or anywhere other than New York.

Sadly while you both are out visiting the Rock and Roll HOF a burglar breaks into your hotel room and steals all your stuff.  Geico (personal experience) will not cover the possessions of the Brooklyn-ite but will do so for the Long Islander.

The reasoning behind this dichotomy is that Brooklyn has more crime than does Long Island. BUT NEITHER OF YOU WERE EVEN IN NEW YORK WHEN THE EVENT TOOK PLACE! THAT’S WHY IT’S CALLED OFF-PREMISES!!!

However throwing logic out as an argument to corporations or even people and especially those in the T-Potty is a waste of time.

Airlines started using DSP a few years ago.  We all encounter this bit of covert trickery when we check our luggage!

Some airlines now charge more for seats on the aisle; next to a window or near a bulkhead.

Pennies to Pee? S/B E-Z Pass

One brazen bunch of bastards even tried to tax toilet visits by charging you money to pee.

What could possibly be next, “Oh you wish to sit during the flight???”

Luggage may be a bit heavier than it should be and for that I can see a small surcharge.  So what about the man travelling without luggage who weighs in at 400 pounds?

Just Get Me There Alive!

Remember when the ads used to say “Getting there is half the fun?”  Now all we want is to have a tiny bit of comfort and arrive alive and close to on-time!

I fear the time when every single industry has this ala carte mentality for that which used to be bundled.

“What do you mean the shirt doesn't come with buttons?”

“Sir, you only rented a car and you did sign the agreement.  If you note in the small print the steering wheel is extra!”

“Of course you voted for me but now that I am here I must keep my job.  That means kowtowing to wealthy people only. Unless, wait, is that a wad of bribe money in your pocket or are just happy to see me?”

The country has been hi-jacked by big business and being held hostage by its puppets in Congress.  They have been working toward this moment for years and the current important DSP involves removing healthcare insurance FROM YOU!

Your move America.

REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER

REMEMBER EVERY NOVEMBER!

The 49 Staples

Several years ago, 98 to be exact a great thriller was penned and turned into a 1935 movie.  72 years later it became a Broadway play.

All three were called The 39 Steps.

On the screen it was directed by the great Alfred Hitchcock and starred, at the time equally great actor Robert Donat.

On the stage the thriller became a comedic mystery and ran for 4 years. (I saw it and enjoyed.)

All the above has absolutely nothing to do with the following blog post except for the similarity in names.

But both have a touch of the slight of hand necessary in any successful story, joke or movie.

In the business world it has always been important to keep a watchful eye on the bottom line.  After all it is, well the bottom line!

If your company does not make a profit and continue to do so it will eventually fail.

As a business owner you may use the rationale of cutting corners to save your company and thereby saving the jobs of your employees but truthfully there's a bit more selfish than selfless going around in that community these days.

And why not?

After all they started the business to make money and employees are merely tools to help them do just that.

One way companies turn a profit is offering something the public wants and can afford.

Another way to have a healthy bottom line is to make sure costs are kept in line.

And still another is to get the cheapest labor available and pay them less than they deserve while charging them for any benefit still offered and pushing any healthcare costs onto their backs.  And should they complain, well as long as the unemployment numbers are favorable you can always find someone else!

The wave of the future, make that the now in the business world is to stop chipping in on any pension or 401K retirement plan.

They are also dropping any spousal or family coverage from health insurance plans.

Some companies are even watching what their employees eat and quietly demanding they make healthier choices.  They are not doing this out of any concern for the employee but rather to lower costs on insurance as required by their actuarial bean counters and pencil pushers.

And finally we get down to the minutia or mind bending mindless micro managing mania most businesses are getting into so as to maximize perceived profit.

The tools of the trade must be protected and employees must account for everything they use.

I have spoken with and listened to workers who have slowly been struck by this trend and in order to do their jobs some must:

* Bring in their own pens.

* One gentleman told me he steals pens from a bank because his company no longer supplies them and he doesn't have that many at home.

* Sign requisitions for any supplies including pens, post-its and legal writing pads.  This from a legal secretary!! 

* Bring in your own monitor and keyboard because the only one the company would supply is filthy and disgusting and in need of tossing out of a very high window. This from a new salesman in the company.

