Romney Donor at Hamptons Fundraiser: ‘I Don’t Think the Common Person Is Getting It’

“The baby sitters and the nails ladies don’t understand what’s going on”
Politics • Views: 35,088

Los Angeles Times reporter Maeve Reston was at Mitt Romney’s fund-raiser at the home of far right billionaire David Koch in the super-exclusive Long Island community of East Hampton, and interviewed one of Romney’s wealthy donors — who had some interesting remarks about the “common people.”

EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. – As protesters assembled on a beach in advance of Mitt Romney’s evening event at the home of conservative billionaire David Koch, the candidate slipped to East Hampton for his first of three fundraisers on this tony stretch of Long Island.

The line of Range Rovers, BMWs, Porsche roadsters and one gleaming cherry red Ferrari began queuing outside of Revlon Chairman Ronald Perelman’s estate off Montauk Highway long before Romney arrived, as campaign aides and staffers in white polo shirts emblazoned with the logo of Perelman’s property — the Creeks — checked off names under tight security. …

A New York City donor a few cars back, who also would not give her name, said Romney needed to do a better job connecting. “I don’t think the common person is getting it,” she said from the passenger seat of a Range Rover stamped with East Hampton beach permits. “Nobody understands why Obama is hurting them.

“We’ve got the message,” she added. “But my college kid, the baby sitters, the nails ladies — everybody who’s got the right to vote — they don’t understand what’s going on. I just think if you’re lower income — one, you’re not as educated, two, they don’t understand how it works, they don’t understand how the systems work, they don’t understand the impact.”

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132 comments
1 Gretchen G.Tiger  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 10:43:50am

Oh, hey, I just posted this downstairs.

reminded me of Marie Antionette.

2 HappyWarrior  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 10:48:23am

Yeah those poor people, they're too stupid to understand. And the right has the nerve to claim the left are elitists. This is patronizing bullshit from a bunch of oligarchical jerks who would embrace feudalism if it meant they got to keep their wealth.

3 Sophia77  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 10:48:39am

LOL I had the exact thought - let them eat cake!

Oy.

4 Gretchen G.Tiger  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 10:49:00am

Objectifying a group is the first step . . .

5 JAFO  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 10:49:41am

Maybe I could start a new career in the guillotine business.

6 Kronocide  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 10:50:05am

Let them drink tea

7 HappyWarrior  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 10:52:32am

I think the whole point for Romney and his campaign is to preserve the status quo of the already wealthy. Anyone who wants to improve their social standing is just a pest because they're not part of the old boys and girls' club.

8 jaunte  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 10:54:07am

The thing abut the poor is, they just don't educate themselves about wealth management like the people who inherit tax-free $100 million trusts.

9 Lidane  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 10:54:28am

Oh, please, wealthy lady -- tell me more about how Mitt Romney understands the plight of the middle class and working poor, and how he knows best for everyone.

I swear, it's like Romney HQ is going out of their way to alienate everyone. WTF.

10 Gretchen G.Tiger  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 10:54:29am

re: #7 HappyWarrior

I think the whole point for Romney and his campaign is to preserve the status quo of the already wealthy. Anyone who wants to improve their social standing is just a pest because they're not part of the old boys and girls' club.

capitalism means beating the competition --right.

but I thought there was enough for everyone?

11 darthstar  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 10:55:28am

Fucking poor people...how do they work?

12 Kronocide  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 10:57:09am

Does she know how much a gallon of milk costs?

13 Kragar  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 10:57:29am

I think I understand how the system works just fine.

Once you get on top, kick anyone below you trying to make it up there as well.

14 jaunte  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 10:57:45am

re: #12 Kronocide

I doubt she knows how the oil gets into her car.

15 erik_t  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 10:57:48am

re: #11 darthstar

Fucking poor people...how do they work?

They probably don't and that's why they're poor. Don't like the minimum wage? Get a job!

16 Lidane  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:00:26am

re: #12 Kronocide

Does she know how much a gallon of milk costs?

She'd have to know that grocery stores exist first. That's what the help is for. =P

17 erik_t  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:00:54am

Well, she's right. The common person doesn't seem to get the degree to which the system is constructed/evolved to elevate the wealthy and fuck the little guy. The common person doesn't seem to get the degree to which the GOP is willing to mortgage the future to buy a little more caviar today. The common person doesn't seem to understand how much the Republican party is willing to politicize and contort even basic incontrovertible science in order to keep the Fox Nationals milling about tending them like so many termite workers around a few swollen queens.

18 HappyWarrior  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:02:17am

If more people knew what was going on, Mitt Romney wouldn't have a shot at the presidency because people would know Mitt only cares about policies that coddle Mitt and Mitt's allies.

19 Kragar  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:02:34am
20 HappyWarrior  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:04:30am

re: #19 Kragar

Pat Robertson says its okay to ignore what the Bible says!!!

As the article said, didn't the right get its shit boiled when Dan Savage said pretty much the same thing? Anyhow this shows why it's stupid to take a holy book word for word as many fundamentalists claim to do.

21 Bulworth  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:05:19am
“Nobody understands why Obama is hurting them.

Maybe the donor could explain why....?

22 jaunte  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:06:30am
they don’t understand how it works, they don’t understand how the systems work

"So, our plan is:
1. Keep the existing tax cuts and legislate new ones!
2. Reduce the Deficit!"

23 Gretchen G.Tiger  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:06:48am

re: #21 Bulworth

Maybe the donor could explain why...?

Because he is a Kenyan, alien, muslim, black man?

/gah

24 GunstarGreen  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:07:36am

re: #21 Bulworth

Maybe the donor could explain why...?

That would require explaining why affordable, universal access to healthcare is bad, to people that are in desperate need of said healthcare, from a position where healthcare (and preferential treatment at hospitals) is simply a given birthright.

Not a winning proposition.

25 Vicious Babushka  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:08:24am

How much does she tip her nails ladies? Probably less than I do.

26 Lidane  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:08:42am

re: #23 ggt

Because he is a Kenyan, alien, muslim, black man?

/gah

Image: voting_republican.jpg

27 Gretchen G.Tiger  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:09:41am

re: #24 GunstarGreen

That would require explaining why affordable, universal access to healthcare is bad, to people that are in desperate need of said healthcare, from a position where healthcare (and preferential treatment at hospitals) is simply a given birthright.

Not a winning proposition.

It has to do with the idea of getting "something for nothing" or somehow getting something one "has not earned".

