The Ongoing Jobless "Job Agenda"....by Republicans

If you want a great example of how the Republican Party's reduced itself to empty talking points, consider their argument that government doesn't create jobs. It's obviously untrue on so many levels, but they keep saying it because the chumps keep buying it. They almost always immediately contradict themselves by talking about all the ways they think government could create jobs. Pet projects like the Keystone XL pipeline, cutting taxes, reducing regulations, etc. will all create a great big jobs avalanche, we're told, if only government would get around to creating all those jobs that they also argue government couldn't possibly create.

And lets not forget that all of these people are either drawing a government paycheck or competing for a government job.

But the idea that government can't create jobs becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy with Republicans. They get into government and block measures that would increase employment. And that's when they aren't calling the shots. When they are calling the shots, all that stuff they talked about on the campaign trail and Fox News goes out the window.

When Republicans are in power, it becomes time to pay off narrow constituencies that helped get them elected. These payoffs have absolutely nothing to do with jobs, mind you, but good governance was never really the point. The point is a corporate anarchy they wrongly refer to as "free market capitalism" -- and a Republican majority to protect that anarchy.

Since you don't achieve anarchy by passing laws, Republicans become obsessed with trivial busy work. You repeal what you can, hamstring this or that agency when the opportunity arises, but mostly you dick around with inconsequential BS that throws a bone to those narrow constituencies.

The bottom line here is that Republicans don't care about anyone other than the 1%. And the 1% is doing just fine. So why would you change anything? A bad jobs market for workers is an awesome jobs market for employers, because the laws of supply and demand drive wages down when there's this much competition for every position. Profits are high, wages are low, positions are filled in a heart beat -- why on earth would you want to change anything?

You wouldn't. So you screw around with official mottos and politically-correct languages and sex ed in schools. Busy work that throws a bone to the single-issue chumps who keep voting for you. Citizens United may have made corporation into people, my friend, but they aren't people who vote. Throw the dopes an ultrasound requirement or a measure to fight the encroaching evil of the Non-English Menace and they'll come back for more. You don't ever want to solve these perceived "problems," because the single-issue voter goes away when their single issue has been resolved. You string them along with "steps in the right direction," to give them the impression that their issue is about to become a major legislative focus -- unless those evil Democrats get back into power.

It'd be a shame if you didn't vote GOP when they're so close to solving abortion/gays/people-who-aren' t-white-or-Christian. And once they get all that squared away, Republicans will get right to work on all those jobs we argue that government can't create.

And the Democrats, keep squeezing the life & money out of the hard working Americans to hand out free money to bail outs and to sorry ass people who won't work.

you must be getting a check and not working.

oh did you get a big refund check? did you actually pay that much in?

Just another brainwashed NObama lover. Vote for him again and see where you are in 2 years. Gas has already doubled since he has been in office. Grocery prices and about everything else has gone up 50-75% and you think it's someone else's fault. Typical left wing blame the other guy rhetoric. I did not vote for him last time and sure as H... will not this time. He is your president and if you can live with his do nothing position, then go for it. I at one time, stopped saluting the flag, because of the hypocrisy that is in the pledge and the way this country is being run. I then had a change of heart and do salute it now, regardless how this idiot we have in the Oval Office is doing. I now pledge to all the service men and women past and present who made the ultimate sacrifice to make this a better and free country. I did my duty in the miltary and the words use to make me swell up inside with pride and get a lump in my throat when I heard the music and the words, not anymore. Listen to what you are saying the next time you repeat the pledge and or the national anthem. Sickning.

Wonderfully worked and oh so right TMAB.
Come on Ziggy,this mentality is a downer, believe and have faith,all is not lost.

worded, sorry

After the rest of the ridiculous crop of Republican presidential hopefuls drops out, there will be a certain irony in the fact that Mitt Romney will be the candidate. Occupy Wall Street, after all, changed the national dialogue from the deficit to unemployment and raised awareness of income inequality and the ways our economic system is rigged for the one percent. Amidst all these issues, the GOP will end up with a candidate whose tax policies are intended to benefit himself and others among the most privileged individuals on the planet.
Consider: Romney has said that we should speak of income inequality in "quiet rooms"; believes that questioning income inequality is "class warfare"; has told us that corporations are people; has downsized companies and laid off workers with Bain Capital; believes that banks that foreclose "aren't bad people"; considers amounts ranging from $10,000 to $374,000 to be chump change; professes unconcern for the poor; pays a 15 percent tax rate; and is unwilling to pay more taxes to help the middle class.
The Republicans couldn't send a more blatant message when they choose Romney. They will be brushing aside growing income inequality and all the other issues raised by OWS in order to nominate Mr. One Percent.