* Use the back sides of every sheet of used paper that comes out of the printer rather than a new sheet.  Of course this means you better know which side of the sheet is the important one.  You have to stop and date each side and cross out the old items after use.

What these businesses are missing is the proverbial forest in and among those trees they make believe they are trying to save.

Productivity suffers when tools of your trade are inferior or hard to use or your employees have to worry about how many pens they need per month.

So finally would you like to get back to the title of this post and its relevance with the body?

Funny you should ask!

A stapler being used to attach tickets to our product ran out and I was asked to get replacements.

Count how many & win a prize?

I visited our supply lady and her reply was:

“How many?”

“Excuse me?” I said shaking my head.  “Uh, 49!  Just give me some please.” 

She opened the box took out a strip.

I grabbed it.

I believe there are 210 staples per row and I was not going to wait around for her to count!

There is no Hitchcock-like mystery here.

What’s going on is the simple insidious re-education of Americans who ‘don’t have’ by those who do in how to help the wealthy make and keep more money!

Corporate profit above people’s lives, livelihoods, and sanity has become a staple of nearly every industry.

And it’s being done one step at a time.

You Don't Play the Game...

An old joke, when the Pope was Italian was made every time he made a statement about marriage: “You don’t play the game; you don’t make the rules!”  Of course it was made with a derogatory Italian accent but I’ll let that go here since even if I wanted to convey it it would be a bit hard in print.

However the same can and should be said about Congress and their controllers in the vastly wealthy “K” Street world of lobbyists.

When Congress tinkers with our taxes or even our healthcare they are doing so from outside the sphere of reality.  They can raise or lower our costs at will and not be affected one cent by their actions.

But every time a politician says, “We ought to do…” or “What we need to have done is…” he ends up taking another tiny bit out of the middle class’ pocket books.

Their can be no denying the fact that the income and wealth gap has been widening at an alarming rate over the last 3 decades and continues to do so even as I write this.

And I do believe that I can state without fear of successful contradiction that the wealthiest among us have a strangle hold on Congress while the poor and middle class (the real middle class and not those in the $400,000 and up income per year bracket) have no champion whispering in the ears of our legislators.

Utter obscene profits are routinely reported by oil giants who pay essentially no taxes and even get subsidies from our wallets.

A pollution filled gas wasting so called sport known as Nascar gets a tax break.  Just how is this essential waste of tax payer dollars justified when so many are unemployed?

Congress raised the estate tax threshold to $5 million and indexed it to the cost of living so the wealthy not only get to hide more money but have the promise of even higher stashes as time goes by!  (Just like your salaries, right?)

Can this trend be changed?

Of course it can.

Will it be changed?

Absolutely not, or at the very least doubtful.  And even if it is it won’t happen in our lifetime.

At least not the way things are going now!

Our tax laws are as clear as the “No Parking” signs that clutter Manhattan.  You know the ones that are placed on poles every few feet to clarify the rules?

From top to bottom they may read:

No Parking: M – W – F – 8 am – 11 am

No Parking: T – Th – Sat – 11 am – 1 pm

No Parking Between Signs

No Parking: Mon – Fri – 2 pm – 5 pm

And finally at the very bottom:

No Standing Anytime!

Clearly you need a legal degree or a limo driver to live ‘ticket free’ in the Big Apple.

And just as clearly you need an accountant to even try to get through our tax laws.

What you don’t need is a PhD to understand that all the laws are made and enacted to help the wealthy remain so and to keep the rest of us working well past normal retirement age so they have a pool from which to select the most appropriate laborer.

But the most glaring fact in every bit of legislation handed down by Congress and signed by presidents since Ronald Reagan (I’ll pause to give my conservative readers a chance to genuflect) is that they are singularly not affected.

Your company just canceled their pension plan (as mine did two days before I would have been vested – talk about scum of the earth!) well Congress has no worries there!

Your company implemented their yearly increase in your health insurance premiums?  No worries for Congress there!

Your children are thrown off coverage even though the economy has not allowed them to find a job?

Congressional offspring have no idea about that hardship either!

I could go on and on but why bother?  The people who must make the changes we need are the ones religiously protecting the status quo.

The bottom line is if you are not part of the game you have no right to decide its rules. And anyone who wonders why the approval rate for that body of hypocrites is at an all time low need look no further than that!