Coming from a position of priviledge and wealth doesn't one the ability or the right not determine such things in regards to other people. Being wealthy doesn't mean one is also smart, or correct.

I keep thinking of feudal lords of the past.

28 BARACK THE VOTE  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:10:22am

Pulp -- Common People

I took her to a supermarket,
I don't know why but I had to start it somewhere,
so it started there.
I said pretend you've got no money,
she just laughed and said,
"Oh you're so funny."
I said "yeah?
Well I can't see anyone else smiling in here.
Are you sure you want to live like common people,
you want to see whatever common people see,
you want to sleep with common people,
you want to sleep with common people,
like me."
But she didn't understand,
she just smiled and held my hand.
Rent a flat above a shop,
cut your hair and get a job.
Smoke some fags and play some pool,
pretend you never went to school.
But still you'll never get it right,
cos when you're laid in bed at night,
watching roaches climb the wall,
if you call your Dad he could stop it all.

You'll never live like common people,
you'll never do what common people do,
you'll never fail like common people,
you'll never watch your life slide out of view,
and dance and drink and screw,
because there's nothing else to do.

29 blueraven  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:11:51am

Besides being incredibly arrogant and condescending, this lady is just plain wrong.

Obama does best among more educated groups

At the same time, college educated white voters continue to offer 2008 levels of support to the President. In the same 25 polls, Obama lost an average of just 1.5 percentage points among white voters with a college degree. The national polls show Obama holding just as well, and the most recent Pew poll actually shows Obama improving on his 2008 performance among college educated whites.

[Link: www.tnr.com...]

He has a problem with white, non college educated voters

30 Lidane  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:12:27am

re: #25 Learned Mother of Zion

How much does she tip her nails ladies? Probably less than I do.

Tipping encourages lazy behavior. If they want to get paid more, they should get a real job.

///

31 makeitstop  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:13:02am

I'm so glad I stay far away from The Hamptons and don't have to socialize with these twits. Does that make me an elitist?

/

32 Gretchen G.Tiger  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:13:47am

re: #28 Millicent Islam

and dance and drink and screw,
because there's nothing else to do.

How true & This is the part that drives me crazy. Reality that people refuse to see.

How can you deny reproductive rights to people?
Tell them to abstain?

Look at history and not see the children that are the result?

33 GunstarGreen  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:14:30am

re: #27 ggt

It has to do with the idea of getting "something for nothing" or somehow getting something one "has not earned".

Yeah, that's pretty much the common thread. "These whiners just want to get something for free, just wait until they see their taxes go up!"

Well, um, no, that's not really how it works. We don't expect nor want "free healthcare", we want universal healthcare. We understand that it requires funding, and are prepared to pay the necessary taxes for that to happen.

This is one of the many, many things I will never get about right-wing talk radio, how the notion of "taxes are ebil!" never, ever gets challenged. Society Costs Money. Living in an advanced society has associated costs, and people that are not willing to pay those costs are the ones that truly want 'something for nothing'. It's perfectly acceptable to pay taxes to ensure that the general citizenry is cared for. That's what Taxes are for.

34 William Barnett-Lewis  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:15:55am

re: #28 Millicent Islam

Pulp -- Common People

[Embedded content]

Yep. But then, the British don't pretend they live in a "classless" society with a pretense of upward social mobility, either.

That said, check out William Shatner's cover of the song sometime. It actually works...

35 Gretchen G.Tiger  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:17:32am

re: #33 GunstarGreen

Yeah, that's pretty much the common thread. "These whiners just want to get something for free, just wait until they see their taxes go up!"

Well, um, no, that's not really how it works. We don't expect nor want "free healthcare", we want universal healthcare. We understand that it requires funding, and are prepared to pay the necessary taxes for that to happen.

This is one of the many, many things I will never get about right-wing talk radio, how the notion of "taxes are ebil!" never, ever gets challenged. Society Costs Money. Living in an advanced society has associated costs, and people that are not willing to pay those costs are the ones that truly want 'something for nothing'. It's perfectly acceptable to pay taxes to ensure that the general citizenry is cared for. That's what Taxes are for.

and there is a point in which the sheer number of people increases costs (exponentially?) We have a freakin' lot of people in the country and on the planet.

36 makeitstop  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:17:35am

re: #34 William Barnett-Lewis

Yep. But then, the British don't pretend they live in a "classless" society with a pretense of upward social mobility, either.

That said, check out William Shatner's cover of the song sometime. It actually works...

I love Shatner's cover of that song, with Joe Jackson on guest vocal.

All of Has-Been is pretty good, now that I think about it.

37 HappyWarrior  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:17:47am

re: #33 GunstarGreen

Yeah, that's pretty much the common thread. "These whiners just want to get something for free, just wait until they see their taxes go up!"

Well, um, no, that's not really how it works. We don't expect nor want "free healthcare", we want universal healthcare. We understand that it requires funding, and are prepared to pay the necessary taxes for that to happen.

This is one of the many, many things I will never get about right-wing talk radio, how the notion of "taxes are ebil!" never, ever gets challenged. Society Costs Money. Living in an advanced society has associated costs, and people that are not willing to pay those costs are the ones that truly want 'something for nothing'. It's perfectly acceptable to pay taxes to ensure that the general citizenry is cared for. That's what Taxes are for.

If we had listened to the taxes are evil people, we wouldn't have modernized. Modernity is inevitably linked with liberalism if you ask me.

38 Gretchen G.Tiger  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:19:43am

There seem to be a group of people who can't handle change. They have a black and white static version of how the world should be and how government should work to keep all the balls in in their place and not rolling around.

IMHO, the role of government is to keep all the balls in the air -- and not let any hit the floor.

39 Kragar  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:20:19am

I just became a god by performing the ice and salt challenge because no one in my office can recognize a sugar packet when they see one.

40 Gretchen G.Tiger  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:21:32am

re: #39 Kragar

I just became a god by performing the ice and salt challenge because no one in my office can recognize a sugar packet when they see one.

ALL HAIL!, Kragar.

/not

41 Kragar  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:23:30am

re: #40 ggt

ALL HAIL!, Kragar.

/not

For my next miracle, I shall cure a ham!

42 Lidane  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:23:31am

re: #38 ggt

There seem to be a group of people who can't handle change. They have a black and white static version of how the world should be and how government should work to keep all the balls in in their place and not rolling around.

Sure. They're called conservatives. That's the whole point. They hate any sort of change and want to see a static, black and white version of the world.

