In the GOP led class warfare against the American working class, just like in any other type of warfare there are casualty lists. The American casualty lists read like this; 59 million without a medical plan; 60 million no paid sick leave; 132 million no dental plan; 40 million currently on food stamps.
Briton's Sir John Keegan in his book Intelligence in War, talks about disinformation campaigns, and information security, that is to say to keep information away from people. The truth is Fox news conducts a disinformation campaign and that the rest of the plutocrat owned media will not provide the American people with needed information. An example of that is in the spirit of Christmas the GOP's three wise men leading the charge not to extend unemployment benefits, while preserving the Bush tax cuts for themselves and their friends to profit from.You see in Britain jobless benefits don't run out,and the jobless don't lose their medical coverage, but the American plutocrat owned media will never tell you that. The truth is no more than a few thousand people will ever read this diary. Please help get the word out!
Even before the failure of the unemployment extension of 800,000 Americans, (which is expected that number will rise to 2 million by Christmas). Even before that happened, it's clear from the chart below that in terms of unemployment benefits, America was already one of the least generous among highly industrialized nations in the world.
Here is a very simple straightforward question, why on earth will the American plutocrat owned media not inform the American people that the basis of the British led international communities criticism is that, in other highly industrialized countries jobless benefits never run out, as is the case in Britain. Another example of precisely the same phenomenon is in Germany, when their regular unemployment benefits run out, which is referred to as unemployment benefits 1, unemployment benefits 2 kick in, also known as HarzIV and guess what just like in Britain it never runs out. Just like in Britain the jobless never lose their health insurance, nor do their families. But then there isn't any place in the European Union where the unemployed and their families don't have medical coverage. Why can't we have the same system in America? Why doesn't the American plutocrat owned media report on this everyday right next to the headlines that tell us that the GOP has led the charge to have 800,000 Americans unemployment benefits expire. Wherein their ranks are believed to increase up to 2 million by Christmas.
Paul Harris
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 2 December 2010
The party of the rich, by the rich, for the rich
Never have Republican values been so brazenly apparent than in holding the unemployed to ransom for the Bush tax cuts
Rarely has the true face of the modern Republican party in America been exposed so obviously.
Just a day after President Barack Obama met with Republican leaders and came out talking of a new era of co-operation, Republican senators united around Mitch McConnell to sign a letter declaring they would pass no legislation without movement on extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy.
That legislation they are willing to scupper includes extending unemployment benefits for millions of jobless Americans, still suffering the terrible hangover of the Great Recession. The tax cuts the Republicans are really fired up over will benefit only the top 2% of Americans.
To put it even more simply: Republican leaders are happy to go virtually on strike in order to win a tax cut worth billions of dollars for America's most wealthy people (which includes themselves and many of their top campaign donors). At the same time, they are willing to deny help to America's most vulnerable; standing by as once middle-class people lose their homes as their benefits disappear.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/...
The British Guardian newspaper says that the 3 wise men will personally profit from this. Let's focus on the two big players John Boehner and Mitch McConnell both of whom are multi-millionaires, whom just like the Guardian says stand to make millions of dollars personally by extending the Bush tax cuts. While it is difficult to estimate how many millions this will put in their pockets, in John Boehner's situation it is impossible in his case because John Boehner won't release his taxes from last year. Let's take a closer look at their assets to understand how much they may be likely to gain personally by extending the Bush tax cuts, never mind all the money they expect to make for their friends by extending the Bush tax cuts on the backs of the American unemployed, in a desperate act of class warfare. They are not even trying to hide this, because they don't care who sees it. More to the point they don't care about us working class folks because they plan to take it out of our hides of this we can be sure. If you have a job today don't feel secure. The 3 wise men plan to make you their next class warfare victim!
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) purchased about $700,000 in blue chip stocks in December after liquidating a profit-sharing retirement fund.
Late last year, Boehner sold off between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000 of his Nucite Sales profit-sharing retirement plan, according to congressional financial
disclosure documents. Nucite was a plastics company that provided the bulk of his wealth.
On the day he that unloaded that retirement fund, Boehner bought at least $698,000 in companies such as Goldman Sachs, BP, AT&T, Chevron, ExxonMobil, JPMorgan, Pepsi and Microsoft. He also put between $100,000 and $250,000 in a UBS liquid asset fund.
Boehner also loaded up on $81,000 on bonds and notes from companies like AT&T Wireless, Duke Energy, General Electric and the now-shuttered Bear Stearns.
On the day he that unloaded that retirement fund, Boehner bought at least $698,000 in companies such as Goldman Sachs, BP, AT&T, Chevron, ExxonMobil, JPMorgan, Pepsi and Microsoft. He also put between $100,000 and $250,000 in a UBS liquid asset fund.
Boehner also loaded up on $81,000 on bonds and notes from companies like AT&T Wireless, Duke Energy, General Electric and the now-shuttered Bear Stearns.
