One of my very best friends posted the following in an email thread. It is too good to not pass along. For perspective, the email thread was discussing a video of a guy climbing an antenna tower. I commented in the thread that this worker deserves all his union benefits and then some. My buddy replied with:
And, of course, people who climb towers like that for a living should have their pay cut. Everyone needs to sacrifice. Especially people like that. Fuck, they should be reduced to abject penury. It's their fault the economy is in freefall. They were the guys who threatened to beat up Jamie Dimon unless he did business with Bernie Madoff. They were the guys who pointed a finger at Lloyd Blankfein's head and told him that he needed to earn more money doing god's work, goddammit. They were the guys who told Joseph Cassano to write insurance coverage without taking in enough in premiums to cover it. They told Angelo Mozillo that he built the greatest corporation in all of history. Also, doesn't it make you sick that public sector janitors make 29,000/year, when they might only make 27,000/year - and no benefits - in the private sector? If only janitors were poorer, we'd have no budget deficit. And what's the deal with firefighters? Why the fuck should they have a pension? It's not like they do something that has social utility. The truth is, we've been fucked by working people - nurses and road crew guys and plumbers and teachers and cops and janitors. They create these giant financial institutions, take immense financial risk, suck up the profits, and then stick the taxpayers with billions of dollars in losses when the bets turn out bad. It's like no one realizes that Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin and their buddies invented to big to fail. Every day, I hear Timothy Geithner sticking up for nurses aides and phlebotomists and secretaries. When is he going to throw some love to Wall Street?
Fuck these poor people too.
And another thing. Poor people need to pay more in taxes. That's only fair, since they're the ones who constantly suck on the government teat. Also, they need to stop shirking their military obligations, and start volunteering for the armed services. It's an injustice that our armed forces are primarily filled with the children of the wealthy. On the other hand, marginal tax rates on the top 1% need to be cut. We do not have enough Lexus SUVs on the streets.
And make sure to check out this video. But not if you are afraid of heights.