THERE IS ONE "PARTY" MORE DEDICATED TO KEEPING THE POOR POORER AND THE RICH RICHER THAN ANY ENTITY HERETOFORE KNOWN TO MAN.
I ADMIT, WITH MUCH REGRET, THAT, ONCE UPON A TIME, LONG AGO, I WAS BRIEFLY A "MEMBER" OF THAT PARTY.
FORGIVE ME.
I WAS BLIND.
NOT ANYMORE!
MAYBE THIS WILL HELP OPEN OTHER EYES...I HOPE.
Overworked America: 12 Charts That Will [OR SHOULD] Make Your Blood Boil.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/06/speedup-americans-working-harder-charts
In the past 20 years, the US economy has grown nearly 60 percent. This huge increase in productivity is partly due to automation, the internet, and other improvements in efficiency. But it's also the result of Americans working harder—often without a big boost to their bottom lines. Oh, and meanwhile, corporate profits are up 20 percent.
UP 20%! PRODUCTION IS UP WAY MORE THAN THAT!
Productivity has surged, but income and wages have stagnated for most Americans. If [IF] the median household income had kept pace with the economy since 1970, it would now be nearly $92,000, not $50,000.
More and more, US multinational corporations are laying off workers at home and hiring overseas.
[WHY PAY EVEN MINIMUM WAGE WHEN FOREIGNERS WILL WORK FOR A DOLLAR A DAY OR LESS?]
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EVEN UNION WORKERS, LESS THAN 9% OF ALL AMERICAN JOBS BEING UNION, HAVE FALLEN DRAMATICALLY WHILE CORPORATE PROFITS AND PRODUCTION HAVE BOTH RISEN!
NON-UNION WORKERS SAW EVEN MORE DECLINE IN THEIR SALARIES SINCE THEY MAKE AN AVERAGE OF $10,000 LESS THAN UNION WORKERS EACH YEAR!
Median yearly earnings of:
Union workers: $47,684
Non-union workers: $37,284
[2nd CHART ABOVE ]
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DO THE MATH!
AMERICAN WORKERS ARE SCREWED!
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BUT WHAT IS THE MEDIAN WAGE OF A U.S. CONGRESSMAN?
$174,000 a year!
TOP DOGS GET MORE!
Senate Leadership:
Majority Party Leader - $193,400
Minority Party Leader - $193,400
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House Leadership:
Speaker of the House - $223,500
Majority Leader - $193,400
Minority Leader - $193,400
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Benefits Paid to Members of Congress:
Members of Congress receive retirement and health benefits under the same plans available to other federal employees. [The Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program] They become vested for retirement after five years of full participation. Members' retirement annuity may not exceed 80% of his or her final salary.
[THAT'S ABOUT $139,000 A YEAR, ON THE LOW END...FOR DOING NOTHING! As it is for all other federal employees, congressional retirement is funded through taxes.
Members are allowed to deduct up to $3,000 a year from their federal income tax for living expenses while they are away from their home states or congressional districts.
There is currently NO limit on the amount of non-salary income members can retain from their investments, corporate dividends or profits.
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TALK ABOUT "ENTITLEMENTS", CONGRESS GETS SOME WHOPPING ENTITLEMENTS, DON'T THEY?
HOW MANY COMMON CITIZENS HAVE EVER GOTTEN SUCH HUGE 'ENTITLEMENTS'? HOW MANY ON 'WELFARE' OR SOCIAL SECURITY, OR HOW MANY VETERANS HAVE EVER GOTTEN $139,000 A YEAR AFTER RETIREMENT, AFTER PAYING INTO THE SYSTEM ALL THEIR LIVES?
HOW MANY GET THE KIND OF HEALTH CARE CONGRESS AND THEIR FAMILIES ENJOY? HOW MANY GET TO CLAIM $3000 A YEAR FOR TIME AWAY FROM HOME?