While Republicans spent much of the year saying that Fannie Mae needs reformation, Boehner bought between $1,001 and $5,000 of the company’s securities, along with at least $15,000 of Federal Home Loan Bank securities. Boehner also bought at least $15,000 in U.S. Treasury notes.
"Mr. Boehner closed out his retirement account from the small business he ran before coming to Congress, and, on the advice of his financial adviser, shifted the funds to other investments," said Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner.
http://www.politico.com/...
Our multi-millionaire Senator McConnell believed to be the 12th wealthiest member of the US Senate, is certain to make millions in personal gain by extension of the Bush tax cuts. Let's face it these people are in it for themselves and their rich buddies!
Senator McConnell's personal fortune is estimated at $32,756,000 in 2009, having increased by $800,002 since the previous year, and ranking as the 12th wealthiest member of the U.S. Senate
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
If you are curious about the boy genius lawyer Eric Cantor's blue blood Ivy League pedigree just look at the quote below.
Cantor was born in Richmond, Virginia. He graduated from the Collegiate School in 1981, earned a baccalaureate at George Washington University (where he was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity) in 1985[3] and a juris doctor degree from William & Mary Law School in 1988, and received a master of science degree from Columbia University in 1989.[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
There are too many examples of the strong European social safety net to cite so we will focus on just one, Gt Britain. As it is an English speaking country, we have clear incontrovertible evidence that jobless benefits in Gt Britain never run out. Additionally the jobless never lose their medical plan or their dental plan. They even get free prescription medications. Why can't we in America have that type of a social safety net? Maybe that could happen if we stopped electing so many millionaires to Congress, wherein about half of the members of Congress are millionaires. Maybe we as Americans should start electing working class people to represent us and our family values.
Long-term Unemployment and Benefits
In some countries, unemployment benefits are only paid for a limited period of time following a redundancy. After that, the unemployed are on their own. In Britain, this is not the case. If you are unemployed, you can continue to receive some form of government support even over an extended period if necessary.
http://www.redundancyexpert.co.uk/...
(Regarding the British National Health Service)
The NHS was born out of a long-held ideal that good healthcare should be available to all, regardless of wealth. That principle remains at its core. With the exception of charges for some prescriptions and optical and dental services, the NHS remains free at the point of use for anyone who is resident in the UK.
http://www.nhs.uk/...
------------------------------------------------------
You are also entitled to free prescriptions if you....
: Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance,
: Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
http://www.nhs.uk/...
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You are also entitled to free NHS dental treatment if you....
: receive Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance,
: receive Income-related Employment and Support Allowance,
http://www.nhs.uk/...
Something serious is happening here with Glenn Beck. He is trying to get people to accept the new coming poverty by romanticizing it through color photographs of proud, yet virtuous Americans who struggled through the Great Depression, with qualities of self reliance hearkening back to the era of salt of the earth people who in log cabins survived and grew their own food without the dependence on government. A strong European style social safety net would prevent this from ever happening again in America.
There is nothing proud or virtuous about hunger or poverty imposed by the GOP led class warfare against the American working class. The truth is Americans should not let themselves been conned into needlessly accepting the coming poverty. Together we must speak out and build a European style social safety net in order to protect the American dream.
Glenn Beck on his show displayed this still photograph of a family from the era of the Great Depression drawn from the Library of Congress collection of that era. (See embedded video below)
Source: http://mediamatters.org/...
BECK: Look at this family. This is — this looks like a sawed off log. This looks like a log cabin. I don't know what this is. Plywood? Look at the conditions here. Look at this man's shirt. I don't think that was — I don't think that was government health care. Well, actually, that might actually be government health care.
Look at the food. And I can guarantee you, she canned the food. They milked the cow. She made the food. He grew the food. They probably helped. That's poverty.
Full transcript: http://www.foxnews.com/...
CONCLUSION:Why does the American working class have to risk getting caught up in a second Great Depression when a strong social safety net would prevent it from ever happening again in America. Americans keep jobless benefits that will never run out and universal medical access that can never be taken away.
In closing this diary asks you, why can't we find out from the American plutocrat media that jobless benefits in Britain and elsewhere never run out? The jobless in these countries also never lose their medical benefits. Why won't the plutocrat owned media in America tell the American people that? Maybe it is up to us to spread the word and to create a higher expectation in support of family values of jobless benefits that never run out; of universal medical care that can never be taken away. The American working class need and deserve a European style social safety net now! Because it is only that social safety net that will allow them to flee the ravages of the GOP led class warfare struggle! It's only the veto pen of President Obama that we can look to for protection from the GOP led class warfare against the American working class. That's why we should all support President Obama and the Democrats.
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For interested readers, here a link to my other diaries in this series.
http://democrats-ramshield.dailykos.com