Dreams, But Why Bother!

We seem to always have a political treatise or memoir hitting the book stands.  Most of them are self-serving and annoying.  But the number one job of a politician is to keep his job and basically not give a damn about yours!

A while ago a man who currently resides in the White House wrote a personal book that was not meant to garner him political gains, at least not yet.  The book was a big seller made even bigger with his eventual rise in World prominence.

This post merely uses his title to play off and it is with some small apologies to Mr. Obama that I do so.

But frankly it fits with the current atmosphere of America so...

In America we are all given a fair chance to succeed.  This is what we have commonly called the American Dream.

And we want that America Dream for ourselves and even more so for our children.

But just what is The Dream?

Back in 1928 it was simply a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage as then candidate Herbert Hoover pronounced.

Sadly after winning by a landslide over Alfred Smith he and his Republican Party could not deliver on his great claims. Funny that from them not much has changed in that department in the 4 score and 6 years since.

In fact the only thing great about his Presidency turned out to be the Great Stock Market crash and subsequent Great Depression.

The American Dream then became a next meal and a roof over one’s head.

Millions were out of work and looking to Washington for help.

Mr. Hoover did get some small accomplishments during his tenure such as increasing our Nation’s National Park footprint but basically far too little to help those who found themselves on the ground, literally!

It was the Great Depression that outlasted him and catapulted Franklin Delano Roosevelt into the White House.

And after several social programs were put in place by Mr. Roosevelt the nation appeared to be headed back in the right direction.

But we still needed something more.

And we got that nudge when Germany and Japan decided to take over the world.

World War II turned our economy around and it only took the lives of some 60 million people worldwide to do so.

Naturally there were many in politics upon whom that fact was not lost.  I mean the first part, the part about the economy, although the collateral damage probably slipped into their equation at some point.

These, for lack of a better term, war mongers realized the monetary benefit of war.  Of course only if they did not have to fight it themselves.

Former General Eisenhower famously warned about these hawk archetypes in his Presidential farewell speech when he coined the phrase, the vast industrial military complex.

And today that vast industrial military complex sucks the air out of America in many ways.

When the right wing continues to kow tow to their owners in the 1% by lowering their taxes while keeping the middle class down there is only one thing the country can do and that’s cut services!

Now of course you may say that we are all affected by service cuts but be real!  The uber wealthy do not need publicly funded services when they can literally buy an island with the petty cash in their pockets.

So service cuts hurt, harm and eventually kill the poor and middle class.

And let’s face it, when you’re dead the American dream is the least of your worries!

So we may still dream but between the Republican Party trying to gerrymander Democrats out of existence and the wealthy pulling the strings behind them there isn’t really any chance of a Disney ending for most Americans.

We will go into the big sleep with only our dreams perchance to keep our hopes alive.

Rudyard Kipling wrote “If you can dream—and not make dreams your master…“

Well we can dream but unless and until the American voter wakes up from their stupor and realizes what a terrible blight the Republican Party has become we shall only have dreams without any hope of achieving them.

And until then I must admit, Dreams? Why bother!

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!

BLUE AMERICA

I'm dreaming of a Blue America
Just like the one we never knew
Where we all get healthcare
And salaries are fair
And leaders only say what's true

I'm dreaming of a Blue America
So that our kids will grow up strong
They will end each school year
With no murder or gun fear
And we can all just get along

SO I'm dreaming of a Blue America
With every post or tweet I write
It's an uphill battle with the 'right'
May Blue America turn all your futures bright!

(Sure hope I didn't offend Mr. Berlin or Bing.)

Why Do Costs Rise?

We have come to expect rising costs as the reason suppliers are charging us more for just about everything we purchase.

But we should look into the reasons and not take them as gospel without analysis.

What actually causes costs to rise?

The first thing we are told is the age old ‘Supply and Demand’ mantra of all ‘for profit’ businesses.

The ‘market conditions’ reason is a valid one.  But it’s sadly one that can easily be manipulated and ultimately confuse most consumers.

