Across the country, the poor and middle class have suffered from the economic collapse: jobs disappeared, mortgages sank underneath debt, and opportunities for a college education evaporated. Much of the bailout that was supposed to fix the economy went to the very institutions that caused the collapse. Many of these institutions are now using tax loopholes and offshore tax shelters to avoid paying taxes.

The poor and middle class, those who didn't cause the collapse but have felt the most pain from the poor economy, are now being asked to sacrifice again.It took some time for a political response to coalesce. The Tea Party movement was able to direct discontent away from the Wall Street titans who brought the economy to its knees. Funding from the Koch brothers’ petro-fortune along with fawning attention from Fox News helped get the libertarian movement off the ground. But progressives remained fragmented and few built active, organized bases. Many waited for President Obama to act.

The tide may now be turning. Inspired by people-power movements around the world, people in the United States are beginning push back. The poor and middle class, those who didn't cause the collapse but have felt the most pain from the poor economy, are now being asked to sacrifice again.

Politicians are scurrying to cut spending, but fewer than one in five Americans say the federal budget deficit is their chief worry about the economy, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center; 44 percent say they're most worried about jobs. Polls show that Americans also want spending for education, investment in infrastructure, and environmental protection. Yet spending in all these areas is up for drastic cuts in state and federal budgets.

Likewise, on the tax side, 59 percent of Americans opposed extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest, according to a Bloomberg poll. Congress cut the taxes anyway, and the package will cost $800 billion over just two years.

Until now, polls have been one of the few places where anger at government policies that favor the rich while cutting service to the middle-class has been visible. But the crowds in Madison and the momentum of US Uncut tell us that may be about to change.

As a statement on the US Uncut website puts it: “We demand that before the hard-working, tax-paying families of this country are once again forced to sacrifice, the corporations who have so richly profited from our labor, our patronage, and our bailouts be compelled to pay their taxes and contribute their fair share to the continued prosperity of our nation. We will organize, we will mobilize, and we will NOT be quiet!”
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/02/19

He he he...

crowds...

of folks from what state?

How many of those (besides the ones in the very forefront) are from wisconsin?

Wait till all the newly hatched true journalists start posting their 'spots' on youtube...(if youtube hasn't been swallowed by the system).

Bet it ain't nothing like this article is attempting to protray.

The real POLITICS of CLASS WARFARE...

Keep each of the classes thinking that they are being attacked by the other classes...

Stir them up as much as possible...

then trigger them to fight each other...

do the people that have power can keep power...

It aint the rich.
It aint the middle class.
It aint the poor.

It is those that feel they have the right to hold power... and in some cases have held it for years and passed it down to their sons and daughters...

and yall are so busy fighting each other that you may never do anything about it.

It is crap like these stories that fuel the BS continuing to happen in this country. Class warfare is BULLSHITTE. Class Warfare is a Communist term! Frankly the poor are the ones who cause most of the pain demanding someone help them live while the middle class struggle to live.

America still is a land of opportunity but the poor want to get their undeserving fingers in the efforts of those who do work. Poverty needs to be fought, but helping POOR people needs to end! Poor is a state of mind and lifestyle. Poverty isn't. Time the BHLs of the world realize the difference! America at one time didn't have a lot of "poor" people. Now anyone on welfare is suddenly poor and needing the rest of us to subsidize their living while the rest of us bust our azzes to get ahead. I make a million and suddenly everyone who didn't do a god damn thing for the money are there holding out their hands demanding I give them a hand out.

Sorry but I am not buying the diatribe!

GREATEST MYTH IN AMERICA

people who are 'poor' didnt work as hard as others,,,,lol


the rolls of people on 'assistance' would decrease on its own if

JOBS were brought back

Since the year 2000, we have lost 10% of our middle class jobs. In the year 2000 there were about 72 million middle class jobs in the United States but today there are only about 65 million middle class jobs. Meanwhile, our population is getting larger.

The number of Americans working part-time jobs "for economic reasons" is now the highest it has been in at least five decades

There are many reasons we see a rise in people who are low income(poor), willingness to work hard is at the bottom of that list

"...the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life; the sick, the needy and the handicapped. " ~ Last Speech of Hubert H. Humphrey

"And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."