43 efuseakay  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:23:41am

re: #9 Lidane

Oh, please, wealthy lady -- tell me more about how Mitt Romney understands the plight of the middle class and working poor, and how he knows best for everyone.

I swear, it's like Romney HQ is going out of their way to alienate everyone. WTF.

You don't get it either! Mitt doesn't understand the plight of the middle class/working poor. That's precisely why these snobs like him. Us peasants are worthless specs.

44 efuseakay  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:24:51am

re: #42 Lidane

Sure. They're called conservatives. That's the whole point. They hate any sort of change and want to see a static, black and white version of the world.

With the black working cotton gins, and sitting at the back of buses.

45 Kragar  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:25:44am
46 blueraven  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:25:45am

re: #29 blueraven

Besides being incredibly arrogant and condescending, this lady is just plain wrong.

Obama does best among more educated groups

[Link: www.tnr.com...]

He has a problem with white, non college educated voters

She just dissed the very group of people who are supporting Romney. What a moran!!

47 Lidane  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:25:47am

re: #44 efuseakay

With the black working cotton gins, and sitting at the back of buses.

And if Limbaugh is to be believed, with men as the only voters.

48 Schadenfreude 'r' Us  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:25:54am

If "her college kid" "doesn't get it," shouldn't that tell her something?

(I jest, of course.)

49 Lidane  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:26:33am

re: #45 Kragar

Texas Gov. Rick Perry Refuses To Implement ‘Obamacare’

I can't wait until that jackass is out of the governor's office. Or until I'm out of this state and in one that doesn't have as many asshole wingnuts in office.

50 Gretchen G.Tiger  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:27:29am

re: #48 Washed-Up-Clowns 'R' Us!

If "her college kid" "doesn't get it," shouldn't that tell her something?

(I jest, of course.)

College kids never get it. They haven't been out in the world and had to fend for themselves. And Bob knows how they are going to be able to after they have been brainwashed by the Communist Professors.

/gah

51 efuseakay  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:27:42am

re: #47 Lidane

White, conservative, millionaire men.

52 Eventual Carrion  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:27:59am

re: #27 ggt

It has to do with the idea of getting "something for nothing" or somehow getting something one "has not earned".

Coming from a position of priviledge and wealth doesn't one the ability or the right not determine such things in regards to other people. Being wealthy doesn't mean one is also smart, or correct.

I keep thinking of feudal lords of the past.

Yeah, being a member of the lucky sperm club somehow means they 'earned' it. The only person that earned it was their mother for letting that fat, sweating, inbred fuck they call daddy warbucks belly slap her for 2 minutes to produce them.

53 blueraven  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:29:39am

re: #49 Lidane

I can't wait until that jackass is out of the governor's office. Or until I'm out of this state and in one that doesn't have as many asshole wingnuts in office.

The hospitals in TX will be all over him on this. Say what you will about TX, but we have a very large and respected hospital network and they will not like this one bit.

55 Kragar  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:36:02am

People without insurance totally don't exist, but a magic man who lives in the sky who grants wishes if you just ask hard enough totally does exist!

56 Eventual Carrion  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:36:07am

re: #54 Kragar

Rick Perry’s Plan To Cover Texas’ Uninsured: Pretend They Don’t Exist

Playing the DinnerJacket gays in Iran ploy/delusion.

57 Bulworth  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:36:10am

re: #45 Kragar

Texas Gov. Rick Perry Refuses To Implement ‘Obamacare’

Lyndon Johnson, Texan and creator of Medicaid, rolling in his grave. Again.

58 SanFranciscoZionist  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:37:22am

I'd be curious to know what this gal's academic credentials are.

59 Gretchen G.Tiger  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:37:40am

re: #57 Bulworth

Lyndon Johnson, Texan and creator of Medicaid, rolling in his grave. Again.

ahhhhh, LBJ. Just finished the 4th in Robert Caro's series on him.

READ . THE . SERIES

60 HappyWarrior  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:38:15am

re: #59 ggt

ahhh, LBJ. Just finished the 4th in Robert Caro's series on him.

READ . THE . SERIES

I hate multiple volume biographies but I need to check those out one of these days.

61 Gretchen G.Tiger  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:39:45am

I just realized that the "let them eat cake" line also could be attributed to Bill Cosby.

LOL

62 Bulworth  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:39:54am

re: #59 ggt

ahhh, LBJ. Just finished the 4th in Robert Caro's series on him.

READ . THE . SERIES

Oddly, with four volumes done, Caro still hasn't gotten to the Medicare/Medicaid, Voting Rights Act years.

I'm reading the first volume now, after having read Master of the Senate and his most recent Passage of Power. A little out of order I know.

63 Destro  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:41:27am

re: #7 HappyWarrior

I think the whole point for Romney and his campaign is to preserve the status quo of the already wealthy. Anyone who wants to improve their social standing is just a pest because they're not part of the old boys and girls' club.

That is because the untold truth (on the right at least which does all it can to deny it) is that to create new wealth you have to somehow take the wealth from those that all ready have it. You can't generate new wealth in the USA out of thin air. It is an enclosed finite monetary system and trickle down does not work.

So those at the top of the ladder are deathly afraid of anything that will build wealth to those below the ladder because they know it will come from their inheritance which they are either hoarding or hiding overseas.

64 Gretchen G.Tiger  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:42:38am

re: #62 Bulworth

Oddly, with four volumes done, Caro still hasn't gotten to the Medicare/Medicaid, Voting Rights Act years.

I'm reading the first volume now, after having read Master of the Senate and his most recent Passage of Power. A little out of order I know.

I read them out of order as well. The 2nd one is an emotional doozy. The writing is so good in all of them.

65 Kragar  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:42:43am

Is DHS Plotting A Civil War?

In particular, Wilson pointed to an executive order that President Obama issued back in March that updated policies for dealing with national emergencies, including the National Defense Executive Reserve (NDER), a program that has existed for decades that allows private and public sector experts who are not full-time government employees to fill executive positions in the federal government in the case of a national emergency.

But for Wilson, "these NDER units are basically the President's version of the Brownshirts," no different than "Hitler's own private civilian army," and people who don't believe it just need to "go read it and tell me how crazy I am":

I would say crazier than a shithouse rat who has a history of schizophrenia and routinely gets into rousing debates with the magic gnome who lives in his tail

66 Gretchen G.Tiger  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:43:31am

re: #65 Kragar

Is DHS Plotting A Civil War?

I would say crazier than a shithouse rat who has a history of schizophrenia and routinely gets into rousing debates with the magic gnome who lives in his tail

I've heard from a few wingnuts that there is a "revolution coming". I thought it was just an excuse to buy more guns.