In our current world the forces of ‘supply and demand’ have become less of a real reason and much more of an excuse as corporations gather more profit with less expenditure.

Increased worker productivity caused by the fear of being laid off has made corporations lean and mean and hungry for more.

And together with a historically high unemployment rate, at least in longevity has given the greedy CEO a vast worker pool from which to choose his next nervous slave.

And speaking of the money made as a result of that increased productivity just where did it go?

Certainly not into salaries or new hires as unemployment has not really seen lower numbers for a long time.

So the extra cash is being funneled back into the pockets of the job non-creators!

As for a perfect example of price increases due to greed let’s do a quick review about the price of oil and gas.

In January 2009 the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $1.60. Today it hovers and fluctuates in the upper $3.60 range and has been as high as $5 in some regions with oil as high as $7.50!

That would be all well and good if the industry raking in the big bucks for their environmentally polluting product was at least paying taxes on their windfall profit but they are not.

And not only do they get a pass from the IRS they receive funding from our tax dollars in the form of congressionally approved subsidies.

To do what with you might ask?

We are told they need it for research and development or R&D.

Really?

I think Rape and Destroy would fit better in that industry.

And why use tax payer dollars when you are the most profitable industry in the history of mankind?

What they are doing with our money is researching new and improved ways of blocking the implementation of clean alternative energy.  They see the alternatives as a major threat to their profit margin.

They are correct!

But as long as they continue to own Congress and fund lobbyists who wine, dine and basically bribe our so-called leaders the World will not soon get out from under the murderous thumb of big oil.

And I am not even talking about the prolific oil spill damage these uncaring corporations are wantonly causing through neglect and sweetheart lax regulations.

So the increased prices consumers must pay for fossil fuels are not caused by a struggling industry just trying to stay afloat in a sea of oil spills and red tape governmental regulations but rather the greed of a few mega-millionaires at the top who are unsatisfied with their meager take home pay.

You see after getting used to a certain level of affluence the human spirit will always want more.  It is in our nature to exceed our current standing and succeed at whatever we choose to do.

A corporation will want more profit year after year and there should be nothing wrong with that.

But the way in which they go about this search for more almighty dollars has become vulgar.

There are only a few ways to realize a higher profit margin.

A company may:

1 - Cut costs by laying off workers

2 – Or by lowering benefits (assuming there are any)

3 – Or by cheapening the product, even further than you have done already

4 – Or by increasing the selling price.

But reality soon sets in and most if not all businesses will implement all four of the above suggestions.

Success for today’s ultra conservative business people is a larger piece of every pie.  And they feel entitled to this ever since they saw the banks get bailed out for their anti-social behavior.

So in conclusion, why do costs rise?

Actually the answer is, why not?

Nyah Nyah
Keep voting Republican

Until and unless big business is forced to play by any rules there is no hope of this trend ending.

If forced to answer the question what would they admit is the reason they raise the price of everything you need?

It’s BWC baby, Because We Can and you can’t stop us!

This is greed plain and simple and the financial rape of the very people they consider to be their customers.

And the evil frustrating ever increasing wealth gap this causes is growing as we speak and threatens to take down America as we know it, or rather knew it.

A WINTER'S LAMENT - REVISITED!

This winter keeps on going

All the trucks and cars have stopped

Once again the precips falling

Once again New York’s been popped

The people drudge through snow drifts

          That could make a grown man cry

They lift their heads for guidance

          But get snowflakes in their eye

The forecast is horrendous

          I can’t bring myself to look

When it’s time to watch the weather

          I just open up a book

Maybe I should hibernate

          Those bears have got it right

Then let it sleet and snow and rain

          I’ll sleep through day and night

But come next year I’m out of here

          The South is where I’ll go

If Punxsutawney Phil gets up

          And sees his darn shadow!

THE WINTER THAT JUST WOULDN’T QUIT

The children all frolicked the grownups were stunned

They lived in a place in which springtime had shunned

Surely the flowers and warmth would return

Wouldn’t you love to have one more sunburn?