HOW MANY GET FREE POSTAGE STAMPS AND PACKAGES MAILED FOR FREE, OR A PAID-FOR OFFICE AND STAFF? HOW MANY AVERAGE CITIZENS CAN GO ON THOSE NICE "JUNKETS" TO FOREIGN NATIONS AND LIVE IT UP IN 5-STAR HOTELS WITH CHAMPAGNE AND CAVIAR AT TAXPAYER EXPENSE?
HOW MANY RETIREES IN ANYTOWN, AMERICA CAN MAKE ALL THE MONEY THEY CARE TO MAKE AND NOT GET CUTS TO THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY CHECKS? NO, THEY HAVE A CAP ON INCOME FOR JOHN Q. PUBLIC, BUT NOT OUR CONGRESSMEN, NO SIR!
'ENTITLEMENT' THAT, AMERICA!
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By SAM HANANEL Associated Press
WASHINGTON May 6, 2013 (AP)
GOP Seeks Alternative to Overtime Pay
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/gop-seeks-alternative-overtime-pay-19115352#.UYg5Gkq3OSo
<<Republicans in Congress are pushing legislation that would extend the"option" to choose "paid" time off or actual overtime pay.>>
AGAIN? FOR THE 12th YEAR IN A ROW?
DUHHH....PAID TIME OFF IS PAID AT THE FLAT SALARY RATE, NOT OVERTIME RATE.
THAT WOULD SAVE BUSINESSES A BUNDLE, WOULDN'T IT?
THAT WOULD MAKE THE GOP's BIG BUSINESS BED-BUDDIES A HAPPIER GROUP, RIGHT?
SURE, GIVE A WORKING GUY MINIMUM WAGE PAY VERSUS TIME-AND-A-HALF PAY!
GOOD DEAL...FOR THOSE WHO PAY, NOT FOR THOSE WHO WOULD LIKE TO BE PAID MORE!
<<The push is part of a broader Republican agenda undertaken by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., to expand the party's political appeal to working families. The House is expected to vote on the measure this week, but the Democratic-controlled Senate isn't likely to take it up.>>
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THE GOP CAN'T "APPEAL TO WORKING FAMILIES" BECAUSE THE GOP HAS MADE IT CLEAR THEY HATE WORKING FAMILIES WITH TRICKS LIKE THIS FOR DECADES! THEY LIKE BIG BUSINESS, SO THEY CAN'T LIKE WORKING FAMILIES!
WORKING FAMILIES CAN'T CONTRIBUTE MILLIONS TO THEIR CAMPAIGNS, ONLY BIG BUSINESS AND BANKERS CAN!
ACCORDING TO 'MITTENS ROMNULUS', THE WORKING PEOPLE WANT ENTITLEMENTS!
NOT THE HUGE ENTITLEMENTS THAT CONGRESS GETS, NO WAY!
THE 47% ARE WRITE-OFFS TO HIM AND TO THE GOP! THEIR CONCERN IS FOR THE ONES THEY SUCK-UP TO, NOT THE AMERICAN 'EVERY-MAN', NOT THE LOWLY BLUE-COLLAR FOLKS, THE MINIMUM WAGE PEOPLE!
THE GOP DID ALL IT COULD AND THEN SOME TO KEEP "THOSE PEOPLE" (ROMNEY'S PHRASE) FROM VOTING, REMEMBER?
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<<"For some people, time is more valuable than the cash that would be accrued in overtime," said Rep. Martha Roby, R-Ala., the bill's chief sponsor. "Why should public-sector employees be given a benefit and the private sector be left out?">>
THAT'S BULL, MARTHA, OLD GIRL, AND YOU KNOW IT!
YOU'RE TRYING A 'FAST ONE" ON THE WORKING CLASS!
HOPEFULLY, LIKE ALL TIMES PAST WHEN THE GOP TRIED TO SCREW-OVER THE "MIDDLE AND LOWER CLASSES", YOU WILL FAIL TO DO SO TO YOUR SATISFACTION!
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<<But the idea Republicans promote as "pro-worker" is vigorously OPPOSED by worker advocacy groups, labor unions and most Democrats, who claim it's really a backdoor way for businesses to SKIMP ON OVERTIME PAY.>>
REALLY? YOU THINK SO? YOU'D BE 100% CORRECT!
