Comments on: Star admits ties to Mayor’s office and Two Term Eddie

By: edwinpadilla

edwinpadilla — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:18:57 +0000

Inequality by the numbers
http://www.demos.org/inequality/numbers.cfm#1

By: edwinpadilla

edwinpadilla — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:27:43 +0000

Following historical patterns of inequality reveals that inequality last peaked (around current levels) in the late 1920s before the great depression. The great depression, and maybe the social awakening that resulted from it, dramatically reversed the rise of inequality. In fact, it is the demarcation point of a long-term decline in inequality that troughed in the mid 1970s. Since then, we’ve been in a long-term rise in inequality. Some would argue that over the last 4 decades inequality has been institutionalized.

Is the financial crisis (failure of our financial institutions) caused by inequality reaching its maximum?

Is this financial crisis a healthy cleansing of our imbalanced system?

Are efforts to prop-up the failed system counter-productive?

Are we in a new era of middle-class gains (future demographics also suggest this)?

By: jrlo

jrlo — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 13:24:42 +0000

The issue is confused and overly complicated so most people get easily distracted by mindless endless debate over “isms” of political ideology that have no meaning – our ‘Liberal’ and ‘Conservative’ opposed ideologies are really right and left wings of the same vulture, picking our bones.
There are only two classes of people – there is the ‘working’ class of people who produce real, tangible things and products, grow food, fish, work in factories, and then there is the parasite class of people who leech their nourishment and sustain their lives by feeding off the production of the worker class.
Marx and Ayn Rand would agree.
The parasite class has its collective jackboot on our collective necks, at present.
We need to lower wages.
We need to work harder. Longer. For less money. No benefits. No retirements.
We’ve had things far too good for far too long.
They have the middle classes believing the middle classes are the problem.
Although there is some truth to the environmental side of that argument, that we consume too much, blaming each other for wanting a medium standard of living for our families is not the solution.
In a nutshell we need some leaders who can think different.
But all we get is the same-old same-old big spending bonehead government solutions – the solution is always more bigger government, always growing the parasite.
They offer themselves as solution to the problems they create.

By: chrisschnurr

chrisschnurr — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:55:07 +0000

“It’s pathetic to watch low class cement heads conditioned by conservative blather about the evils of unions and ’socialism’ (every western democracy is ’socialist’) turn on their fellow working class citizens.”

Yes, Jrlo – my ‘favourite’ has been thus far, is “I don’t have it, why should you?” mentality.

My dad and his dad (and probably his dad when they moved to North America) have/had the belief that if you work hard, your rewards will be great.

Except when working hard becomes taboo and efforts to eke out some kind of ‘independent’ living are squashed. I can only point to what my folks are now going through, which I’ll share at another time.

Gord Henderson’s column today – a retired journalist, probably with his own pension and some form of benefits – speaks of the independent spirit of small business owners struggling.

With government created red tape; taxes; licensing requirements, regulations etc., small business owners (the hard working middle class) are continually assaulted under the yoke of government control.

Sure, we are told, it’s for the “greater good.” Of course, the greater good is defined by those ‘elites’ interested in protecting their interests usually at the expense of the ‘lower classe’s ‘interests’.

This is not to say, there cannot be some form of law and order. One professor said, you don’t want your neighbour building an oil refinery next door to your home, to exemplify this.

Individuals, generally, are quite resilient and creative when permitted to be so. My parents and grandparents were part of generations that built countries; built railines from the east to the west coast; that built today’s successful businesses – without PHd’s, MBA’s or LLB’s or the extensive rolls of red tape that choke us; control us and chain us under an emerging authoritarian regime (some would argue totalitarian).

Today, if corporate north america screws up, they line up at the public trough – Pandora’s Box has been opened.

If you or I screw up – we have to partake in a three-ring circus in an attempt to seek help – if we even get it at all.

So, we fight over the table scraps those in power throw our way.

And they smile.

It is the perfect distraction from what is happening – openly before our eyes.

Forced dependency. Or more simply, control.

Please sir, may I have another?

I know this sounds somewhat ‘radical’ as defined by those in power; but they are thoughts that have been knawing away at me for some time.

By: jrlo

jrlo — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 04:40:15 +0000

Squabbles with ‘citizens’ on the picket lines, guerrilla lawn mowing campaigns, cops promising to ‘crackdown’ on the ‘lawless’ unions, not to mention the hatred thrown at autoworker unions by the media and the general public, watch out!… the socialists are coming!
I really admire the way the power-elites have managed to turn the dunces against each other – noting all the hatred for unions they’ve been able to generate among underclass halfwits. The proles are so predictable, like Machiavelli said.
I suppose part of the problem is, we have a whole generation of young people born into a culture of entitlement and excess, they’ve never had to fight for anything in their whole lives. Education teaches them the way to ’success’ is through total submission to authority. Unions are a threat to the status quo authority, in higher edu critical thinking is displaced by ‘professional’ thinking – so authoritarians identify with the house-slave mentality toward the Master, rather than the lower working slave class to which they really belong.
It’s pathetic to watch low class cement heads conditioned by conservative blather about the evils of unions and ’socialism’ (every western democracy is ’socialist’) turn on their fellow working class citizens.
They know not what they do.