But the cold front refused to move even one bit

In this horrible Winter that just wouldn’t quit.

The view was idyllic with white all around

On houses and trees and of course on the ground

They shoveled their walks and they shoveled their drives

Clearing paths through the snow had become now their lives

Tired and achy they wanted to sit

In this horrible Winter that just wouldn’t quit.

We’re sure that we could like this bright wonderland

If it were on schedule or it had been planned

But it came out of nowhere this soft furry blight

And it’s driving us mad and there’s no end in sight

We pray to the heavens “Please rid us of it.”

“This horrible Winter that just will not quit.”

                                 

                             

The sun gave no heat as it rose in the sky

And the people looked upward and said “Why, oh why?”

They all hoped the temperature’s numbers would gain

“Oh rid us of snow and please bring us sweet rain”

But their prayers went unanswered and that’s just the pits

“Our lives are on hold until this winter quits.

The schools are all closed and the kids are about

We love them all dearly but we want them out

Our days are spent plowing in the front, sides and back

And at night we’re exhausted as we hit the sack

Our home is our universe and with warm fire lit

We hide from this Winter that just will not quit.

We’ve given up hope and accepted our fate

We grin and we bear it we just sit and wait

The Jet Stream, El Niño, the Ozone and such

Can’t seem to help us and don’t matter much

There’s no use complaining no need for a snit

This horrible Winter? It just will not quit!

                                

                             

The people did walk and did slide and did fall

As they all met together at good old Town Hall

The Mayor announced in a voice loud and clear

“I cannot remember such a terrible year

We must work on a cure to our town’s awful fit

And survive through this Winter which just will not quit.”

And we argued and talked about what could be done

While the children were outside and having such fun

Then the Mayor’s wife offered a thought bold and new

“We’ll put on a show.” She said “That’s what we’ll do.”

And shortly thereafter we all planned a skit

To defy this cruel Winter which just wouldn’t quit.

The town pulled together.  We worked hard and late

We swore that our show would be no less than great

With scenery, dancing, some songs and a band

Our spirits were lifted.  We all felt quite grand

We poured in our hearts and our souls and our wit

And made fun of this Winter which just would not quit.

 

We did have one fear, an unspoken fright

That we’d be alone here on opening night

But the curtain went up without one empty seat

“We did it” We cried “What a wonderful feat”

We put on a show and that show was a hit

And we laughed at the Winter which just wouldn’t quit.

Our play was rewarded with such a long run

That all failed to note that a thaw had begun

And as winter ebbed over each hill and dale

We all were quite certain that we heard it wail

“You people have shown me you all have true grit

And I won’t stick around in a town that won’t quit.”

                             

TAX FAIRNESS IS NOT CLASS WARFARE

SHOCKER #1: EVERYONE IN AMERICA WHO PAYS INCOME TAXES PAYS THEM AT THE SAME RATE AS WARREN BUFFET!!

SHOCKER #2: OUR TAXES MUST GO UP OR AMERICA IS DOOMED TO A LONG BUT AVOIDABLE RECESSION!!

Wait a second, did you just say we pay the same amount as Warren Buffet and you want us to pay HIGHER taxes???
Are you out of your mind???

