I live in very middleclass area. Plumbers, Carpenters, electricians,
and every other blue collar type predominately populate our area.
Throw in a healthy dose of cops, firemen, and other public workers and I’d say we have just about every union represented in our quaint little town. If the collective was asked I’m sure they would describe themselves as extremely conservative. “I carry a copy to the constitution in my pocket!” is a commonly heard phrase.
As the political landscape in this country evolves and we
get ever closer to the November elections I find myself, when sitting in public
places, overhearing the conversations around me and quite frankly I just can’t
understand where the reasoning comes from. Here are some of the things I hear
in no particular order and why I simply can’t understand what makes them feel
this way:
I can’t believe that my taxes are gong to be raised by Obamacare! –
They’re not unless:
A: You refuse to get health insurance by 1/1/2014
or
B: You earn more than 200K a year in which your taxes will go up less than one percent (.09%).
Very few of the people I hear complaining make close to that kind of
money. The cost of insurance will be driven down and state insurance exchanges
will be set up to help drive those costs down and to provide an affortable alternative
to going it alone. Here is more information on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,
otherwise known as Obamacare.
http://www.healthcare.gov/
Why should I have to pay for someone else’s healthcare! –
That's what the government is trying to PREVENT. Under the current system the uninsured show up
in emergency rooms when the problem could have been treated earlier and much
cheaper. They can’t pay so the hospital absorbs the cost resulting in higher
healthcare cost for the rest of us.
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2011pres/05/20110510a.html
If the president would just let them drill drill drill gas prices would be lower! –
Domestic oil production is higher than it has been in years yet prices are still through the roof. Why? Oil is a global market. Unrest in the Middle East can cause prices to soar globally which has a huge effect on the price at the pump. In addition to that, Wall Street speculators are allowed to wheel and deal with oil prices
resulting in much higher prices. Put a tight leash on oil speculators and prices will fall.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/us-oil-production-gas-prices-high/story?id=16186002
http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-18560_162-4707770.html
If we tax the “Job Creators” it will result in higher unemployment! –
This has got to be my favorite. “Job Creators”, what a joke. 10 years of huge tax cuts for the wealthy and where are all the jobs? I’ll tell you. They are in China, India, Mexico, and anywhere else Corporate America is free to exploit and pollute in the name of cheap consumer products. The wealthy pay an average 14% on their income while all the people I hear complaining are paying 22 to 36. Republicans have been pushing trickle down economics for years. The only thing that trickles down is …..
http://robertreich.org/post/11329289033
Almost half the U.S. population doesn’t pay taxes at all! –
Yes. Those people are called the poor. What you should be outraged at is the fact that this number is growing every day at a very alarming rate.
http://americanpoverty.org/
This country simply can’t afford to keep paying welfare! –
These people get so offended at the poor needing help yet you show them a list of corporations that pay 0 in taxes and help themselves to billions of dollars of OUR hard earned money in the form of subsides and tax loopholes and they are totally ok with it. A single mother who works two jobs but still needs help feeding her children is offensive but fortune 500 companies can pick our pockets all day long without issue. The welfare that we simply cannot afford anymore is the billions of dollars we blindly hand to corporate America. They horde all the profits for a select few at the top, ship our jobs overseas, take away benefits that were promised, and undercut our way of life. They continue to socialize ther losses and privatize their profits.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/03/us-usa-tax-corporate-idUSTRE7A261C20111103
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/report-26-us-companies-negative-average-federal-income/story?id=16111671
These are just a few of the things I hear every day at the diner, grocery store, or any other local gathering place.
They deliver their sermons with vigor and conviction. They unknowingly preach the gospel of their own downfall while
parading ignorance and hypocrisy as if it were a virtue.
I’ll end with a quote from poet Charles Bukowski,
“The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubt while the stupid ones are full of confidence.”
and every other blue collar type predominately populate our area.
Throw in a healthy dose of cops, firemen, and other public workers and I’d say we have just about every union represented in our quaint little town. If the collective was asked I’m sure they would describe themselves as extremely conservative. “I carry a copy to the constitution in my pocket!” is a commonly heard phrase.
As the political landscape in this country evolves and we
get ever closer to the November elections I find myself, when sitting in public
places, overhearing the conversations around me and quite frankly I just can’t
understand where the reasoning comes from. Here are some of the things I hear
in no particular order and why I simply can’t understand what makes them feel
this way:
I can’t believe that my taxes are gong to be raised by Obamacare! –
They’re not unless:
A: You refuse to get health insurance by 1/1/2014
or
B: You earn more than 200K a year in which your taxes will go up less than one percent (.09%).
Very few of the people I hear complaining make close to that kind of
money. The cost of insurance will be driven down and state insurance exchanges
will be set up to help drive those costs down and to provide an affortable alternative
to going it alone. Here is more information on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,
otherwise known as Obamacare.
http://www.healthcare.gov/
Why should I have to pay for someone else’s healthcare! –
That's what the government is trying to PREVENT. Under the current system the uninsured show up
in emergency rooms when the problem could have been treated earlier and much
cheaper. They can’t pay so the hospital absorbs the cost resulting in higher
healthcare cost for the rest of us.
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2011pres/05/20110510a.html
If the president would just let them drill drill drill gas prices would be lower! –
Domestic oil production is higher than it has been in years yet prices are still through the roof. Why? Oil is a global market. Unrest in the Middle East can cause prices to soar globally which has a huge effect on the price at the pump. In addition to that, Wall Street speculators are allowed to wheel and deal with oil prices
resulting in much higher prices. Put a tight leash on oil speculators and prices will fall.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/us-oil-production-gas-prices-high/story?id=16186002
http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-18560_162-4707770.html
If we tax the “Job Creators” it will result in higher unemployment! –
This has got to be my favorite. “Job Creators”, what a joke. 10 years of huge tax cuts for the wealthy and where are all the jobs? I’ll tell you. They are in China, India, Mexico, and anywhere else Corporate America is free to exploit and pollute in the name of cheap consumer products. The wealthy pay an average 14% on their income while all the people I hear complaining are paying 22 to 36. Republicans have been pushing trickle down economics for years. The only thing that trickles down is …..
http://robertreich.org/post/11329289033
Almost half the U.S. population doesn’t pay taxes at all! –
Yes. Those people are called the poor. What you should be outraged at is the fact that this number is growing every day at a very alarming rate.
http://americanpoverty.org/
This country simply can’t afford to keep paying welfare! –
These people get so offended at the poor needing help yet you show them a list of corporations that pay 0 in taxes and help themselves to billions of dollars of OUR hard earned money in the form of subsides and tax loopholes and they are totally ok with it. A single mother who works two jobs but still needs help feeding her children is offensive but fortune 500 companies can pick our pockets all day long without issue. The welfare that we simply cannot afford anymore is the billions of dollars we blindly hand to corporate America. They horde all the profits for a select few at the top, ship our jobs overseas, take away benefits that were promised, and undercut our way of life. They continue to socialize ther losses and privatize their profits.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/03/us-usa-tax-corporate-idUSTRE7A261C20111103
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/report-26-us-companies-negative-average-federal-income/story?id=16111671
These are just a few of the things I hear every day at the diner, grocery store, or any other local gathering place.
They deliver their sermons with vigor and conviction. They unknowingly preach the gospel of their own downfall while
parading ignorance and hypocrisy as if it were a virtue.
I’ll end with a quote from poet Charles Bukowski,
“The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubt while the stupid ones are full of confidence.”