The Labor Department stated that 243,000 jobs were added in January and the unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent, marking the fifth consecutive month it has dropped.

This good news for the country–and President Obama–left the Republicans looking for any way to spin the news negatively. Speaker John Boehner, unable to deny the surge, lamely suggested, "We can do better." He called for bipartisan action, ignoring the fact that the Republicans blocked Obama's jobs bill.

NOTE THE LAST LINE: THE REPUBLICANS BLOCKED OBAMA'S JOBS BILL.

Finally...someone to play with in the sandbox!!!

Republicans have staked out a position that requires that they lie, 24/7, 365. Not shade the facts their way. Not put their own spin on the situation. Lie. Big, sloppy, and constantly.

The lies go beyond instantly dismissible claims like President Obama being the "food stamp president" (why you have to go back one whole administration to discover that more people joined the food stamp ranks under Bush than Obama, but then the Republicans don't seem to remember Bush in any case). The blatant lies extend through every aspect of the Republican platform, such as it is. The simple reason is that the Republicans have no ideas left, at least no ideas that have not been tested and proven to be failures again, and again, and again.

The economy didn't just crash under a Republican president, it crashed under Republican policies. It crashed with low taxes. It crashed with deregulated markets. It crashed with huge restrictions on union activity. It crashed with massive cuts in environmental regulations. It crashed with lowered trade barriers. It crashed with big fat Pentagon spending.

They got what they wanted. They got CEOs with no limits on their wealth. They got banks with no limits on their "creativity." They got trade agreements that guaranteed manufacturing could be moved to the dirtiest, cheapest, most desperate source available. They got massive cuts in capital gains taxes and equally large boosts in the wealth they could pass along in estates. They got everything they said would make us all wealthy. They got record oil and gas drilling. They got record giveaways of public land. They got everything they said would create jobs. They got the middle class to shoulder more, more, more of the burden so that those beautiful job creators would be free to work their magic.

They can't say the economy crashed because taxes went up, because they didn't. They can't say that the economy crashed because there was a raft of new regulation, because there wasn't. They can't blame it on "union thugs" or Saul Alinsky or the guy who writes Happy Holidays cards at Hallmark. They can't blame it on a president who was elected when the world was already in free fall. Only, of course they do. They say it because they have no choice.

For the same reason that they have to maintain that global warming is the creation of a conspiracy of scientists, and that evolution is a conspiracy of other scientists, and that gay marriage is a threat to "traditional" marriage. They have to lie about the threat of illegal immigrants. Lie about the state of the national debt. Lie about the effects of the President's health care plan. They have to lie, because lies are all they have left.

They certainly can't admit the truth about the economy. They can't admit that they did it. Own it. That their policies directly caused the worst economic failure in American history. Strike that. Make it "the greatest failure in American history since the last time that these same policies were tried." But then, they've been lying about that bit of history for years.

continued...

contined...

The truth is that the Republicans have nothing to offer. Not even anything that looks like a governing philosophy. Conservatism has moved out of the ranks of political theories and simply become a cult; one that requires that certain phrases be mouthed, that certain hatreds be nourished, and that purity be maintained regardless of cost. That schism with reality is increasingly large and increasingly obvious. They try to paper over that gap by dismissing little things like science, reason, history. Real science fails to support their contentions, so they have to write it off. Reason doesn't work for them, so any question must be met with red-faced indignity — every question a gotcha question. Real history is full of warts, quirks, and unfortunate truths that don't fit their ritualized beliefs. So they have to try to rewrite history, giving us rewrite Reagan who never raised a tax or increased a debt, rewrite FDR who created the issues he actually solved, rewrite Lincoln who championed the Confederate cause, rewrite founding fathers who never owned slaves, never supported government regulation of the economy, never wavered in their ardent love for a form of religiosity that didn't yet exist. Tricorner hats are the new tinfoil.

The real danger isn't that someone might listen to the Republicans—anyone who lies long enough and loud enough can always find an audience, especially when that someone has three quarters of the television media and ninety+ percent of radio. The danger is that we might forget that they're lying. Too often Democrats, including this president, have felt that the best way to handle Republican fantasies is to compromise with them. You can't compromise reality, no no matter how loud the lies.