John F Kennedy
January 20, 1961

although noble in ideal, I have always had logical issues with this

considering we ARE our country, its kind of like saying

ask not what you can do for you, but what you can do for you,,,

So with all the afore mentioned problems facing new business in America how do you propose to get jobs back here again? Create Government Jobs and just print money as we need it???

“There’s class warfare, all right,” Mr. Buffett said, “but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”

Warren E. Buffett, the chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway

read the whole article here

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/business/yourmoney/26every.html

That is a very easy question to answer.
REPEAL NAFTA

then we will produce american made products with good american jobs. Walmart will have as thier founders main slogan was when he was alive.

MADE IN AMERICA.. not made by child labor

Only one problem with the repeal NAFTA.
NAFTA is only an agreement with Canada, US and Mexico.

It has nothing to do with overseas jobs.

Repealing NAFTA may or may not bring jobs back from Mexico.

About the only way we can get production back in this country is to become third-worldly.

Why, would a Corp. getting something made for $1.00 in China want to pay $10.00 for the same thing made here?

I guess thats where we are headed then, 'third wordly'

because the more americans are required to 'give up' and 'do their part' as citizens while big corps continue to profit more and more,,,

the larger the divide between the haves and the have nots

the quicker the middle class continues to disappear

the more likely rebellion and chaos are going to occur,,,,



perhaps its time to hit rock bottom for all (INCLUDING CORPORATE AMERICA) to appreciate what they 'had'

its the tunnelvision / profit as bottom line / take care of me first(and usually only) attitude thats killing us

until that changes,, I doubt anything else will

You're right! I guess the NA part of that should have been a clue. NAFTA has become a generic label for all the trade agreements worldwide that are destroying America.

"the quicker the middle class continues to disappear "...

This presupposes that the so called 'middle class' is disappearing into the 'poor' class...

While some of it is...

The rest is 'disappearing' into the so called 'rich'..

Quite a lot of the former 'middle class' is now in the range above 200 thousand in income.

Im not presupposing that at all,, to me it doesnt matter where they are disappearing too

I imgaine many more are disappearing to less than what they had than are to more, but it doesnt really matter because

once all we are left with are the top and the bottom,, we are in trouble

there needs to be a middle to balance it out,,,,

2.833 Section 337
Section 337 of the Tariff Act, 19 U.S.C. 1337, prohibits "unfair methods of competition and unfair acts in the importation of articles into the United States," if the effect is to destroy or substantially injure a U.S. industry, or where the acts relate to importation of articles infringing U.S. patents, copyrights, trademarks, or registered mask works.40 Complaints are filed with the ITC. The principal remedies under Section 337 are an exclusion order directing that any offending goods be excluded from entry into the United States, and a cease and desist order directed toward any offending U.S. firms and individuals.

I have a question Art...

I am not expert on trade or economy, although I am reasonably logical and learn quickly

and perhaps this is a very GIRLY point of view for me to have

but when I kept getting flat tires, I grew tired of having to have someone else change them and so I asked my only male relative in Nevada to come show me how and now I can also do it

I wasnt sure, I went to someone who was, I watched and I learned

why does it seem like AMerica wont or cant do the same thing in areas where they are 'not excelling'


There are models of successful economies(in countries with good quality of life) , why do we not seem open to taking cues from them,,,,from watching and learning

I am always impressed when I read about Switzerland or talk to those from Switzerland about how well their econmy and, in general, their citizens are doing,,,,do you think the government or the people could do a compare/contrast to figure out what they are doing right that we aren't?

Does anyone know other than like Lloyd's of London who insures alot of insurance companys when a claim hits a certain deductible for them.

If thier are avenues to purchace Insurance of all types from foriegn countries instead of from say State Farm? ect


Like I bet the Govt. of China would love to have my business for health and car insurance.

Hi MsHarmony,
I'm probably not the best person to ask. The conservatives on this board can tell you exactly. Because the Conservative infection has swept through the voting public with the help of a highly funded propaganda machine, our democratic tradition has become perverted to favor the policies that primarily benefit the wealthy few. Conservatives can't even stand the work "democracy" because it sounds too much like "Democrat". It has become a religion to them. The Republican Party has ALWAYs been the party of big business. The Democratic Party has ALWAYS represented populace policies.

So, the question that I think you want to ask the Conservatives is: Why don't you want America to emulate some of the countries that have the best economies and which have the least disparity on income and produces the most benefits for all of their citizens? Countries like Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, even Germany. You will get an earful.