America has a graduated tax rate system so your taxes are figured out by a simple scale that increases ONLY for the higher amounts you earn.
Now when I say simple I merely mean the final tax rate percentage.  I am of course not counting all the sadly legal loopholes that aide and abet the wealthiest among us to negate most if not all of their fair share of America's tax burden.
Again and simply stated no matter who you are when you figure out your FINAL & ADJUSTED INCOME your taxes will be the same as anyone else with that same figure!
One main problem with our tax system, other than those loopholes that allow THE MOST PROFITABLE CORPORATION EVER to avoid paying a penny in income taxes (you know who you are Exxon) is that the top rates were not raised when President Bush and his cronies refused to fund his and Cheney's vendetta against the wrong nation for the 911 attacks.
Bush's brain conceived Bush's war as a way to get oil and help Cheney and many Republican friendly corporations make fortunes. BUT the wars were never funded with higher taxes.
This was unheard of in the past and has caused our economy to falter and nearly break for millions of lower income families not to mention all the lives lost as a result of Bush's folly.
But since we do not have the luxury afforded Marty in Back to the Future II and cannot return to before let's try to move on and fix things from THIS reality.
It's not too late to stop killing the Middle Class and poor by throwing them under the bus or ignoring them completely.
Taking away their ability to earn a living by allowing the wealthiest business owners to pay them far less than they deserve for their hard and loyal work is not only unfair it borders on criminal!
And to make matters worse those same business owners continue to get tax breaks from the Republican Party.  This causes the Federal Government to step in and try to save the lives of those put upon by this treatment with food stamp programs and financial aid.  And then to make this bad situation worse than imaginable the Republicans then blame the poor for being poor and demand the aid be cut off!
One guesses they want that aid money to fund more tax breaks for their 'job creating' friends in big business.
The easy fix to this mounting problem is to get more money into the coffers of the United States.
This can be done by raising the top tax brackets in a gradual manner until an equilibrium can be reached somewhere between the all out greed of the wealthiest and their funded friends in Congress and the needs of the vast majority of suffering TAX-PAYING, VOTING citizens of America.
Most of us would then still be paying THE SAME TAX RATE AS WARREN BUFFETT up to what we make but the Warren Buffetts of America would be paying a higher amount of taxes ONLY ON THE MONEY THEY MAKE OVER THAT!
For some reason too many people do not understand that raising the top tax rate does not adversely affect the poor and lower middle class.  In fact it helps them greatly by putting more of the burden of running America on the shoulders of those who can MOST afford it without flinching; those who made their fortunes as a result of America's climate and wonderful work force.
An extra $1,000 in taxes per year for 90% of us is followed by belt tightening and lower spending.
An extra $1,000 in taxes for wealthiest among us would be as annoying as swatting a fly, if even noticed.
I am not saying let's make them pay because they won't notice it, I am saying make them pay because THEY OWE IT TO THE  COUNTRY THAT ALLOWED THEM TO BECOME SO WEALTHY WITHOUT PAYING UP UNTIL NOW!!!
We cannot stop corporations from rewarding their own bad behavior by giving themselves more of the money they have kept or stolen from the government with lies and fraud but we sure as hell must start taxing those ill-gotten funds!
Case in point, J P Morgan Chase has had to pay BILLIONS in fines for frauds and God-awful behavior in the past decade as they have aided in the destruction of the middle class.  Mr. Jamie Dimon, the head of J P Morgan Chase just had his 2013 bonus doubled to $20,000,000.  For a job well done???
My proposal will naturally be ignored by those at the top and the members of Congress who have ignored the plight of the middle class and poor ever since President Obama took office but it is still worth noting.
IT'S NOT CLASS WARFARE - IT'S CLASS AND TAX FAIRNESS!

3 ECLECTIC YET MODEST PROPOSALS

Proposals for individuals and consumers:

1 – These days most shoppers check out the calorie count of any food they buy.

Some do it to make sure they aren’t taking in too many calories.  Others just make believe they know what they are looking at to impress other shoppers who blindly place anything colorful in their shopping carts.

But calorie counts are important and should be understandable and standardized so as to aid consumer value and worth.

For example a jar of Kalamata olives states that a serving will cost you 22 calories toward your daily intake.  But you then have to find out what the distributor considers a serving. In this case that turns out to be a mere 2 olives.

This is slightly more than the ‘betcha can’t eat just one’ company ad but trust me, nobody is going to just eat two of these tiny tasty morsels of Greek goodness.

In order to be fair across the full spectrum of edibles we should have a standard such as 100 calories just as coffee and other products now show ‘per pound’ pricing.

You may wish to buy an inexpensive can of coffee, sorry Starbucks, but when you visit the store you find cans of varying size and price with totally different amounts inside. One can contains 10.5 ounces while another 14!

Or you may visit a large box store such as Costco and find various brands on sale for 32.5 or 48 ounces.