A Constant Struggle

Today’s news, all from the pages of Newsday.

911 Widow Wins Benefits.

Forget the actual story, what is important is that she had to win.

And against whom do you think she had to win?

She had to fight the insurance industry. Well actually not a new story but indicative of how they act and react when faced with the prospect of paying out on a policy they sold to the public who bought it and in good faith paid the premiums on.  And what goes unnoticed is it's now TEN YEARS after 911!

Some Long Islanders wrote letters, printed today railing against people who want the wealthy to pay more taxes.

These are average people who I assume do not make millions yet still fight the fight for the wealthy who, frankly wouldn't stop or stoop to close their eyes and place coins on them if they found their corpse in the gutter.

I don’t want the wealthy to pay too much, just their fair share and stop with the bullshit loopholes.

Among all his other crazy ideas such as calling for the death penalty for being gay Ron Paul is promising to eliminate the IRS if he wins the Presidency.

And just how will government run without any cash sir?

Oh I forgot, you don’t think government should run!

Can this tiny minded Anti-Semitic racist pig moron troll be more insane?

A new tactic on Long Island has turned up as thieves acting in pairs trick the elderly into letting them in to their homes by posing as new neighbors or electric company employees, etc. One chats with the owner and walks a little way away from the front door allowing his partner to gain entrance and rummage through the house undetected.

This is repulsive. Why can’t they rob and steal from the poor and middle class the honest way, they way most employers are doing it these days?

Business owners threaten unemployment or hint at it while demanding more hours and harder work in return for lower wages, less benefits and higher costs on health care.

They then reap the benefits of this nearly slave labor in excess profit and cry all the way to the bank about how business is down before heading out on another vacation.

A man had to sue his insurance company after he was forced to pay for a ‘well doctor’ visit that he was told would be fully covered.

I guess the agent who told him that had his fingers crossed behind his back!

According to the law, until the Republicans can repeal it insurance companies must fully cover ‘preventive care’ doctor visits and not even charge a co-pay unless something terrible is found and a procedure must be performed.

This tactic is the latest one by all insurance companies in their ongoing effort to totally screw the public.

No bill will be approved and no claim will be paid until and unless all possible avenues of obfuscation have been explored and the sheriff is at the door with a warrant to arrest the lying son of a bitch CEO with a separate subpoena for all of his records!

More letters in the paper from smokers who are angry at smoking bans.

HEY, in case you missed the news from a couple of decades ago SMOKING KILLS!

It kills the smoker which is fine but it also kills the innocent people around the smoker who inhale the vile second hand smoke.

And when the smoker uses the argument that there are other pollutants in the air so why only go after cigarettes the only possible answer is, WE’RE GOING AFTER ALL OF THEM YOU IDIOT! Now would you please going into a hermetically sealed room and light up!

And finally come the letters from those who are so angry at President Obama for ramming health care down their throats.

I almost do not know where to begin so I won’t.

But I would like to suggest that those people not opt in for any health care and then go out and smoke a few cartons of unfiltered cigarettes.

Then calmly drop dead somewhere not too close to an emergency room.

We wouldn’t want you to accidentally have health care rammed down your asinine throat!

I cannot wait for tomorrow's edition.

I need a drink!

Pessimistically Optimistic

Getting out of bed every morning is a little more painful each day. My back aches or my neck creeks or something hurts that didn’t the night before or shouldn’t no matter what.

My wife suggests we get a new mattress but I would prefer a new back!

Naturally that’s not covered in our world ruled by insurance companies and their puppets in government.

Those guys are the real pains although not necessarily in the back.

But I started thinking about how my life is generally ruled by costs when it comes to many things and in that way I guess I am normal.

(Me, normal? Nahhh!)

I don’t just buy the first new item that hits store shelves even if I want it or even need it. Like most others I tend to shop around or wait for coupons or some way to lower the cost before plunking down my hard earned cash.

And if you know me you also know my motto when it comes to discounts is, “30% off is still 70% on!”

So when I find a good price on something I also make a final determination of need.

I have become a slightly open-door closet pessimist in that I feel everything that can go right or wrong will tend to lean toward the latter first!

That philosophy is not as bad as it might sound since if you feel things will always go wrong you may occasionally be pleasantly surprised, although far less these days than you might believe.