ADVANCE TO THE NEXT LEVEL OF INDEPENDENT THOUGHT, AND LEAVE PARTY LOYALTY NON-THINKING BEHIND!
YOU ARE ON YOUR WAY TO FREEDOM!
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<<The White House on Monday issued a veto threat, saying the bill undermines the right to overtime pay and doesn't offer enough protection for workers who may not want to receive compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay.
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"This is nothing more than an effort to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse," said Judith Lichtman, senior adviser to the National Partnership for Women and Families. She contends the measure would open the door for employers to pressure workers into taking compensatory time off instead of overtime pay.>>
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PRESSURE WORKERS?
<GASP!>
THE NOBLE EMPLOYERS WOULDN'T PRESSURE WORKERS, WOULD THEY?
THERE AREN'T THOUSANDS OF RECENT TRUE STORIES TO BACK THAT THOUGHT UP, ARE THERE?
YES, AMERICA, EMPLOYERS DO PRESSURE WORKERS...AND FIRE THEM IF THEY DON'T GO ALONG WITH THAT PRESSURE.
<< Phil Jones, 29, an emergency medical technician in Santa Clara, Calif., said he's wary of how the measure would be enforced.
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"Any time there's a law that will keep extra money in an employer's bank account, they will try to push employees to make that choice," said Jones, who regularly earns overtime pay. "I know how we get taken advantage of and I think this bill will just let employers take even more advantage of us.">>
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LOOK OUT, PHIL! YOU ARE NOW UNAMERICAN, AND LIKELY A "POTENTIAL TERRORIST" ACCORDING TO SEVERAL OF THOSE FBI FLYERS THAT SAY THOSE WHO VOICE DISAGREEMENT WITH THE ALMIGHTY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MAY BE TERRORISTS!
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<<The program was created in the public sector in 1985 to save federal, state and local governments money, not to give workers greater flexibility, Lichtman said. Many workers in federal and state government are unionized or have civil service protections that give them more leverage in dealing with supervisors, she added. Those safeguards don't always exist in the private sector, where only about 6.6 percent of employees are union members.>>
CREATED TO SAVE THE GOVERNMENTS MONEY?
NO! REALLY?
THEY KNOW IT "SAVES MONEY", BUT IT ROBS FROM WORKERS!
HARDLY ANY "SAFEGUARDS" EXIST FOR WORKING PEOPLE IN AMERICA ANYMORE!
THEY'RE NOT ONLY ASKED TO WORK FOR WAGES THAT WOULDN'T SUPPORT THEM WAY BACK IN THE 1960s, BUT BLOODY WELL WILL NOT SUPPORT THEM IN THESE ECONOMIC TIMES!
IT'S THESE WORKING PEOPLE WHOM OUR CONGRESS ASKS/DEMANDS SHOULDER THE BIGGEST TAX BURDENS!
WHO CAN LIVE ON A LOUSY $7.25 AN HOUR, PAY HIGHER TAXES THAN THE RICH DO, AND CALL THAT A 'GOOD LIFE"?
WOULD ANY OF YOU WORK FOR MINIMUM WAGE IF YOU COULD GET MORE?
WOULD ANY OF YOU WILLINGLY PAY MORE TAXES THAN 'MITTENS ROMNULUS', THE GOP CHOICE, THE CORPORATE HEAD THIEF?
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<<The GOP plan is an effort to change the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which requires covered employees to receive time-and-a-half pay for every hour over 40 within a work week. The proposal would allow workers to bank up to 160 hours, or four weeks, of comp time per year that could be used to take time off for any reason.>>
SURE, CHANGE THE LAW TO BENEFIT BIG BUSINESS!
SCREW THE AMERICAN WORKERS...SOME MORE!
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UP TO 160 HOURS PER YEAR?
THEY CAN "BANK" ONLY 160 HOURS IN ONE WHOLE YEAR?
