"All those facts and figures reinforce what most people already know: The middle class took this recession right on the chin while the rich suffered no more than a glancing blow. And yet somehow in Washington the talk is all about tax cuts for rich people."
"This is how absurd our national conversation has become. We’re actually fighting over whether we should borrow hundreds of billions of dollars and give that money to the only group of people in the country who are already back on track. Instead of focusing on a policy that would exclusively benefit those who make more than $250,000 a year we should be discussing how to get wages and middle-class incomes rising again, the best ways to bring people out of poverty, and what we can do to address the ever-widening disparities between the super-rich and everyone else."
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Talking about getting our priorities straight, last night I watched a replay of Republican Candidate for Governor - Meg Whitman tell a young "undocumented" student that Whitman would remove her from the university (note: this particular student was valedictorian of her high school graduating class).
The next question came from a University of California student who said that because her parents were not legal immigrants, she would be unable to pursue the career path to fulfill her dream. She asked whether candidates would support “the federal Dream Act that would help students that are in my same situation and place to get, be on the path to legalization?”
Brown said he supports the federal Dream Act and also the state Dream Act. “Our current governor just vetoed a proposal and I would have signed that bill,” he said. “Now Ms. Whitman goes beyond opposing the Dream Act, she wants to kick you out of this school because you are not documented and that is wrong, morally and humanely.”
Whitman, who has stated she opposes college for children of undocumented immigrants, congratulated the student on her success in getting a K-12 education “even though you are undocumented. But she said California faces challenges. “Our resources are scarce. We are in terrible economic times and slots have been eliminated at the California State University system. I think they're down by 40,000 students. The same is true at the CSU and the University of California system. Programs have been cut and California citizens have been denied admission to these universities.” Whitman added that she doesn’t believe allowing undocumented immigrants to attend college is fair to California citizens. “So I would not be for the California Dream Act or for the federal Dream Act,” she concluded.
It got me to thinking about Whitman's statement that "our resources are scarce".
The irony of Meg Whitman - Billionaire, telling a struggling College Student that, as a society, resources are scarce is repugnant. Resources are scarce because income has been redistributed upwards over the last 30 years, while tax rates on the same wealthy people have gone down over the last 30 years.
Meg Whitman, so far has spent 120 million dollars on her campaign. For that 120 Million, at 20 grand per year, you could educate 1,500 "illegals" in the California University system.
I doubt if there are currently 100 "illegals" in the university system.
We don't have the resources cause all the money is going to the wealthy....and now they are buying our democracy, directly by running for office, or indirectly by campaign contributions, with this money.
The Democrats are as much owned by the wealthy and powerful as the Republicans. I thought this would start to meaningfully change under Obama, but it hasn't. His presidency has not been that different from a third term of G. W. Bush.
Two wars - still going
Wall Street - Bonuses, Baby, Bonuses
Medicare Part D - Obama Care (both great for the established interests)
Until we address, on a very fundamental level, the growing disparity in income between those in the top 1% and those in the bottom 50%, our democracy will continue to devolve into an oligarchy, run by and for the benefit of the very wealthy and their benefactors.
I may need to rethink my position on "second amendment remedies" ;-).
TT
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