The Republican War Against Jobs
Never has the avarice of the Republican party been more nakedly displayed than in the contemptuous disdain that Governors Haley Barbour and Bobby Jindal displayed in declaring that they will refuse to accept large portions of the unemployment package for fear that they would increase the employment tax paid by business. Usually, the GOP condemns the unemployed as shiftless, lazy slobs who simply need to get off their duff and find a job. Now that Obama is holding out the opportunity to help bail out the states and create jobs, these stone age Governors would rather condemn more workers to unemployment than run the theoretical risk, years down the road, of having taken on an increased burden in paying for unemployment benefits. The stimulus, they claim, will increase the deficit.
This isn't perverse. It's grotesque.
The stimulus will not increase the deficit. It will make it smaller. Not using the stimulus will make the deficit larger. If the unemployment rate continues to swell, imagine the costs of paying unemployment benefits to, say, 15 percent of the population. Is that what Jindal and Barbour would like?
If these Republican Governors carry through on their grandstanding, voters in their states should launch a recall effort--or contact their legislators to make it plain that the last thing they want is for their Governor to turn down the very stimulus that could help revive the sagging economy. In the past few decades, the GOP has come up with increasingly adventurous economic theories to justify slashing taxes on the wealthy, a policy that supposedly benefits everyone else, especially the poor. But now that eight years of laissez-faire has brought America to on the verge of a new Depression, who would have thought that it would actively embrace a policy that repudiates putting the unemployed back to work? The Republican party, then, is going to war again--against creating jobs.
It is interesting that Sanford's point behind this demonstration -- staged in front of the South Carolina statehouse almost four years ago -- was to symbolize obstructionism.
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"Governors Haley Barbour and Bobby Jindal displayed in declaring that they will refuse to accept large portions of the unemployment package for fear that they would increase the employment tax paid by business."
I'm sorry but I agree with these Governors and believe denying this money is in the best long term interest of those states.
The Federal Government is basically making them make perminant law changes in their states on unemployment giving benefits to part time workers and even people that quit their jobs. Once the federal money runs out in a couple years then they are going to be in trouble again.
I would rather see the Federal Government take a Detroit like approach with the states and make them bring forward a long term success plan before receiving money.
One war will bring another. I don't think it will be long before the Left or the Right try to tear this country in half.
Civil War 2 anyone?
It's definitely heading that way. But you'd have to admit, the Right-wing has been inciting this since the 80s. The Left finally started retaliating in the past few years. Limbaugh and his colleagues needs to be shut-up, however necessary and we need to get honest debate/dialogue back in this country.
Fine with me, I hope they destory theirselves and we can return to the constitution and a Government that is not a nanny state but allows for some freedom.
Sanford, Jindal, Barbour, Pallin, Perry along w Hannity, Rush, Steele are the faces of the repub party - that 20 some percent of the population who believe that they are absolutely correct about everything. Not mentioned in their whining is that they get back more from the government than they send up there. For every one dollar these southern governors send to the federal government, they get from $1.10 to $1.77 back to their home states. Other states' receive less than the per dollar they send. Other states are supporting these clowns. It's time for equity among all states. Let's go dollar for dollar. Don't let these clowns get away with this.
The Republucans have waged war against the working-class, when do we retaliate?
The Republicans just love war, whether it's war against jobs, war against science, war against education, war against immigration, war against the LGBT community, war against healthcare, war against civil rights, random wars against non-threatening foreign countries, war against the Constitution, etc. They are a very ignorant and stubborn group of id.iots. They all follow a very misguided path to resolve problems. Their policies are always against the greater good of average Americans. The GOP mantra -- Make the rich richer, make the poor poorer, and let a radical right-wing evangelical run the country forever and ever!
You forgot the war on drugs.
And the war on sex education/contraceptives/abortion . . . all of which adds up to a war on women.
My comment as always, a cartoon: 'An Easy Target', http://exoptica.typepad.com/blogoptica/2009/02/an-easy-target.html
Barbour is bought and paid for by the gambling industry. He even took money Congress appropriated for helping poor people rebuild their homes after the hurricane and gave it to the casinos so they could rebuild quicker (supposedly because of the jobs they brought). If he and Jindal refuse the money for unemployment benefits, their citizens should get up a recall petition. These fools are perfectly content to let the poor working class starve. They have no concern for their citizens at all.
ReThug idealogy is predicated on destroying the middle/lower classes by supporting the exporting of jobs abroad, killing off labor unions, being anti minimum wage, against all good paying jobs, anti safety and environment work conditions, against universal health care, etc.
