Unemployment figures are out. Lots of good, hard working people are sitting at home right now wondering how $247.00 a week will pay the mortgage/rent, utilities, food, gas and the inevitable unexpected expense.
Been there, hated it! I recently lost 25 - 30% of my wages by the elimination of overtime. The company I work for is like all other corporate icons, cut back on the foundation of your business while keeping worthless middle management fuck-ups fat, dumb, and happy in their gated communities, Lexus' and 6-figure salaries.
No, I'm not bitter. Not at all.
You know, if you make a good wage, earned it with hard work and diligence and managed not to step on the necks of the people around you - Good for you! Be a millionaire, a billionaire even. I don't begrudge anyone being rich, it's what they did to get there and what they do to stay there.
The details of the Obama Economic Stimulus Package are out and they look a bit inadequate. Look, we NEED this package to defibrillate the septic tank that Bush has buried us in. But puny measures will only make matters worse. You don't bring a garden hose to put out a forest fire. At Daily Kos, mcjoan makes a damn good case for using the Stimulus money to rebuild and repair our crumbling roads and facilities at America's national parks. Oh, to hear the Repugs wail over that one!
The point is that we have to be serious about rebuilding this country, everywhere, not just in the places with the big names and high profile footprints. We have to repair a bridge in Omak, WA and I-5 in CA. Let the Repugs wail. Let them go on record trying to hamstring this plan. Let them put their names to the effort to keep America on the canvas. And when the Stimulus Plan begins to bring us around and folks starts to enjoy the fruits of their hard work, we can remind the American People who was with them and WHO was against them.
Republicans want to turn this into another political board game. They want the Dems to cave on the size of the Stimulus Package so it fails badly. Then they will reap the benefits of the failure and take charge again. This time, however, the country will be in such bad shape the GOP will start pushing real draconian measures in a bid to create a new 21st Century feudalism.
This can not happen.
So Mote It Be,
David A.
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