I guess I have felt that way for a long time because in college I always expected a ‘D’ grade or worse so that when I got ‘C’ and above I was ecstatic!

Of course being a pessimist has its downside especially when you tend to be correct!

I mean if you think something bad is going to happen to you and then it does should you be happy and feel vindicated?

Using that logic I must be happy to have trouble rising in the morning.

But painful personal pessimism aside I would like to address our nation’s outlook on life as we know it.

More and more of our day to day lives is being ruled by that supposed bane of the Republican Party, big government. But contrary to their lip service mantra that is as it should be in a recession.

During hard times the people occupying the lower levels of the wage earning spectrum have more trouble making ends meet. Government programs such as unemployment insurance and free or low cost health care become life lines against financial ruin and even death.

But the problem is these people don’t tend to have a cohesive voice and definitely don’t have a powerful lobby through which to get their plights heard.

And thus they are an easy target for those in power to point to as financial drains on our economy.

Does anyone believe a Koch brother would offer a penny to save a sick poor man?

Alan Grayson famously put it more succinctly if in a less politically correct way with his “die quickly” label of the Republican healthcare plan.

But when the opposition to a fair policy for all Americans continues to chip away at every facet of our democratic ideals we the people are faced with a struggle beyond precedent.

We even lost an incredibly intelligent well spoken champion of all humans in the fight for fair and balanced health care when the Republican Party blocked President Obama’s appointment of Dr. Berwick as administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid.

Why you may ask would they do so?

Who is this awful terrorist wannabe that our leaders on the right feel must be booted out of existence?

Read about him – I cannot do this great man justice here.

Simple changes that go unnoticed have hidden agenda that turn out to be ways for the wealthy or big businesses to retain more profit at the expense of the individual.

For example the recent push to stop prostate screening for men until they have symptoms will negate the yearly PSA exams for millions. Proponents of stalling the test say it is a pain in the butt and could have false positives.

But a quick “light of day” exam of the motives of the proponents reveals a simple fact, the benefit to stopping those life saving blood tests goes directly into the pockets of the insurers.

Personally my first PSA exam was just as I hit 50 and lo and behold the discovery and subsequent treatment of what was found most likely saved my life.

Another huge savings of profit for the poor insurance industry is the lessening of mammogram frequencies.

What does the Republican Party have against women?

When the poor die due to a lack of quality health care they do so quietly. Their passing will not be announced as Breaking News on Fox. (This just in, a homeless and former Viet Nam veteran died outside the emergency room today saving tax payers thousands. Thanks Sarge! And now here’s Gretchen with other fun news.)

Naturally wealthy people pass away as well but if there is a ‘cure that money can buy’ rest assured they will not rest trying to find it before resting in peace!

One common thread in both of the above cases, insurance companies did not have to pay a penny.

Interesting?

Now all of these policy changes may be lumped under the heading of getting government out of your lives, making it less intrusive. Yet how does that square with the concurrent push for laws such as “personhood” which would allow the government to peer into a woman’s uterus at time of conception?

Zygotes of the fallopian tubes unite!

Clearly when it comes to the policy wishes of the Republican Party hypocrisy should be its middle name.

So why are so many average Americans still willing to vote for the phony party of family values? Why do so many voters tend to be masochists?

Remember, “What does a sadist do to a masochist – NOTHING!”

But in this case the sadistic tendencies of the ‘right’ are doing quite a bit to the electorate.

The middle class and poor have been used as wallets from which the wealthy and large corporations have dipped into as needed.

In order to get policies in place to help the majority of Americans it will take a touch less spending on foreign wars and defense as well as a bit more tax revenue overall.

Let’s see if we can help the lives and livelihood of the American voters as much as we appear to be trying to help the rest of the world. Don’t stop foreign aid but at least match it with the same fervor here.

And when it comes to taxes simple minded logic will say that a one dollar increase from three hundred million Americans should hurt less than a three hundred million increase from one guy! But anyone with a modicum of intelligence knows that percentages of wealth will show the fallacy in that thinking.

The pessimist in me feels I may never be able to rise out of bed totally pain free again but a tiny optimistic voice is wondering if I could cure the pain for less than a co-pay large enough to fund the CEO’s next vacation home.

Oh well, it look as though I’m in the market for a new mattress!