67 Targetpractice  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:45:18am

After years of being warned about the "nanny state" and how evil liberals are because they want to run people's lives because "they know better than them," this article is fucking hilarious.

68 freetoken  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:46:28am

re: #65 Kragar

Why do you think China is building all those empty cities? To house the enemies of Obama, of course.

69 Neutral President  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:47:26am

re: #65 Kragar

Is DHS Plotting A Civil War?

I would say crazier than a shithouse rat who has a history of schizophrenia and routinely gets into rousing debates with the magic gnome who lives in his tail

[Link: punditkitchen.files.wordpress.com...]

70 Kragar  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:47:29am

re: #68 freetoken

Why do you think China is building all those empty cities? To house the enemies of Obama, of course.

My god, they're even offshoring our gulags now!!! So much for FEMA.

71 SanFranciscoZionist  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:47:31am

re: #11 darthstar

Fucking poor people...how do they work?

Very hard.

72 Gretchen G.Tiger  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:48:17am

re: #71 SanFranciscoZionist

Very hard.

very long

73 HappyWarrior  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:48:27am

re: #65 Kragar

Is DHS Plotting A Civil War?

I would say crazier than a shithouse rat who has a history of schizophrenia and routinely gets into rousing debates with the magic gnome who lives in his tail

Funny how DHS wasn't a problem with Bush in power. Same thing with the TSA. You only heard "concern" after Obama became president. Funny that.

74 kirkspencer  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:48:39am

re: #33 GunstarGreen

Yeah, that's pretty much the common thread. "These whiners just want to get something for free, just wait until they see their taxes go up!"

Well, um, no, that's not really how it works. We don't expect nor want "free healthcare", we want universal healthcare. We understand that it requires funding, and are prepared to pay the necessary taxes for that to happen.

This is one of the many, many things I will never get about right-wing talk radio, how the notion of "taxes are ebil!" never, ever gets challenged. Society Costs Money. Living in an advanced society has associated costs, and people that are not willing to pay those costs are the ones that truly want 'something for nothing'. It's perfectly acceptable to pay taxes to ensure that the general citizenry is cared for. That's what Taxes are for.

Yep. Been a while since I posted this, guess it's time to do it again.

25 Dec. 1783
The Remissness of our People in Paying Taxes is highly blameable; the Unwillingness to pay them is still more so. I see, in some Resolutions of Town Meetings, a Remonstrance against giving Congress a Power to take, as they call it, the People's Money out of their Pockets, tho' only to pay the Interest and Principal of Debts duly contracted. They seem to mistake the Point. Money, justly due from the People, is their Creditors' Money, and no longer the Money of the People, who, if they withold it, should be compell'd to pay by some Law.

All Property, indeed, except the Savage's temporary Cabin, his Bow, his Matchcoat, and other little Acquisitions, absolutely necessary for his Subsistence, seems to me to be the Creature of public Convention. Hence the Public has the Right of Regulating Descents, and all other Conveyances of Property, and even of limiting the Quantity and the Uses of it. All the Property that is necessary to a Man, for the Conservation of the Individual and the Propagation of the Species, is his natural Right, which none can justly deprive him of: But all Property superfluous to such purposes is the Property of the Publick, who, by their Laws, have created it, and who may therefore by other Laws dispose of it, whenever the Welfare of the Publick shall demand such Disposition. He that does not like civil Society on these Terms, let him retire and live among Savages. He can have no right to the benefits of Society, who will not pay his Club towards the Support of it.

oh - Benjamin Franklin to Robert Morris (American Minister aka ambassador to France writing to the American Superintendent of Finance aka Treasurer)

75 Mattand  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:49:22am

re: #63 Destro

That is because the untold truth (on the right at least which does all it can to deny it) is that to create new wealth you have to somehow take the wealth from those that all ready have it. You can't generate new wealth in the USA out of thin air. It is an enclosed finite monetary system and trickle down does not work.

So those at the top of the ladder are deathly afraid of anything that will build wealth to those below the ladder because they know it will come from their inheritance which they are either hoarding or hiding overseas.

The pisser is that in light of every thing you said above, huge swaths of working people, some barely making it, will vote for the millionaire whose wealthy supporters look down their noses at working people.

76 HappyWarrior  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:50:29am

Re: LbJ. It's too bad he's only really remembered for Vietnam because without it, I think he could have been among the greatest ever. He deserves props for how handled race. He may not have been the most pleasant person but I think LBJ was sincerely concerned to make every American's life better.

77 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:52:06am

The college kid doesn't get it?

I presume she means her son or daughter who is in college?

That's easy to fix.

Make them earn their way through college. I did. Janitorial shifts at 4 am. Retail and food service. My husband did. Graveyard shift at the gas station. Waiting tables.

The fastest way to teach a kid about money is to make them earn it.

78 Targetpractice  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:52:34am

re: #75 Mattand

The pisser is that in light of every thing you said above, huge swaths of working people, some barely making it, will vote for the millionaire whose wealthy supporters look down their noses at working people.

Think I'll hold more respect for those who vote third party, write-in, or simply refuse to vote than I will for those who hate Romney's guts but will vote for him simply because he's "Not Obama."

79 Vicious Babushka  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:53:42am

re: #77 Mostly sane, most of the time.

The college kid doesn't get it?

I presume she means her son or daughter who is in college?

That's easy to fix.

Make them earn their way through college. I did. Janitorial shifts at 4 am. Retail and food service. My husband did. Graveyard shift at the gas station. Waiting tables.

The fastest way to teach a kid about money is to make them earn it.

The problem is that nowadays, you need a $50,000/year job to work your way through college.

80 kirkspencer  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:55:32am

I think Perry's going to be in an interesting spot over this. Yes, he'll get much kudos from the large number of tea party supporters in this state. But he's not only refusing to add the social security extension, he's also refusing to make the insurance exchange.

The latter is covered by the law: if the state doesn't, the federal government will. The thing is, if enough states abrogate there will be support for the federal government to just take over medicaid, taking it off the federal-state partnership arrangement. For what it's worth, some estimates I've seen say that would be simultaneously less expensive overall AND would make the medical industry happier.

The latter's fun. See, there are two reasons medicaid is disliked. The lesser one, but the one that gets all the attention, is how much gets paid. The more important issue is that medicaid payments tend to be very, very late. A doctor's office can't afford payments 120 days late, not when the bills demand payment in 30, 90 at most.