Finally!!!!

The Republicans have staked out a position that requires that they lie, 24/7, 365. Not shade the facts their way. Not put their own spin on the situation. Lie. Big, sloppy, and constantly.

The lies go beyond instantly dismissible claims like President Obama being the "food stamp president" (why you have to go back one whole administration to discover that more people joined the food stamp ranks under Bush than Obama, but then the Republicans don't seem to remember Bush in any case). The blatant lies extend through every aspect of the Republican platform, such as it is. The simple reason is that the Republicans have no ideas left, at least no ideas that have not been tested and proven to be failures again, and again, and again.

The economy didn't just crash under a Republican president, it crashed under Republican policies. It crashed with low taxes. It crashed with deregulated markets. It crashed with huge restrictions on union activity. It crashed with massive cuts in environmental regulations. It crashed with lowered trade barriers. It crashed with big fat Pentagon spending.

They got what they wanted. They got CEOs with no limits on their wealth. They got banks with no limits on their "creativity." They got trade agreements that guaranteed manufacturing could be moved to the dirtiest, cheapest, most desperate source available. They got massive cuts in capital gains taxes and equally large boosts in the wealth they could pass along in estates. They got everything they said would make us all wealthy. They got record oil and gas drilling. They got record giveaways of public land. They got everything they said would create jobs. They got the middle class to shoulder more, more, more of the burden so that those beautiful job creators would be free to work their magic.

They can't say the economy crashed because taxes went up, because they didn't. They can't say that the economy crashed because there was a raft of new regulation, because there wasn't. They can't blame it on "union thugs" or Saul Alinsky or the guy who writes Happy Holidays cards at Hallmark. They can't blame it on a president who was elected when the world was already in free fall. Only, of course they do. They say it because they have no choice.

For the same reason that they have to maintain that global warming is the creation of a conspiracy of scientists, and that evolution is a conspiracy of other scientists, and that gay marriage is a threat to "traditional" marriage. They have to lie about the threat of illegal immigrants. Lie about the state of the national debt. Lie about the effects of the President's health care plan. They have to lie, because lies are all they have left.

They certainly can't admit the truth about the economy. They can't admit that they did it. Own it. That their policies directly caused the worst economic failure in American history. Strike that. Make it "the greatest failure in American history since the last time that these same policies were tried." But then, they've been lying about that bit of history for years.
continued.....

Why then is gas over 3.50 at the pumpsnow amd it was 1.75 when Nobama took over? Gas prices effect us all. Not only at the pump but in goods we buy. Everything you buy and i mean everything, is priced according to fuel prices. As long as fuel prices dounle in 3 years we the poor people will be held down to our level regardless of pay or raises or anything else me make. We need someone to regulate fuel prices and put a cap on them and you will see a difference in the economy. Nobama has done nothing to help the 99% just like none of the others has, Don't put that idiot on a pedistal and quit blaming someone else for his lack of knowledge to help the common people. He is taking the big 1% money just like everyone else is. Stop being fooled by his ability to shift the blame to everybody else. He needs to be back in Chicago, rounding up people to help his black friends with their agenda, WHAT A JOKE of a president.

I remember when Richard Pryor dropped the n-word from his routine. It was after he went to Africa. He realized there weren't any over there...even though the continent was full of black folk. He came back and decided to label himself, his brothers and sisters in a more dignified and respectful way.

What we call ourselves says a lot about how we view ourselves and how we want others to view us.

We do the same thing with political labels. Democrats become "Liberals" become "progressives" become "reality-based." Republicans have gone from calling themselves "Conservatives" to being members of the "GOP," the "Party of Lincoln," or more recently, the "Corrupt Bastards Club."

This is not an epithet I am hurling around like "fascist" or "liar." I wish I had thought of it... but I didn't. This is a term Republicans used among themselves behind closed doors...

According to FBI SEARCH WARRANTS executed against several Republican legislators, Corrupt Bastards Club was the nickname 11 legislators,(including the son of Republican Senator Ted Stevens) used to jokingly refer to themselves. The legislators are being aggressively investigated by the FBI for taking bribes from an oil company (I know... what a surprise...who'd a thunk it?).