And to make matters more confusing, the cans might even be the same size.

But the one thing all stores do, since it became a law, is to show the ‘per pound’ price so you can make an informed decision.

You will then note that the 48 ounce can at $9.99 is actually cheaper than the 32.5 ounce can for nearly $2½ less at $7.50! (Do the math yourself please – this post is long enough already!)

The same should be available to consumers, especially calorie conscious ones when it comes to buying food.

So in the case of those pesky but tasty olives noted above there would be another single piece of information provided on the label, the “100 calorie serving size.”

To wit: 100 Calories equals 9 olives.

Now you can eat those nine olives along with that tiny but popular bag of chips and a can of Pepsi One and only intake 201 calories!

Bon appétit!

2 – Finding expiration dates on food products should not require you to hire Sherlock Holmes.

Have you ever spent an inordinate amount of time searching the label on a can or a plastic bag for the suggested last date of sale?

Do you think the dates are placed in various places so as to make them easier for you to find?

Gallons of milk generally show the date near the top of the container and most consumers can find it quickly; pre-packaged plastic bags of lettuce or salads, not so much.

Have you ever opened a container of milk only to be hot with an odor reminiscent of that found in a coroner’s office?  It is not pleasant.

We should have uniformity for that most important date on all containers of perishables.

For example if the bag has a ‘zip top’ top the date must be clearly visible just below the tear zone and on the right side of the front of the package.

If the product is sold in a can the date must appear on the bottom so that when it is open the date is still available should the consumer not finish the contents in one sitting.

Of course if the contents are moved then all bets are off.

And any freshly baked bread sold in those open paper bags must show the date clearly near the opening lest the consumer be obliged to handle the product and move it around and over and touch it in many places to find the purposely hidden date which invariably is yesterday!

Still Good

3 – Finally since America is hell bent on turning our society into that of care givers or web-surfing consumers we must find a way to get money into the hands of the public so that they can still buy the products made by giant corporations in their overseas plants.

We know that the wealthiest among us find any governmental assistance to be anathema so the only solution is to pay people for either their work or their personal information or both!

The way things are now we get paid a salary or a commission or some form of payment for that which we do for a company.

But the thing those companies desire most of all, the thing they crave, that which they hire analysts and or geeks sitting in front of monitors in dark single room apartments all over the world is our habits, desires, wants, needs and especially our basic demographics.

In other words our personal information!

Many of us give it up freely if inadvertently by filling out forms for employment or a loyalty card at a national grocery store chain, or some absurd social media site created by a greedy somewhat evil troll who ruthlessly became a billionaire and a staunch Republican who now spends a great deal of time and money coming up with ways to make more money and keep the lowly users of his brainchild from getting ahead.

Okay the last rant may have been slightly over the top but trust me, only slightly!

When an actor is in a commercial or a television show the smarter ones with savvy agents make sure they are given contracts that include royalties.  The agent also gets an annuity this way so it is generally de rigueur.

This means the actor will get paid a minimum amount even after the first airing of the performance and every time that performance is aired ad infinitum.

For many actors it is their only form of pay and without it they would only get an initial check and be done while their work would continue to air forever making money for the producer and or the product involved.

Some form of payment should also be made to those of us whose information is sold from one corporation to another for monetary gain between them!

It is after all our information!

Our personal information!!

Or has the world of big business conveniently forgotten the word PERSONAL?

So consumers should be given a commission for every sale or use of their habits, movements or demographic info.

And there should be a way to track this exchange of information so that credits can be made for the poor unaware sap sitting at home who just got a ‘personal’ email from a company he never heard of that figured out he is just the type to desire and buy the brand new Vita-Meata-Vegamin product, even though he never knew it existed!

At least that way he might be able to afford the useless machine and pay for it out of his Monthly Personal Info Exchange (M-PIE) royalties.

LUUUUCY!!

If you find any of these ideas to your liking please feel free to forward them to the head of the Consumer Products Agency before it is de-funded.  And if you find none of the above to your liking have fun at your next fundraising event for Tea Party Republicans.