WHAT ABOUT THE WORKERS REQUIRED TO WORK 50, 60, 70 HOURS A WEEK IF THEY WANT TO KEEP THEIR JOBS?
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE 1040 HOURS DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THOSE WORKING, SAY, 60 HOURS A WEEK AS OPPOSED TO 40 HOURS? (3120hrs-2080hrs= 1040hrs) DO EMPLOYERS GET TO VOID THOSE 880 OVERTIME HOURS IF WORKERS CHOOSE TO OPT-IN TO THE PAID LEAVE TRICK?
SURE, WHY NOT? THE GOP SAYS THAT'S A GREAT IDEA!
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THE GOP ALSO DOESN'T WANT TO SEE MINIMUM WAGES INCREASED ABOVE THAT PALTRY $7.25 AN HOUR THAT AMERICAN WORKERS HAVE HAD TO "LOOK FORWARD TO" FOR AGES!
WILL CONGRESS AGREE TO TAKE MINIMUM WAGE?
NEVER!
LOOK AT WHAT THE LOWEST-PAID CONGRESSMAN MAKES, THEN LOOK AT WHAT HE TAKES AWAY AFTER HE LEAVES CAPITOL HILL!
IF WE FORCED CONGRESS TO ACCEPT MINIMUM WAGE, THEY'D RAISE IT SO FAST WE'D BE BLOWN AWAY BY THE WIND BEHIND THE STAMPEDE TO RUN AND VOTE TO HIKE THAT UP!
THEY SURE NEVER MINDED RAISING THEIR OWN ENORMOUS SALARIES , DID THEY?
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<<When adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage is now LOWER in 2011 than it was in 1967, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Numerous Republican leaders claim that raising the minimum wage would result in fewer jobs, but multiple studies have found this not to be the case.>>
FEB.25, 2013
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/25/republicans-minimum-wage_n_2758307.html
<<Top Republican leaders are lining up to oppose President Barack Obama's proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $9 per hour. And that apparently puts them at odds with a large number of the people they represent.
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Roughly half of REGISTERED Republicans -- and 71 percent of Americans overall --SUPPORT raising the minimum wage to $9 per hour, according to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center and USA Today.>>
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Republicans and business groups have tried to pass a plan, ANY plan, to stop workers from getting overtime pay in some form since the 1990s.
ACTUALLY, THE GOP HAS FOUGHT TO KEEP WORKERS FROM GETTING OVERTIME PAY LIKE WE MIGHT FIGHT A FIRE IN OUR KITCHENS!
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<<Marc Freedman, executive director of labor law policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, insists it's not about reducing wage costs.
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"It's an alternative to the mandated paid leave approaches that Democrats typically support," Freedman said. "We believe it's more appropriate to give employers the choice on whether they want to do this.">>
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AW, COME ON, MARC, IT'S ABOUT SUCKING-UP TO THE BIG BUSINESSES WHO MAKE THOSE MILLION-DOLLAR OR MORE CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS, THE VERY BUSINESSES WHO PRESSURE THEIR EMPLOYEES TO MAKE CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE COMPANY'S "PARTY OF CHOICE".
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<<Democrats say the bill provides no guarantee that workers would be able to take the time off when they want. The bill gives employers discretion over whether to grant a specific request to use comp time. >>
THE BILL GIVES EMPLOYERS DISCRETION TO GRANT REQUESTS?
WHAT?
SERIOUSLY?
ISN'T THAT SORT OF LIKE GIVING A ROBBER THE 'DISCRETION' NOT TO ROB YOU?
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<<Opponents also complain that banking leave time essentially gives employers an interest free loan from workers.>>
LOAN? IT'S NO LOAN!
IT'S THEFT OF A WORKER'S EARNED WAGES!
THEY STEAL THE OVERTIME, STEAL THE PAID TIME OFF, AND NEVER HAVE TO PAY THAT BACK, SO LET'S NOT CALL IT A LOAN!
IT'S THEFT, PURE AND SIMPLE!