You got to ask yourself WHY? Who benefits from these positions. And the answer is that they see the middle/lower classes as threats to accumulating wealth at the top. Also, how best for them to benefit than to relegate the middle/lower classes to serfs or slaves to the wealthy. . Basically, the Rethugs want to return to slavery in the US except this time it will be everyone who's not in their upper 10% class. That means 270,000,000 people would be slaves to the 30,000,000 wealthiest citizens. Can they be any clearer in their intensions? Recessions/depressions are GOOD for them. They can buy up more hard assets for pennies on the dollar during these downturns. When the economy finally rebounds, they will be sitting pretty with even a LARGER share of wealth than before. The rest of us will experience a decrease in our standard of living and our net worth. Another massive transfer of wealth to the top. Currency devalued and only the hard assets that the rich found sanctuary will survive loss in value. Haven't heard yet one example of all these wall street and bank execs actually paying any penalties for their outrageous performance and thievery that got s here. Have you?
Is anyone else but me suspicious of the constant "sell us your old gold" ads on TV?
Ever calculate the cost per job of the bill? I hope they are all brain surgeons we are "hiring".
Jake:
"The stimulus will not increase the deficit. It will make it smaller. Not using the stimulus will make the deficit larger. "
Um...you do realize that stimulus dollars are borrowed from our grandchildren, right? You do realize that they will eventually have to be paid back, right? Could someone please explain how spending borrowed (government) money reduces the deficit? I'm confused.
he's referring to the deficit in state unemployment insurance monies. If you give the states more money to use towards unemployment insurance, it decreases that deficit.
World War II, a massive government spending program that you may or may not have heard of, was funded using borrowed dollars.
It's disusting how these guys want to play politics with people's lives.
When a rich guy says he'll help you, if you make him richer, ya gotta laugh.
These politicians have never worked a day in their lives. They sit around babbling, giving orders, expecting other people to do the heavy lifting, all the while collecting a paycheck funded with tax dollars, Then, when they "choose to spend more time with their families" they collect fat pensions for the rest of their lives, funded by tax dollars.
When a republican goes into public service, and refuses any pay, benefits, and retirement, because he really wants to reform the system, I'll be the first to vote for him.
The plan is to keep the people poor, uneducated, and sick. The plan has a proven track record in the south.
I made a similar comment on another story but it didn't post. The deep south is one of the poorest and undereducated populations in this country.
And the most Republican. It is not a coincidence.
Then why are their foreclosure numbers the smallest?
Maybe they have a lower home purchase rate because of the pervasive poverty level? Just sayin.'
are these southern GOP governors just pre post partisan, or are they at least ante bellum and probably ante diluvian pre Christians ? The idea that state governments which are sinking and failing to deliver on jobs,health care, and education should take umbrage at programs intended to lift their low national ranks in all three, is pretty puzzling. If we add in Alabama,, we have the scoop. The idea that increasing hardship on those already feeling the most stress, to spare possible future stress on those now in far better positions smacks of the Old South more than I care to remember. No hand outs, but a hand up is what these states should offer. A pox on their Governor's mansions!
Somebody already torched the governer's mansion in Austin. It was over 150 years old. Now the state claims it'll cost over 20 million to repair. Meanwhile, governor goodhair is living in a rented mansion in a gated community costing a fortune in rent.
These two are doing the one-two dance step and putting their nasty repub. fingers in the air to see which way their political winds are blowing. They will be booted out as quickly as you can say, "Hip-Hop." The so over repub. party hates America, its people, and way of life. Look at the last eight years under their bony finger grasp. Are you still working? Have a home? Clothes? Food? How did you like funding the "Oil men" you voted in at the gas pump or with their names on your home heating oil bills? We bent over for 8 long years at the gas pump at the tune of $4.15 per gallon, which was a total Sure-Shot Dickie, Halliburton charade.
RECALL the GOP guvs of S. Carolina, Texas and/or Louisiana? Get real! Those people LOVE being made miserable by Republicans. Heck, those three guvs (Sanford, Perry and Pyush Jindal) will get even HIGHER winning percentages in the next election cycle.
"Thank you, sir, may I please have another.........WHACK!"
"Thank you, sir, may I please have another.........WHACK!"
"Thank you, sir, may I please have another.........WHACK-K-K-K-K!!!!!!"
Wilbur
Stop bashing the south there are plenty of dems down here.
Yes, but all you have is right wing talk radio, 24/7 and no Dem voices there.
As a liberal living in the south...it can be lonely.
"The Republican party, then, is going to war again--against creating jobs."
I don't think that this is the intent of republicans like Barbour, Sanford, and Jindal at all. They must realize that in their show of solidarity with a militant minority in congress they are courting disaster with the working voters who are largely responsible for putting them in office.
For better or worse, these republican governors have thrown in their lot with the national GOP in its reckless drive to destroy Obama's nascent presidency in its crib.
So goes the readjustment of the Republican Party and their new RNC Leader with his Hip Hop ideas.....I guess his new 'rap song' for the Republicans is 'Let'm all die!' Sick puppies.
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