Killing The Golden Goose

[Me.]

I heard today that 70% of the economy/budget is dependant on spending by everyday Americans, that is to say, the middle class. For all their millions and billions the 2% is not the life support of the country. Yet, what do we have? Wages being cut, jobs being lost, no relief or support by those who can, not on Wall Street, the government or in the WH. They'll do their best to take away all life supports including SS and pensions that were earned but are now being reneged on. What they don't seem to get is that if fridges are not being bought, nor anything else, there will come a time when there are no pockets for Them to pick. The only ones left for them to turn on will be themselves.

It's pretty simple, the better we do the better they do. And while they may not understand this now, without us, they can't survive.

[Demeter]

1. It's Dead, Jim

[BeHereNow]

33. ROLF!!! Keyboard spew warning!

Shame on you- luckily my ice tea glass is empty at the moment.
BHN

[Confusious]

35. Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not an economist!!! Nt

[BootinUp]

36. nor a brick layer!

[Wednesdays]

37. Not a milkman!

...what does that mean? :rofl:

[BootinUp]

38. "I'm a doctor, not a brick layer!"

from the episode The Devil in The Dark :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p172X79RjRo

[BootinUp]

39. oh geez

I can't stop laughing.

[liberal N proud]

2. For years, I have asked the question

When there is no one left working in America, who will buy their shit?

We are almost there, almost there.

[Me.]

5. Short Term Gain Blinders

The myth that Wall Street and the upper echelons of business represent the brightest and the best is just that. They're just a bunch of lucky guys who gamed the system and were/are ruthless enough to knock off anyone who got/gets in their way. But there's something else they should be aware of. People get desperate when their children are starving. If they can figure out a long term strategy it better be permanent residence in their chateaux and chalets.

[The Wizard]

27. Desperate people

do desperate things. The Interstate Highway system makes for easy access to the wealthy suburbs from the poverty stricken cities.

[PassingFair]

6. We will all sell cell phone plans to each other and...

live off the fat of the land.

[Hannah Bell]

47. they don't need people here to buy their shit; they can sell it elsewhere.

[applegrove]

3. You know where the USA is headed? To be like Mexico where rich

people need armed guards for their kids or else they'll be kidnapped. Where people are so poor and upward mobility so impossible that huge numbers of people turn to insidious crime. That is what the USA will look like. Sounds like fun doesn't it...not.

[Hawkowl]

26. That is indeed the plan

People think of Mexico as a very poor country. It is not. It is just a country with massive income inequality.

[applegrove]

40. Yup. 1/3 of the people of Mexico are rich. 2/3 are poor. And there is

no chance of 'making it' if you are poor.

[sandnsea]

4. The 2% seem to be okay

I think the top 10% are okay.

I think they're selling to each other.

I don't think they care how poor the rest of us get.

[Quantess]

29. No, actually, the bottom 9% of the top 10% are slipping downward, too.

It's the top 100th of the top 1% that are raking it in.

[Me.]

32. Yep

You know when Tiffany's isn't making their quarterly nut some people are no longer getting bonuses.

[Quantess]

41. But of course, the higher echelons of the top 100th of the 1%

like 1/10,000 of the top 1% are celebrating at our expense, looting our nation, trashing our earth, and laughing at all of our demise.

Forget 2%. Forget even 1%. Most of those relatively wealthy people are here in the same sinking ship.

The people who are in control of the media, in control of government, are behind the scenes. But do not doubt for a moment that they own everything. And no, that is not a tinfoil hat theory. Go ahead and question this assertion. I would love to hear any arguments.

[rhett o rick]

7. Capitalist never look at the long haul. nm

[Me.]

8. That Has Become Abundantly Clear

The masters of the universe are stuffed full of straw.

[readmoreoften]

9. It structurally can't. It's blind to the long haul.

It needs short term expansion to survive. At any cost. Commodities=finance. No regard to use value. If capital can make a profit this year by harvesting the organs of next years consumers, it'll do it.

[rhett o rick]

12. Agree. nm

[autorank]

10. This is the BIG question

I asked someone who should know and got a very interesting answer. Mike, the guy said, they don't care about
money. They have more than they'll ever need. It's fear that drives them. They're afraid that we'll figure
it all out and come after them. That's why the beat down is so intense.

Makes sense to me.

[Me.]