81 dragonfire1981  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:55:39am

re: #51 efuseakay

White, conservative, millionaire land owning men.

FTFY

82 Eventual Carrion  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:55:46am

re: #77 Mostly sane, most of the time.

The college kid doesn't get it?

I presume she means her son or daughter who is in college?

That's easy to fix.

Make them earn their way through college. I did. Janitorial shifts at 4 am. Retail and food service. My husband did. Graveyard shift at the gas station. Waiting tables.

The fastest way to teach a kid about money is to make them earn it.

But that is so below my precious youngins and their beautiful minds. Can't they just struggle by by cashing in a few of their bonds and part of their stock portfolio? Also they could just get their caddies detailed a couple times a month rather than every few days. And they should quit tipping the maid that does their laundry and shopping. That should save some money.

83 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:56:18am

re: #79 Learned Mother of Zion

The problem is that nowadays, you need a $50,000/year job to work your way through college.

Yes, entirely working your way through college is only possible at some colleges. I combined a scholarship with jobs and the fact that BYU is heavily subsidized by the church to get through without loans. My sister didn't have my scholarship, so she graduated with some loans. Of course, compared to her husband's med school loans, hers are gnat-sized.

84 sagehen  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:56:19am

re: #43 efuseakay

You don't get it either! Mitt doesn't understand the plight of the middle class/working poor. That's precisely why these snobs like him. Us peasants are worthless specs.

He done tol' 'em and tol' 'em, borrow money from your parents to go to college, borrow money from your parents to start a business.

It's not his fault they didn't take his advice. That's why they deserve to remain poor, generation after generation.

//

85 Mattand  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:56:47am

re: #77 Mostly sane, most of the time.

The college kid doesn't get it?

I presume she means her son or daughter who is in college?

That's easy to fix.

Make them earn their way through college. I did. Janitorial shifts at 4 am. Retail and food service. My husband did. Graveyard shift at the gas station. Waiting tables.

The fastest way to teach a kid about money is to make them earn it.

You can bet damn sure the moron who's being quoted in the OP didn't have to do any of that.

86 Targetpractice  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:56:56am

re: #77 Mostly sane, most of the time.

The college kid doesn't get it?

I presume she means her son or daughter who is in college?

That's easy to fix.

Make them earn their way through college. I did. Janitorial shifts at 4 am. Retail and food service. My husband did. Graveyard shift at the gas station. Waiting tables.

The fastest way to teach a kid about money is to make them earn it.

Why do that when they been promising their kid for years "Get through college and I'll have a corner office job waiting for you at my business"? They won't make them work through college, because they know it's a sucker's game. How do they know? Because they wrote the rules that way.

87 dragonfire1981  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:57:24am

re: #80 kirkspencer

I think Perry's going to be in an interesting spot over this. Yes, he'll get much kudos from the large number of tea party supporters in this state. But he's not only refusing to add the social security extension, he's also refusing to make the insurance exchange.

The latter is covered by the law: if the state doesn't, the federal government will. The thing is, if enough states abrogate there will be support for the federal government to just take over medicaid, taking it off the federal-state partnership arrangement. For what it's worth, some estimates I've seen say that would be simultaneously less expensive overall AND would make the medical industry happier.

I can already hear the bitching about "Government over reach" on that one. I mean seriously, is it not safe to say that some states are going to be dicks and mess with whoever it is the Feds decide to use to implement the program? This could potentially get very nasty.

88 nines09  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:57:38am

Nobody understands. I thought that was the feeling sorry for oneself line? Out of touch? These coddled twits ain't even on the same freaking planet. "Obama is hurting you." How? "By trying to cut my tax breaks and trying to regulate the banking industry and hurt companies with clean air and water laws and punishing those who make money by destroying industry here." Oh I get it all right. I got it a few times. I watched the Chinese teams walk through a few factories in Indiana and Pennsylvania that are now in China. Mitt was good at that.

89 freetoken  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:58:29am

re: #80 kirkspencer

The thing is, if enough states abrogate there will be support for the federal government to just take over medicaid, ...

Wasn't that the Alinskyian plan all along?

90 Lidane  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:58:34am

re: #79 Learned Mother of Zion

The problem is that nowadays, you need a $50,000/year job to work your way through college.

Yeah, this. And forget about working through graduate or professional school. It's impossible. At best, you might be able to cover your rent, but everything else (food, utilities, etc.) will fall by the wayside.

It's not like it was before, where college is cheap, unless you're going to a local community college to get your basics done before transferring somewhere else to finish.

91 dragonfire1981  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:58:45am

re: #77 Mostly sane, most of the time.

The college kid doesn't get it?

I presume she means her son or daughter who is in college?

That's easy to fix.

Make them earn their way through college. I did. Janitorial shifts at 4 am. Retail and food service. My husband did. Graveyard shift at the gas station. Waiting tables.

The fastest way to teach a kid about money is to make them earn it.

I split the cost of college with my parents (my idea), chose a moderately priced college, earned two degrees and graduated...all without a single penny of loan debt.

One of the smartest things I ever did.

92 Kragar  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:59:53am

Meet The GOP’s ‘Statesman Of The Year’: Donald Trump

Donald Trump, the erstwhile Republican presidential nominee and now a top Romney surrogate, is slated to be awarded “Statesman of the Year” honors by the Republican Party of Sarasota, Florida at a fundraising event in August, the day before the Republican National Convention begins in nearby Tampa.

93 kirkspencer  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 11:59:58am

re: #63 Destro

That is because the untold truth (on the right at least which does all it can to deny it) is that to create new wealth you have to somehow take the wealth from those that all ready have it. You can't generate new wealth in the USA out of thin air. It is an enclosed finite monetary system and trickle down does not work.

So those at the top of the ladder are deathly afraid of anything that will build wealth to those below the ladder because they know it will come from their inheritance which they are either hoarding or hiding overseas.

Actually, the untold truth is that those at the top of the ladder believe that to create new wealth you have to somehow take it away from those who already have it.

The reality, demonstrated throughout most of the era since economic philosophers like Adam Smith first proposed it, is that wealth can be increased. It is possible to have an economic win-win situation.

What is true is that you cannot have all available and do this. Making up a set of numbers the choices are "100 for me" or "80 for me and 50 for you." Ironically, the eventual reality is that down the road the 100 for me is still only 100, while the 80/50 grows to more than 100/more than 100.

But it all requires sharing.