IS THE AMERICAN WORKER, OR THE AMERICAN VOTER THAT STUPID, TO FALL FOR THAT OLD SCAM?
THIS IS ROBBERY!
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NOW THE GOP HAS LONG OFFERED 3 MAIN REASONS FOR NEVER ALLOWING A RAISE IN MINIMUM WAGES, BUT LET'S TRY FACTS ON THAT!
FACTS ARE AWESOME THINGS...TRY SOME, GO BACK FOR SECONDS!
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FIRST, THE GOP TELLS YOU THAT "The minimum wage kills jobs!".
THAT'S A LIE! IT'S A PROVEN LIE!
<<FIVE RECENT INDEPENDENT STUDIES (aka, not hired by the GOP or Democrats) ALL SHOWED THE SAME THING: "' that increasing the minimum wage — even during periods of high unemployment — does NOT have a negative effect on job growth.'"
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"'A significant body of academic research has found that raising the minimum wage does not result in job losses even during hard economic times. There are at least five different academic studies focusing on increases to the minimum wage—including increases ranging from 7 percent to 12.3 percent made during periods of high unemployment—that find an increase in the minimum wage has no significant effect on employment levels. The results are likely because the boost in demand and reduction in turnover provided by a minimum wage counteracts the higher wage costs.
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Similarly, a simple analysis of increases to the minimum wage on the state level, even during periods of state unemployment rates above 8 percent, shows that the minimum wage does not kill jobs. Indeed the states in our simple analysis had job growth slightly above the national average.
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All the studies came to the same conclusion—that raising the minimum wage had no effect on employment.'">>
ARE THE GUYS ON THE HILL STILL USING REAGANOMICS TO TELL THESE LIES?
MUST BE....
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BUT WAIT! THERE ARE TWO MORE LIES THE GOP HAS TRIED TO PASS OFF FOR THE 'PARTY LOYAL' TO SWALLOW!
SECOND MYTH: "Increasing the minimum wage hurts small businesses!"
LIE, LIE, LIE!
Two-thirds of low-wage workers actually work for BIG corporations, most of which have largely recovered from the recession and could therefore afford to increase wages. The three largest employers of low-wage workers have all seen large profit increases in the last few years, BUT REFUSE TO INCREASE WAGES!
LOOK! MORE OF THOSE FACTS!
TAKEN FROM STANDARD AND POORS ANALYSIS...THE ELITE UNWITTINGLY SHOW HOW THE OTHER ELITE MAKE MEGA-BUCKS AND THE SHEEPLE IGNORE THE FACTS...AGAIN!
MYTH #3: "Increasing the minimum wage only benefits teenagers!"
WHAT?
LYING DOGS!
BUT EVEN IF THAT WERE TRUE, WHICH IT ISN'T BY ANY STRETCH OF LOGIC AND MATHEMATICS, WHAT'S WRONG WITH BENEFITING TEENAGERS?
THE GOP DOESN'T GET A LOT OF CAMPAIGN MONEY FROM TEENS?
WHAT, COULD THAT BE IT?
FACT: A new report from the Economic Policy Institute shows, LIKE SO MANY PREVIOUS REPORTS, that nearly 90 percent of minimum wage workers are 20 years old or older. Plus, “more than a third (35.8 percent) [of minimum wage workers] are married, and over a quarter (28.0 percent) are parents.”
NOW IF 90% ARE OVER 20, AND THEY ARE, CAN YOU SEE THE LIE IN MYTH #3?
DO YOU WANT TO SEE THE LIE?
WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRY FACTS?
HERE'S THE PROOF, STATE-BY-STATE. PLEASE, DO GO LOOK AT THIS:
http://www.epi.org/publication/snapshot-federal-minimum-wage/
<<Raising the minimum wage to $9.00 per hour, as the President called for in his State of the Union address, would be a good step toward reversing some of the huge decline in the purchasing power of the minimum wage that has occurred over the past 45 years. >>
DO YOU SEE?
IT'S BEEN 45 YEARS SINCE MINIMUM WAGE WORKERS HAD ANY REAL PURCHASING POWER!
