How far we have fallen...

[Javaman]

I took a flight this past weekend. American Airlines. Once upon a time back in the "smoking section" days (cough cough), even in coach, I would get a full meal and a movie. This past weekend, they now charge for a sandwich with a fancy name that basically boiled down to ham and cheese. Movies vanished a long time ago.

This to me is only a metaphor as to how far down the economical/social hole we have fallen.

Under the republicans: the cost of living had gone up, yet the wages in this nation had been stagnant and/or dropped for the past 30 years. The have-even-mores, had gotten massive tax cuts, corps were given carte blanche with off shoring, and because of trickle down-my-leg economics, the gap between the rich and the poor has increased several hundred times. Hell, some corps don't even pay taxes.

So we bitch and complain about how life sucks in this recession/depression, but we must never ever forget to hang this mess on the republicans every chance we get.
It's their legacy of rewarding the rich, it's their legacy of screwing the poor, it's their legacy for throwing the workers of this nation to the wolves. This must never return.

The repukes will whine that Obama is all talk or the blue dogs will whine that he's just as bad as moron*. That's nothing more than smoke and mirrors to distract from the main issue. The republicans can try and slice and dice there way out of this mess by using smoke screen after smoke screen to obscure their legacy of screw ups, but don't let them. They put us here. Period.

If our wages had actually kept up with the standard of living, if the unions weren't systematically dismantled under the right wing propaganda, if our health care wasn't sold to the highest bidding insurance corp or pharma corp, just imagine what our society would have looked like today?

Strong unions would have likely prevented the whole sale off shoring of jobs, our wages would actually match our standard of living, in turn, we would have kept money in our economy to maintain infrastructure. The insurance/pharma corps would have to actually compete for our business (instead of it being forced down our throats as take it or leave it) and we may had national health care.

The list goes on and on.

But here we are.

The slow disintegration of our basic needs. The basic supports have eroded.
The economic gap between rich and poor increased.

If we had continued to support unions, to have our wages reflect the growing standard of living, if we had given our nation health care, we as a nation would be in a much better situation.

The story of my 6 dollar ham and cheese sandwich with a fancy name on an over priced flight to see my mom, wouldn't exist. We as a nation would be able to afford it. But not just that, the airlines would be able to provide what they used to provide.

It was these same corps that followed the republican mantra for years in a quest of making bigger and bigger bucks now find themselves in a bad spot, yet they are in a wonderment over how they got here. They are so far removed from reality. The reality of working families trying to make ends meet on a salary that is either at or just above the poverty level.

Will their learn from their ignorance? Probably not, but we the people have to school them. And not allow the laze fare corporate big business as usual attitude to continue.

We have fallen so far down the rabbit hole on so many issues and in whatever form the "recovery" exists, business will not be as usual. And hopefully won't be big business as we knew it, ever again.

[ConcernedCanuk]

1. USA's problems? - that money-sucking genocidal War-machine

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Shut that sucker down and there will be lots of money for making the USA a decent place live

Trouble is,

there are billionaires that will NOT let that War-Machine die.

Figure it out, it's time for the USAmerican peasants to revolt, OR

just continue living as they are and keep whining . . .

[Javaman]

4. oh it started long before our current two wars. nt

[ConcernedCanuk]

5. I agree

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[Greyhound]

7. You're right, but just try getting the sheeple off their couches.

We've lost even the semblance of representation to both branches of the corporate party and the "average American" can't spell independence, let alone understand the concept.

And Canada isn't interested in middle-aged refugees.

[monmouth]

2. Ah Javaman, I always look forward to your most interesting posts

but this one is exceptional. My son in Jersey opted to drive down to Florida to see me only because the costs of flight and rent the car were exorbient without any great return. I wish you would send this on to Keith. It really says it all, and that $6 ham sandwich at least deserved some Grey Poupon. Thank you again, so well said.

[havocmom]

3. Well said. K & R

:thumbsup:

[dugaresa]

6. My first job out of college had free healthcare and it was good healthcare

the kind where you could go anywhere and get seen by a Dr. and not have to pay a time.

I pay well over $500 a month now (for my share of the cost) and I have an HMO that most good doctors won't accept because they are horrible at reimbursement.

[Javaman]

8. Oh I know what you mean...

remember 100% coverage for both health and dental? LOL ahh the good old days before asshole reagan.