Comments on: Waging Class War

By: downunda

downunda — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:29:15 +0000

It’s been said by others that this election was a rerun of the American Civil War, where the good old boys in the Southern states, in the face of changing demographics from white to brown, were trying to force their will on the country using the well tried marketing techniques of the 2nd half of the 20th century. They had the pitch and the money to repeat it endlessly over the nations’ media. But enough voters in critical states weren’t going to be swift boated this time round.
Unfortunately the swift boaters haven’t disappeared. They will be back and the rest of us need to stay vigilant, lest they prevail next time. The 1%ers may have all the money but they don’t have the numbers and the numbers still count.

By: coberly

coberly — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 02:03:51 +0000

Well, i’d be a little careful with the “class war” strategy. Obama may have won because he delivered on the auto industry. He may even have won because the R’s were so incredibly stupid about women’s issues.

But you can’t count on the R’s repeating stupid mistakes. And if you sell out the workers again, as Obama has done, they won’t give a damn for “class war.”

Meanwhile I notice that one of your contributers thinks he is doing the working class a favor by not letting them know they can “fix” Social Security simply by paying for it themselves, as they always have, as Roosevelt designed it for a good reason. The cost to the average worker would be about eighty cents per week per year over the next twenty years, while their wages are going up eight dollars per week per year, and they will get the money back when they need it most, in the form of a longer retirement at a higher benefit level.
Instead the brave class warrior wants to bet SS on his chances of getting the rich to pay for it. As FDR warned us against.

By: DHFabian

DHFabian — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 18:18:51 +0000

Silly.The middle class DID wage war on the poor. The middle class won.

By: DHFabian

DHFabian — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 18:17:11 +0000

Our class war is not exactly new. What the middle class did to the poor, the rich are now doing to the middle class. In previous eras when the rich tried to take absolute control over the country, the poor and middle classes united to successfully push back, to the benefit of both. This time, a careful strategy was implemented (starting in the 1980s) to first deeply divide the poor and middle classes. Divide and conquer.

By: Thomas Manaugh

Thomas Manaugh — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 15:02:34 +0000

Exceptionally well written. Borosage has complete command of salient information and writes very clearly. Romney thinks Obama won because of “gifts” he promised to various groups. Romney’s explanation of why he lost confirms the thesis that Romney and his supporters aspire to gaining complete control over this nation’s politics and economy without interference (e.g., having their votes counted) from ordinary citizens who aspire to the “gifts” of fairness and opportunity. The country club elites whom Romney represents have been largely successful, but it might now be that those who believe in fairness and justice are fighting back. Forward!

By: James Wygand

James Wygand — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 14:41:46 +0000

It is ironic that the class warfare in the USA is waged against the middle class rather than against the “proletariat”. I suppose that’s because it is the very poor who work as maids, gardeners, and servants to the rich. Waging warfare against the middle class is essentially biting the hand that feeds the rich. The working public is what line the pockets of the ultra rich for generations. They are the ones who shop at Target, WalMart, etc.and buy the goods the factories in China (that migrated from the USA) produce. However, if they don’t have jobs to go to and from which to derive income, they can no longer buy. If they cannot buy, China cannot sell. Moreover, what will be left is a highly articulate and educated but povery stricken class of people. I would think you would not want to make them mad enough to fight unless you are willing to practice genocide (perhaps not outside the realm of possibillity for the 1% to ponder given their values). But then what do you have left? A bunch of rich people who will be at the mercy of any foreign interloper who wants their wealth. Who will be in the Army? Who will protect them? The genius of the 18th century free marketeers was that they espoused “enlightened self-interest” not simply “self-interest”. It would behoove the 1% to wake up and smell the coffee!

By: clarence swinney

clarence swinney — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 13:17:39 +0000

RUNAWAY SPENDING
Dan Mitchell of Cato on CNCB ranted Obama runaway spending is like a run away train.
Dan is totally wrong. Spending is under best control in decades.
Major steps have been taken to control spending.
Obama Efficient Government Spending Programs and the Budget Control Act
produces $1500 Billion in savings in discretionary spending 2013 through 2022.
The reductions will shrink non-defense discretionary spending to the lowest level on record as a share of GDP, since 1962.
The Obama record will be to increase total spending by 2% to 8% from Bush last budget to his last budget in first term. He budgeted to spend 3800 in fiscal 2013 and if so that will be only 280B over Bush last budget. clarence swinney –part info from policy shop.net

By: Progressive Breakfast - Campaign for America's Future | Blog

Progressive Breakfast - Campaign for America's Future | Blog — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 13:00:33 +0000

[...] OurFuture.org’s Robert Borosage: “In 2012, class warfare broke out in American politics. And from the president to key Senate races, the middle class won. Today the Campaign for America’s Future launches a new website – WageClassWar.org – to detail the new terrain of American politics … For years, conservatives in both parties have warned against class warfare. Americans, we’re told, don’t like that divisiveness. They see it as the politics of envy. Inequality should, as Mitt Romney said, only be talked about in back rooms. Nonsense. More and more of our elections going forward will feature class warfare – only this time with the middle class fighting back.” [...]