To be fair, there was a Democrat in the group. But as Joe has shown, it will take more than finding a single Democrat willing to get into bed with Republicans to innoculate them from being known as the Corrupt Bastards Club. It seems a particularly apt name for the Party that brought us no-bid contracts for political cronies, Abramoff, the K Street project, Paris Hilton tax relief, and widespread looting of the treasury.

Considering the problems of the Permanent Incumbent Party, it is refreshing to see the Party of Family Values is willing to speak honestly and accept responsibility for its actions. I think we should celebrate that and take them at their word.

If the Democrats have all of the answers, why then, when they had complete control of the house, senate, and presidency, did our economy, jobs, and every facet of daily life go down the toilet? However, before you right wing nut jobs get too excited, Romney and the rest of your bunch will probably not be any better. They do seem to try just a little bit more, but all politicians are out to see what they can create for themselves.

Republicans are crazy! This isn't to say Obama is a good president, but with all the news you see about most of the Republican canadates... I would never elect one of them. I personally do not think Obama was a terrible president, I just think he never got off his ass and did anything. And for those of you that think welfare is just so "crack heads" can sit on an easy check, you need to actually check out Florida's results for drug testing people who tried to claim welfare. Only 2% of people who applied were denied because of drug use. There was actually a severe amount of money lost due to drug testing cost then the amount they actually saved if they had given that 2% money.
So yes, you may only hear about druggies that abuse welfare, but apparently most actually desperately need it.

Why don't Americans get the connection that when you pay your taxes, you get your government services? Yeah, many Americans don't seem to get it that we have to pay taxes for the public services we rely on to maintain a civilized society. Public workers aren't slaves, and they shouldn't be expected to work for minimum wage either. They should be respected. If you want good services, you've got to pay for them. It isn't all for welfare.

On the other hand, the super rich, like Mitt "Mr. 13.9% Tax Rate" Romney, who want to see their taxes reduced even further, conveniently forget that they use up a disproportionate amount of our collective resources than the avg. American. Therefore, they ought to pay more in taxes. As a presidential candidate, a businessman, and, well, a rich guy who can afford to travel, Mittens probably has a lot of flying under his belt. So, he's gone into & out of many airports. The air traffic controllers in those airports get paid by our taxes. Taxes maintain the water, sewage, electrical & other infrastructure that these airports need. As for me, I haven't flown on an airplane in several years. The avg. American flies at most once or twice a year for major holidays.

What about roads? I'm sure Mittens hires a nice vehicle to ferry him to & from campaign stops. That's a lot of road usage. If you're a gazillionaire & have a whole fleet of expensive cars at your disposal - particularly heavy, gas-guzzling SUVs - you're tearing up the roads at a faster rate than someone who just drives one small, economy car, and goes to work & the grocery store. Taking this even further, corporations have fleets of commercial cars & trucks that are grinding down our crumbling roads every single day. FedEx, for example, has been accused of tax-dodging, & yet this company happily uses up our road infrastructure, something essential to its business.

How about housing? Mittens & his fellow gazillionaires tend to own multiple homes on prime real estate. And the superwealthy also like to be far away from the rabble, behind gated communities, or tucked away in remote areas only accessible by winding narrow roads. Of course, when you're rolling in dough, a small dwelling just won't do. No, when you're superrich, you've got to have a multiple-thousand-square-foot compound. All of that real estate lying in remote areas is going to take a lot of public infrastructure to maintain, i.e., water & sewage. Larger homes use up a lot more energy, so the country's electrical grid gets strained. And when an emergency occurs it takes police & fire more effort & money to protect the homes of the superrich. Owning multiple homes adds up to public expense. A corporation's "home" is its headquarters & satellite offices. All of those buildings are maintained with services from public infrastructure.

The point is, the amount one pays to help preserve our public infrastructure should be proportional to the amount one uses. The wealthy & corporations use our transportation system more, they have bigger homes, they burden our electrical grid, and they suck up most of the available water. The rich use up much of the court system to enforce contracts, or to sue each other (or the government). They use up much of our public safety budgets to protect their vast property holdings. Companies benefit from having workers educated in our public schools. They benefit from research and development paid for by taxpayers at government institutions. And rich individuals are still "entitled" to Social Security and Medicare. Like the rest of us, they can still use parks, libraries & beaches. The wealthy wouldn't be wealthy if there was no public infrastructure - no civil society - to help get them there.