94 Gretchen G.Tiger  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:00:16pm

re: #76 HappyWarrior

Re: LbJ. It's too bad he's only really remembered for Vietnam because without it, I think he could have been among the greatest ever. He deserves props for how handled race. He may not have been the most pleasant person but I think LBJ was sincerely concerned to make every American's life better.

He was a gifted leader --and, like everyone else, a flawed human being.

95 Kronocide  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:00:26pm

re: #11 darthstar

Fucking poor people...how do they work?

Lower my taxes, I hire more poor people.

Notice hire more people not pay my poor people better.

96 dragonfire1981  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:00:29pm

re: #92 Kragar

Meet The GOP’s ‘Statesman Of The Year’: Donald Trump

Rumor is he won by a very narrow margin. First runner up? His hair.

97 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:00:29pm

re: #90 Lidane

Yeah, this. And forget about working through graduate or professional school. It's impossible. At best, you might be able to cover your rent, but everything else (food, utilities, etc.) will fall by the wayside.

It's not like it was before, where college is cheap, unless you're going to a local community college to get your basics done before transferring somewhere else to finish.

They did a study. Kids do best if both parents and kids contribute to the cost.

Something about taking it seriously, but feeling you are supported.

98 dragonfire1981  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:01:19pm

re: #93 kirkspencer

Actually, the untold truth is that those at the top of the ladder believe that to create new wealth you have to somehow take it away from those who already have it.

But see they don't want to create new wealth, just MORE wealth for themselves.

99 Gretchen G.Tiger  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:02:36pm

re: #83 Mostly sane, most of the time.

Yes, entirely working your way through college is only possible at some colleges. I combined a scholarship with jobs and the fact that BYU is heavily subsidized by the church to get through without loans. My sister didn't have my scholarship, so she graduated with some loans. Of course, compared to her husband's med school loans, hers are gnat-sized.

It's easier if you are in a urban area and can live at home --go to community college for gen eds. Don't need a car --can use public transportation. There are lots of ways to get an education. The "Ivy League' ideal of going away for 4 years is not the only way, nor always the best way.

100 Targetpractice  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:02:57pm

re: #95 Kronocide

Lower my taxes, I hire more poor people.

Notice hire more people not pay my poor people better.

What I notice is "I hire more poor people" is only complete when you include "over in China" at the end.

101 HappyWarrior  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:03:49pm

Of course, give your party's "statesman" of the year award to a bigot and all around sleazy dick. Ah the priorities of the modern Republican party.

102 Eventual Carrion  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:04:15pm

re: #98 dragonfire1981

But see they don't want to create new wealth, just MORE wealth for themselves.

And push off the social financial obligations to those less able to take up their dead weight (middle class).

Repubs: But the top 10% pay 70% of the taxes.

Me: The top 10% own 85% of the fucking wealth. Pay your fair share you fucking deadbeats.

103 Lidane  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:04:38pm

re: #97 Mostly sane, most of the time.

They did a study. Kids do best if both parents and kids contribute to the cost.

Something about taking it seriously, but feeling you are supported.

Well yeah. But there are times when family can't contribute. I refused money from my mother because right before I started grad school she got diagnosed with Alzheimer's. My family convinced me to get the degree anyway because otherwise I'd regret giving up the chance, but I wasn't about to have her pay for me when that money could be used for her medical care and making sure she's okay.

I might be buried under a mountain of debt that looks impossible to get out of now, but my conscience is clear. I took it seriously, did it myself, and will deal with the fallout on my own.

104 Lidane  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:05:13pm

re: #92 Kragar

Meet The GOP’s ‘Statesman Of The Year’: Donald Trump

Are we sure this isn't from The Onion? It sounds like a bad parody.

105 Vicious Babushka  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:07:03pm

re: #99 ggt

It's easier if you are in a urban area and can live at home --go to community college for gen eds. Don't need a car --can use public transportation. There are lots of ways to get an education. The "Ivy League' ideal of going away for 4 years is not the only way, nor always the best way.

I went to community college and then transferred to a 4-year college to get my degree. Qualified for Pell grants and student loans. Paid back $5,000 of my student loans during my first year of employment.

This was in 1986.

106 Kragar  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:07:32pm

Islamists Defeated In Libyan Elections

Libya's former interim prime minister Mahmoud Jibril has won a landslide victory in the country's first democratic election, early figures show, defying expectations that the Muslim Brotherhood would sweep to power.

Jibril, a moderate who led Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) last year, won a clear majority of votes across most of the country, the first on Monday suggested.

Giving details in three constituencies, the country's election commission said Jibril received 6,798 votes in Janzour, a suburb in western Tripoli. The Muslim Brotherhood came second with 2,423. In the former pro-Gaddafi town of Zlitan, west of Misrata, he got 19,220 votes with the brotherhood receiving 5,626.

107 CuriousLurker  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:08:13pm

re: #73 HappyWarrior

Funny how DHS wasn't a problem with Bush in power. Same thing with the TSA. You only heard "concern" after Obama became president. Funny that.

Oh, but it was, it's just that no one realized it then. //

I ran across FEMA coffins the other day, something I'd never heard of before. Seems it all started with Big Brother Bush planning 9/11 to scare us into giving up our freedoms, which was simply paving the way for the Antichrist Obama who'll soon ship us all to FEMA camps in modified Walmart rigs (apparently serenaded by mariachis and accompanied by giant plushies).

108 wrenchwench  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:08:15pm
“We’ve got the message,” she added. “But my college kid, the baby sitters, the nails ladies — everybody who’s got the right to vote — they don’t understand what’s going on. I just think if you’re lower income — one, you’re not as educated, two, they don’t understand how it works, they don’t understand how the systems work, they don’t understand the impact.”

The only smart thing about this woman is that she wouldn't give her name. Her nails ladies might exact revenge on her cuticles.

109 Targetpractice  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:08:52pm

re: #92 Kragar

Meet The GOP’s ‘Statesman Of The Year’: Donald Trump

Because really, what better way to demonstrate how much of a joke your party has become than to give such an award to a man whose billions were made on a reputation that's a lie, who has spent years going from bankruptcy to bankruptcy, spouts conspiracy theories on demand, and whose name is synonymous with "rich asshole"?

110 HappyWarrior  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:09:49pm

re: #107 CuriousLurker

Oh, but it was, it's just that no one realized it then. //

I ran across FEMA coffins the other day, something I'd never heard of before. Seems it all started with Big Brother Bush planning 9/11 to scare us into giving up our freedoms, which was simply paving the way for the Antichrist Obama who'll soon ship us all to FEMA camps in modified Walmart rigs (apparently serenaded by mariachis and accompanied by giant plushies).