11. Now That's Interesting

And what are the odds that their fears will become actualized?

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. the larger the gap the better the chance

Fear is irrational though.

[Me.]

17. But It Comes Naturally To Them

For they are irrational people

[autorank]

22. Right

Their irrationality drives them to take actions, i.e., destroying the middle class, that will produce
the very result that they fear.

If we had a truly fair society and some crooks walked off with their money (it should be confiscated), people
would just move on and be happy. But nooooo...we have to deal with their destructive paranoia.

[Me.]

34. Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?

[Me.]

13. Wow . There Must Be A Bankster Claque Running Wild Around Here Tonight

5 Rs gone the way of our country's treasury in minutes

[autorank]

23. That's a cheap shot

Wonder how many there would be if people had to comment;)

[Flying Squirrel]

14. That actually doesn't quite make sense

because people were comfortable enough before, not to revolt; and the direction we're heading will clearly lead to a revolution.

BUT

Possibly not if they can turn the country into a fascist state first.

And we all know how fascist Germany started - economic instability, then blame it on the Other within.

Hence the Mosque controversy. It wouldn't surprise me if those who want fascism actually engineered this event somehow. If not, they were certainly watching and waiting for the right moment, and this was it.

[autorank]

21. They're always afraid because they know what they're doing

It's an interesting approach to analysis - and there are multiple layers. But it is hard to fit the destruction of the middle class in the picture without some non financial motive.

The Mosque affair is tragic. I think you may be onto something. It really ginned up when Obama let it be known that he was NOT going to be railroaded into an attack on Iran. This may serve two purposes - get that going from a different angle and create the conditions for more fascism. Thank God for people like Mayor Bloomberg who is terrific on this issue (saw him on Steward, excellent interview).

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rep/wikileaks-cia-release.html

[Me.]

31. You Mean They Actually Have A Conscience And Are Therefore Capable Of Guilt?

I credited them with being more amoral than that.

[autorank]

45. It's a reptilian brain thing

It's their nature.

[earth mom]

28. The French have it right-the powers that be are afraid of the people. nt

[BeHereNow]

42. Bingo-

That is precisely why the Patriot Act and the Homeland Security "bills"
were passed.

It was never about protecting us.
It was always about protecting them FROM us,
should we ever wake from the collective delusion.

Sadly, they had nothing to worry about;
we are a culture/society of apathetic and ignorant fools.

BHN

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. At one point they did

And I say they stopped understanding this oh about 1985 at the latest.

It is also a conflict in US History... that puritanical fear of paying good wages to the "undeserving."

[DCKit]

18. Successful parasites kill their host slowly or not at all.

Our capitalist overlords are out of control and working toward their own extinction.

[HughBeaumont]

19. I said in another threat that the decline will stop when the first CEO is killed by an angry mob.

I always wondered . . . if I was a CEO, what would be in it for me, and speaking of fellow board members and the CEO community, to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs in the form of workers who have money to spend on MY products or services? What would be in it for me to eradicate my consumer base by firing my workers by the thousands???

[Me.]

20. That Is The Question, Isn't It?

[TheKentuckian]

24. The American middle class is being purposefully dismantled to be replaced by a more dispersed

and therefore less influential and dangerous to the upper crust middle class.

They aren't killing their goose but rather taming it. They will have all the customers they want and they will be less of a wild card of political influence by being scattered across the globe and constant witnesses of how good it is to be them which will tie them closer to the wealthy.

The masses of poor are a deterrent to getting to uppity, the new middle class will see millions in line to take their place and be more focused than ever on maintaining position rather than seeking more.

[bvar22]

25. I Recced, but disagree.

The Elite Lords (top 1/2%) lived very well during the Gilded Age.
They will also do well during the approaching New Depression.
I'm talking about the handful of people who will own everything.

Those now living in Gated Communities who think they are "rich" will be eaten first.

[Me.]

30. All Viewpoints Welcome Especially If They Come With An R

:evilgrin:

[Quantess]

43. I am sorry to tell you this, but I know millionaires who are suffering.

Is this such a stupid surprise, that to kill the upper-uppermost-middle class means a death to us all?

[Hannah Bell]

48. millionaires aren't middle class.

[upi402]

44. sold the rope to hang us all. n/t

[Hannah Bell]

46. the top 5% does 1/3 of consumer spending. they don't need us.