I would like to ask all these rich folks who insist on paying next to nothing in taxes, why should they get a discount on the price for civilization? Why do they think the rest of us - who barely have enough money to survive - should subsidize their businesses and their lifestyles? Is it less important for the rest of us to eat, and more important for us to kick in more of our meager incomes to finance yet another sports stadium most of us will never see the inside of? Why is that not welfare, but programs like food stamps and unemployment insurance are? Why are Social Security and Medicare considered "entitlements," but agricultural subsidies aren't?

ziggy wrote:

Why then is gas over 3.50 at the pumpsnow amd it was 1.75 when Nobama took over? Gas prices effect us all. Not only at the pump but in goods we buy. Everything you buy and i mean everything, is priced according to fuel prices. As long as fuel prices dounle in 3 years we the poor people will be held down to our level regardless of pay or raises or anything else me make. We need someone to regulate fuel prices and put a cap on them and you will see a difference in the economy. Nobama has done nothing to help the 99% just like none of the others has, Don't put that idiot on a pedistal and quit blaming someone else for his lack of knowledge to help the common people. He is taking the big 1% money just like everyone else is. Stop being fooled by his ability to shift the blame to everybody else. He needs to be back in Chicago, rounding up people to help his black friends with their agenda, WHAT A JOKE of a president.

Everything is up because we as a natin no longer control the prices. The price of oil is up because MORE people in China and other countries consume more than we do thus the demand is up,thus they price as they want to. If americans don't buy someone else will. the price of gold is up because of the demand in India,more gold is bought in India than any other country. The demand in India drives up the price everywhere. America is no longer the driver of things,we live with what the rest of the world does. This global economy has made us irrevalant as consumers and employees.

I agree with Bone!!! All of these benefits - whether they go to average Americans or to corporations - are paid for with public money.

What then, Mr. Romney, is the difference? Why do you wish to slam average Americans with higher income taxes, payroll taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, excise taxes and fees, and then cheat them out of the benefits those taxes are supposed to provide?

Why do you and your rich buddies think the rest of us should have to pay more and more and then expect nothing in return?

We are not your servants. We have to live here too, and we deserve a decent standard of living in a country with a government that provides good public services and a robust safety net for everyone. That takes a lot of money, something Mrs. Garvin doesn't seem to understand.

Our public infrastructure is falling apart, and the majority of Americans don't have the funds to repair all of it. The greedy superrich and corporations, on the other hand, do. They took most of our country's wealth - wealth that we all worked to create - for themselves. They are largely responsible for the country's neglect, so they gotta pay up.

In reference to "mrs garvin" in the post above.... She is a 54 year old Rick Santorum supporter by the name of Nancy Garvin who gave an interview stating that she's tired of the federal government frittering away money on useless programs:

The irony is her husband, a carpenter, has been out of work for four years, depends on the very government she wants to see cut back. She collects disability insurance — it is what she and her husband have survived on as he's looked for work. Her mother is on Social Security. Garvin herself used to work as a nurse at a hospital where many patients paid for services through Medicaid, another program using federal money.

So typical. Just like the iconic tea party protester with the "Get Your Government Hands Off My Medicare!" sign. Blue collar right wingers hate government programs - except the ones they use. Which brings me to the reason why the very wealthy, the 1-percenters, should pay more in taxes than you and me and the Nancy Garvins of the world.

The wealthiest 1 percent of the population earn 19 per­cent of the income but pay 37 percent of the income tax. The top 10 percent pay 68 percent of the tab. Meanwhile, the bottom 50 percent—those below the median income level—now earn 13 percent of the income but pay just 3 percent of the taxes.
The Treasury’s estimate was that the top 1 percent of earners would pay 31 percent of taxes if the Bush cuts did not go into effect; with the cuts, they actually paid 37 per­cent. Similarly, the share of the top 10 percent of earners was estimated at 63 percent without the cuts; they actually paid 68 percent. percent of the taxes.
The Congressional Budget Office reports that, since the 2003 tax cuts, federal revenues have grown by $745 billion—the largest real increase in history over such a short time period. Individual and corporate income tax receipts have jumped by 30 percent in the two years since the tax cuts.The richest 1 percent pay 27.5 percent of the combined burden, the top 20 percent pay 72 percent, and the bottom 20 percent pay just 0.4 percent.
One reason that the disparity in tax shares is so large is that Americans in the bottom quintile who have jobs get reimbursed for some or all of their 15 percent payroll tax through the earned-income tax credit (EITC), a fairly efficient poverty-abatement program.