Agh I hate CTers. My one brother was running his yap last night about the Bohemian Grove and Skull and Bones. It's so stupid and tiresome.

111 Gretchen G.Tiger  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:10:13pm

have a great afternoon all!

112 Mattand  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:10:19pm

re: #84 sagehen

He done tol' 'em and tol' 'em, borrow money from your parents to go to college, borrow money from your parents to start a business.

It's not his fault they didn't take his advice. That's why they deserve to remain poor, generation after generation.

//

I get the feeling that the POTUS election is going to be tight; much tighter than it should be, given all of the evidence of how out-of-touch Romney and the GOP is. I try not to think about it, as I start turning into Ed Schultz.

What kills me is that how everyone talked about the GOP being on life support in 2008. I thought it was bullshit at the time, mainly because it was so short sighted. I said to someone that if things don't improve quickly enough, the American voter would be dumb enough to re-elect the party that caused all of these problems in the first place.

Called that one.

And now we have a GOP nominee who has. No. Fucking. Idea. Of what is to actually struggle.

Who has always had millions of dollars to fall back on.

Who tells college kids with crushing loans to "just" borrow $40,000 from their folks to start a business.

Whose idea of talking sports with the average Joe is to mention all of the team owners he knows.

Who vowed that the car industry in his home state wasn't deserving of help, and then tried to claim credit for the successful bailout he derided.

Who views corporation as people.

This guy is neck-and-neck in the polls with Obama.

That's depressing. Anyone who votes for Romney and isn't a millionaire really needs to re-examine their grip on reality.

113 HappyWarrior  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:10:33pm

re: #109 Targetpractice

Because really, what better way to demonstrate how much of a joke your party has become than to give such an award to a man whose billions were made on a reputation that's a lie, who has spent years going from bankruptcy to bankruptcy, spouts conspiracy theories on demand, and whose name is synonymous with "rich asshole"?

HEy, they are the party of rich douches.

114 Targetpractice  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:13:16pm

re: #112 Mattand

Anyone who votes Romney and isn't a millionaire is doing so because the millionaires have conned them into believing that he can do anything more than just accelerate the movement of all the nation's wealth to the top 1%.

115 A Mom Anon  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:15:47pm

And all this bullshit is over a stinking THREE PERCENT tax increase on people with millions and millions of dollars. If someone makes"just" a million a year,that means they are bringing in around 12.7K a week at the current rate. With the old rate in place,it takes it down to around 11.4K a week(my math may be a bit off). Poor babies.

Seriously, fuck these people with rusty farm implements. Assholes.

116 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:18:31pm

was her name Leona Helmsley?

117 HappyWarrior  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:20:11pm

I think in my 25 years, I've never seen any presidential nominee more unlikable than Mitt Romney. I didn't agree with McCain but I thought he was a decent guy. Didn't like Bush but could see he cared at least. Mitt? He seems to only care about the very wealthy and getting elected. I don't blame the conservatives who dislike and distrust Romney because he is every bit a phony and bullshit artist. He really embodies everything I dislike about modern conservatism- greedy, intolerant, lacking any real empathy, close minded, etc.

119 Targetpractice  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:27:44pm

re: #117 HappyWarrior

I think in my 25 years, I've never seen any presidential nominee more unlikable than Mitt Romney. I didn't agree with McCain but I thought he was a decent guy. Didn't like Bush but could see he cared at least. Mitt? He seems to only care about the very wealthy and getting elected. I don't blame the conservatives who dislike and distrust Romney because he is every bit a phony and bullshit artist. He really embodies everything I dislike about modern conservatism- greedy, intolerant, lacking any real empathy, close minded, etc.

Romney is, by every measure I can conceive of, the embodiment of all things people in this country hate about the rich. He really has no positive qualities that don't boil down to "He's Not Obama." The support he's got within his party is absolutely tepid, with the general theme being "He'll do." I haven't seen a party this unenthusiastic about their own candidate since Kerry in '04.

120 Cap'n Magic  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:29:22pm

Wow. And the "rubes" in Georgia who were protected when anti-predatory legislation was signed, only to have the governor, legalislature AND the anti-predatory legislation booted out on the next cycle by those who said "you don't understand finance"....and Georgia is ground-zero for the highest number of bank failures since that time.

Here's a suggestion: anyone one who says "You don't understand...", (1) collect all the personal info you can on whoever says it and post what can be posted legally on a blog, (2) find out which party they belong to, (3) vote for the opposite party.

Also, too:

Mysteries also arise when one looks at Romney’s individual retirement account at Bain Capital. When Romney was there, from 1984 to 1999, taxpayers were allowed to put just $2,000 per year into an I.R.A., and $30,000 annually into a different kind of plan he may have used. Given these annual contribution ceilings, how can his I.R.A. possibly contain up to $102 million, as his financial disclosures now suggest?

121 HappyWarrior  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:31:12pm

re: #119 Targetpractice

Romney is, by every measure I can conceive of, the embodiment of all things people in this country hate about the rich. He really has no positive qualities that don't boil down to "He's Not Obama." The support he's got within his party is absolutely tepid, with the general theme being "He'll do." I haven't seen a party this unenthusiastic about their own candidate since Kerry in '04.

He really is. I've tried to find anything likable whatsoever about the guy and I'm stumped probably because there is nothing likable about him. I like the Kerry analogy quite a bit honestly.

122 labman57  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 12:37:43pm

We're "getting it" all right ... in more ways than one.

Let's see if we common folk can understand the message:
Tax breaks for uber-millionaires so that they can buy a couple more imported luxury cars or extend their European vacation by a couple of weeks? Good for America.

Tax breaks for middle class families so that they can pay the mortgage, gas up the car, and/or send their kids to college? Bad for America.

Reality check -- It's not about whether or not to generate additional tax revenue. It's all about which subset of Americans can provide the extra revenue with the least detrimental impact on their essential needs.

Once again, the ultra-wealthy donor tail wags the GOP dog ... and the middle class gets stuck with cleaning up the lawn.

123 Mich-again  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 1:24:12pm
“I don’t think the common person is getting it,” she said from the passenger seat of a Range Rover stamped with East Hampton beach permits.

Well hopefully this quote will reach far and wide and just maybe the common person will "get it".