THEY'VE HAD TO GO IN DEBT AND STAY THERE!
AND THEY STILL HAVE TO PAY HIGHER TAXES THAN CONGRESS DOES, IN A FAIR COMPARISON OF THE TWO!
http://www.epi.org/blog/putting-9-minimum-wage-context/
ONE OF THE GOP's FAVORITE PRESIDENTS, TEDDY ROOSEVELT WOULD DISAGREE WITH THESE MODERN-DAY LIARS, AS HE SAID:
"The monetary equivalent of a living wage varies according to local conditions, but must include enough to secure the elements of a normal standard of living--a standard high enough to make morality possible, to provide for education and recreation, to care for immature members of the family, to maintain the family during periods of sickness, and to permit of reasonable saving for old age."
CAN THAT HAPPEN ON WAGES THAT WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH IN THIS ECONOMY TO GET OUT OF DEBT, WHEN THE VERY BUSINESSES WHO ARE SAVING MILLIONS TO BILLIONS EACH YEAR BY PAYING LOW WAGES AND NOT PAYING OVERTIME WON'T PAY WORKERS ENOUGH TO LIVE ON?
NO!
THAT KEEPS THE WORKING PEOPLE IN THE HOLE!
IS THAT WHERE THE GOP WANTS THEM?
OBVIOUSLY!
THEY JUST DON'T WANT THEM TO VOTE!
KEEP THEM POOR AND KEEP THEM FROM VOTING...THAT'S THE TRICK!
REPUBLICANS SCREAM AND SEIZURE OVER "ENTITLEMENTS", BUT THEY DON'T EVER ADMIT THAT, IN A NATION WHERE ALL MADE A DECENT WAGE, BLOODY FEW WOULD EVER NEED "ENTITLEMENTS"!
THAT'S THE BOTTOM LINE, ISN'T IT?
IF ALL AMERICANS EARNED ENOUGH TO LIVE ON, NO ONE COULD BE MANIPULATED INTO TAKING ANYTHING FROM THE GOVERNMENT!
NO ONE MAKING A DECENT WAGE WOULD NEED "HANDOUTS" , BUT THEN HOW, OH, HOW, COULD WE, ANY OF US, BE SUCKERED INTO AND BECOME ENSLAVED TO GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS THAT WERE CREATED TO MAKE PAUPERS OUT OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND KEEP THEM "WORKING FOR THE COMPANY STORE", ALWAYS IN DEBT, ALWAYS NEEDING MORE, ALWAYS SCRAMBLING TO FIND WAYS TO PAY BILLS AND BUY FOOD AND JUST LIVE IN AMERICA?
STAND BACK, SEE THE FACTS, REALIZE THE PLOY, AND SPEAK UP FOR ALL OF US, AMERICA!
AS ONE COMMENTER ASKED:
"Is there any place in this great country where [EVEN] $10 an hour comes close to meeting Mr. Roosevelt's definition of a living wage? It is truly a shame that taxpayers are forced to pay for a social safety net not only for those unable to work, but for those who must work for slave wages."
IF THIS GUY SAW IT, IF HE GOT IT, WHY CAN'T EVERYONE?
IT'S RIGHT THERE IN YOUR FACES...FACTS AND TRUTH.
SO WHAT IF IT MAKES YOUR "PARTY" LOOK LIKE WHAT THEY ARE...LIARS AND THIEVES?
TRUTH, AT ANY COST, BEATS SWALLOWING LIES COATED IN GOLD...OR IT SHOULD!
TRUTH, HONOR, FACTS SHOULD ALWAYS TRUMP "PARTY LOYALTY".
IF IT DOESN'T, WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT US AS A NATION?
IT SAYS WE'D RATHER PUT PARTY OVER HONOR.
THEN WE SHOULD RENAME THIS PLACE "AMERIKA, INC.".
AMERIKA, NOT AMERICA...NOT IF WE FAIL TO BE RIGHT INSTEAD OF "PARTIED".
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