HuffPost's Howard Fineman appeared on MSNBC's "Countdown" Thursday night to discuss the decisive defeat of extended jobless benefits in the U.S. House of Representatives, the day after a new report from the Center for Responsive Politics revealed that nearly one in two members of Congress is a millionaire -- and most are getting richer.
"The members of Congress are insulated in many, many ways here," Fineman told host Keith Olbermann, referring to the suffering of middle-class Americans. "It's the nature of politics today, which ... favors wealthy people, number one."
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Why not quit paying all the politicans and take away their healtcare and benefits and see what we can get done..... Work for pay incentive to all politicans if they don't get what we want done, they do not get payed... Lets work on something other the food labling.
Because, that is where I see this country heading. It has truly become an issue of the "haves an have-nots." Even racism, has become a secondary issue. But, here's a thought that I've had for some time: why is it such a problem for the upper (fairly rich) 2 per cent of the population, to pay a little more in taxes? I mean, the operative word here is "RICH!" Right? Besides, with all the tax shelters, and tax loopholes that are provided for them, they will not feel this pinch, anyway.
If we are willing to spend 3 trillion dollars because 19 fanatics acted out, how much would we be willing to spend if 20 desperate Americans decided that taking things into their own hands was their last chance to make an impact on the world?
Maintaining a better social safety net is by far the cheaper alternative. Let's try prevention instead of overreaction just this one time.
Yet those same wealthiest believe that unemployment insurance for the desperate poor,should be allowed to expire - the richest corporate republicans tell us..
The TEN YEAR deficit raising tax cuts for the wealthiest have produced NO jobs for Americans - (But those same 10 year tax cuts that have made the rich so much richer, just as those same tax cuts for the rich have made our country poorer and deeper in debt).
Yet these same greedy republicans want unemployment insurance to expire for the poorest of poor and give hundreds of billions of our tax dollars to the greediest 2% who always want more and more and more......
These same greedy who don't want their billions of no job-producing tax cuts to expire on Dec 31st 2010.
But the rich do want the poorest unemployment insurance to expire ASAP!
As far a a poor person creating a job? Look at AG Bell, Hewlett and Packard, Henry Ford, Bill Gates etc. These were innovators who created products and put their ideas to work. All "backyard garage" start ups. They grew and hired people to fullfill their ideas, and most got wealthy doing it. But they all started as small entrepenuers...and borrowed the money to do it.
Another of those glib but empty phrases we hear often. Everyone I've ever known who started a business - creating jobs in the process - was virtually broke if not deep in hock for the first two years, even when those businesses, if they survived, became successful and profitable. And none of those people ever became "rich."
Incidentally, if the above-$250k tax cut is so important for creating jobs, what's been the problem for the past ten years?
Compromise is good when both sides came out of it with fair results. Anyone on the left feel like the compromises that the President made were even really required?
I like the President and I totally respect him, but I don't want him to compromise my future anymore. I want him to get in there and beat the sh!7 out of the Republicans!