124 Amory Blaine  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 1:33:02pm
"It's not helping the economy to pit the people who are the engine of the economy against the people who rely on that engine," Michael Zambrelli said as the couple waited in their SUV for clearance into the Creeks shortly after the candidate's motorcade flew by and entered the pine-tree lined estate. "He's basically been biting the hand that fed him in '08. ... I would bet 25% of the people here were supporters of Obama in '08. And they're here now."

I like how the pretenders imagine we would all roll over and die if the ruling class up and disappeared tomorrow. No, we will fill your spot before it even cools off. Such arrogance from the ruling class.

125 HappyWarrior  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 1:36:57pm

re: #124 Amory Blaine

I like how the pretenders imagine we would all roll over and die if the ruling class up and disappeared tomorrow. No, we will fill your spot before it even cools off. Such arrogance from the ruling class.

Really comes across as more whiny from the very wealthy- wahh we don't like paying taxes and Obama betrayed us. I got news for Mr. Zambrelli but things cost money and you wouldn't be the wealthy man you are today without those less fortunate people you and your candidate look down on.

126 jaunte  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 2:00:54pm

If anyone is still wondering what the millions of dollars in anonymous contributions that have flooded into our political system from Kleen Koal interests are buying, here's one example:

Black lung surges back in coal country

...The disease's resurgence represents a failure to deliver on a 40-year-old pledge to miners in which few are blameless, an investigation by the Center for Public Integrity and NPR has found. The system for monitoring dust levels is tailor-made for cheating, and mining companies haven’t been shy about doing so. Meanwhile, regulators often have neglected to enforce even these porous rules. Again and again, attempts at reform have failed.

A Center analysis of databases maintained by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration found that miners have been breathing too much dust for years, but MSHA has issued relatively few violations and routinely allowed companies extra time to fix problems.
....
Prevalence of the most severe form of the disease tripled between the 1980s and the 2000s and has almost reached the levels of the 1970s.

In a triangle of Appalachia — southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and western Virginia — the numbers were even higher. The rolling unit found a disease prevalence of 9 percent in Kentucky from 2005 to 2009, for example.

Obviously, the solution to this problem that would most benefit wealthy GOP contributors would be to loosen "job-killing regulations" and gut the healthcare bill.

127 lostlakehiker  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 2:17:31pm

re: #63 Destro

That is because the untold truth (on the right at least which does all it can to deny it) is that to create new wealth you have to somehow take the wealth from those that all ready have it. You can't generate new wealth in the USA out of thin air. It is an enclosed finite monetary system and trickle down does not work.

So those at the top of the ladder are deathly afraid of anything that will build wealth to those below the ladder because they know it will come from their inheritance which they are either hoarding or hiding overseas.

This is about as totally wrong as it gets. New wealth is generated every day, every time anybody does a day's work. New wealth is generated every month, every time a new invention is patented, every time a new discovery is made, every time a new book is written. Every time a faster computer chip comes out, every time a better breed of rice becomes available.

Factories that produce stuff people want generate wealth. Workers who put up houses generate wealth. Wealth is destroyed, too, or consumed, but the overall trend is up.

The population of the U.S. is more than double what it was in my youth. People live longer. People have more "stuff"---bigger houses, houses with AC and dishwashers and clothes washers and microwaves and flat screen color TVs. Most of that was not available to the upscale middle class back then, some of it not available anywhere at any price.

The cars are faster, safer, get twice the gas mileage, and they last longer. The minimum wage buys more than it did then.

The GINI index has crept upward and the rich hold a higher share of the national wealth than they did then. But after redistribution is taken into account, the poor consume a higher fraction than they did then.

In the middle, those who earn and produce it fare OK. Scientists, artists, inventors, etc. never have received anything like the value of their work, but they've received enough to enjoy a good life. Industrialists are a part of the production chain. The value of their efforts, like that of generals in war, becomes apparent mostly by looking at the wreckage of the bad jobs some do. But take Steve Jobs. However rich he got, he made the rest of us richer on a larger scale. And he didn't inherit his wealth. He didn't steal it. He came by it more or less honestly.

Ditto for those of us in the middle who contributed to our 401K's for decades. Those savings aren't stolen, and we came by them honestly.

128 Romantic Heretic  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 3:07:46pm

re: #41 Kragar

For my next miracle, I shall cure a ham!

Cure it of what?

129 Destro  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 3:28:01pm

re: #127 lostlakehiker

Everything you said is the standard American myth bullshit. New wealth is NOT generated every day, every time anybody does a day's work. In fact the living standards and wages have stagnated and fallen in the last 30 to 40 years.

You are the kind of American I want to yell at the most. Grab you by the collar and shake some sense in you trying to wake you up to reality.

U.S. falls behind Europe in Economic Mobility between Classes

Let me leave you with this regarding our society right now:

"More Than 7 in 10 Americans Who Start at the Bottom of the Income Ladder Remain Below Middle Income Status 10 Years Later... Despite notable changes in the U.S. economy over the past two decades, such as the ongoing shift from manufacturing to service sector jobs, women's increasing participation in the workforce and rising immigrant populations, the ability of Americans to move up in the income distribution has changed little since the 1980s, according to a new report released by the Economic Mobility Project, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Further, more than 50 percent of individuals ages 25 to 44 who start in the bottom of the income distribution remain there 10 years later."

130 Patricia Kayden  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 5:17:14pm

The wealthy woman in the post shouldn't worry too much. The Republicans will most likely get the majority of the working class vote this fall -- certainly the White working class.

131 Eclectic Infidel  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 7:29:24pm

Ah, she misunderstands, being of the wealthy elite. The common folk ARE getting it - they know Romney doesn't give a rats ass about the working class, the poor, affordable women's health care, etc. It isn't the President who is hurting Romney, it is Romney himself and if this woman didn't live in such a protected bubble, she just might see it too.

That's my opinion.

132 docproto48  Mon, Jul 9, 2012 10:32:29pm

"Lets get down on our hands and knees and look at it from the publics point of view "


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Create a PageThis is the LGF Pages posting bookmarklet. To use it, drag this button to your browser's bookmark bar, and title it 'LGF Pages' (or whatever you like). Then browse to a site you want to post, select some text on the page to use for a quote, click the bookmarklet, and the Pages posting window will appear with the title, text, and any embedded video or audio files already filled in, ready to go.
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Last updated: 2023-04-04 11:11 am PDT
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A Closer Look at the Eastman State Bar DecisionTaking a few minutes away from work things to read through the Eastman decision. As I'm sure many of you know, Eastman was my law school con law professor. I knew him pretty well because I was also running in ...
KGxvi
2 hours ago
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