The Undeclared War on America's Middle Class

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

* The military industry has too much influence in Washington, for one. Secondly, many of the operations done before solely by the military are now being handled by profitable companies who are bilking us tax payers billions.

* No Child Left Behind is based on the premise that through market style competition, school's quality of education will improve. It assumes the free market competition is logically sound and works in all situations. Educators don't get into teaching for the money. They teach because they love to.

* Independent research has been done in states like Massachusetts on single payer healthcare and have concluded that such a system would not only save enormous amounts of money, but would be able to provide healthcare for the underinsured and uninsured.

* Progressive tax is fair. Charles, when we have this many working poor in America, there's an imbalance and you have to follow the money trail as to why that is so. You call it robbing the rich, but you don't call it stealing from the workers when a company underpays them for the work they do. Fairness only works when it is applied across the board. As the article states, places like Walmart can afford to pay their employers a better wage and still be profitable. It's about sharing a piece of the pie - nobody gets rich all by themselves - they're wealth is not in a vaccuum.

-then perhaps it's not taking back the military but dealing a setback to the contractors is a better way to put it? the military has been under civilian control, the control of our elected officials. i can't see how they don't 'belong" to the taxpayer given that.

- i do disagree with the no child left behind act in that all it seems to have done is raise taxes without any clear benefit to the kids. if the kid is failing, as fuzz pointed out, then he or she should be held back until they demonstrate sufficient knowledge to advance to the next grade. i can't see moving them along to the next grade "just because" when they failed to meet the standards.

- maybe it's cheaper now....cause that's a state run program. i'd rather not see what happens if such comes to pass in the way of taxes and bloated office space should the federal government try to administer such a program.

- yes i call it robbing the rich. and what better term for it? have you really examined how much any of these programs would cost you? so a company underpays it's workers. it happens here where i work too. taxing the corporation or higher end wage people won't put more money in my pocket nor yours. to think it will is just a pipe dream.

[jjjimmy 0]

steven usually we agree but why should i as a corp. owner pay a flat 35% tax.and by the way tax isnt nearly as bad as insurance its ins. co. that are breaking our country.

[Jenn! 918]

steven usually we agree but why should i as a corp. owner pay a flat 35% tax.and by the way tax isnt nearly as bad as insurance its ins. co. that are breaking our country.

I'm in insurance, so I'm gonna pass this hot potato over to the politicians!

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

all accounts its not the teacher's who benefit from those schemes. After all many are still using their own money to buy classroom materials. All for teacher's being paid more, the real crime is how someone on a local board of education can earn a 6 figure salary for doing… what… exactly?

Sounds like a commie. Always annoyed me that at UC people were comparing salary of UC president to some Janitor. Not Fair, 10 times difference. Well yeah, should be 100 times IMO.

Low educated low life lazy commie. Worse then illegals. Ate least illegals work.

And I suppose that from your learned perspective as a half-literate house arrest ex-con that you can appreciate the value of a good education - not to mention the somewhat more than cosmetic difference between a teacher and a janitor.

[type2negative 0]

And I suppose that from your learned perspective as a half-literate house arrest ex-con that you can appreciate the value of a good education - not to mention the somewhat more than cosmetic difference between a teacher and a janitor.

In plain words???. for illiterate ex-con..

[Fuzzness 2]

all accounts its not the teacher's who benefit from those schemes. After all many are still using their own money to buy classroom materials. All for teacher's being paid more, the real crime is how someone on a local board of education can earn a 6 figure salary for doing… what… exactly?

Sounds like a commie. Always annoyed me that at UC people were comparing salary of UC president to some Janitor. Not Fair, 10 times difference. Well yeah, should be 100 times IMO.

Low educated low life lazy commie. Worse then illegals. Ate least illegals work.

That is the stupidest thing I've heard all week!

thanks for the laugh!

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

And I suppose that from your learned perspective as a half-literate house arrest ex-con that you can appreciate the value of a good education - not to mention the somewhat more than cosmetic difference between a teacher and a janitor.

In plain words???. for illiterate ex-con..

Ug...

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

And I suppose that from your learned perspective as a half-literate house arrest ex-con that you can appreciate the value of a good education - not to mention the somewhat more than cosmetic difference between a teacher and a janitor.

In plain words???. for illiterate ex-con..

Ug...

erekose has met his match

[mawilson 2,133]

These papers must be pretty good, because they have sent some people back to Central America/Mexico because they actually tried to work here at the airport with them! Those guys have got to be idiots though... walking into a police station for a 10-year background check, which all airport employees must have, with false papers...

If they were sent packing, clearly the papers weren't that good

[mawilson 2,133]

* Return to the American people our ownership of the military, the prison system, and the ballot box.

Thanks, but no thanks. I don't want to own the prison system.

* Fight for free and public education that encourages critical thinking, historical knowledge, and a love of learning in each child. Combat the No Child Left Behind Act and the belief that education is a commodity that can be tested.

Great idea

* Fight for a national single-payer health-care system based on Medicare.

Only if done properly (i.e. not like the NHS or Canadian system)

* Fight for Social Security -- do not let it be privatized or co-opted.

* Fight for progressive taxation: reinstate a rate of 35 percent on corporations and a rate of 70 percent on the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans -- and use the money to pay back the Social Security system and to fund an economic investment program.

No way in hell.

That's a sure fire way to kill the economy. Do you think the wealthiest 5% of Americans

are actually going to cough up 70% or whatever you think is appropriate? They'll just take

their money elsewhere.

* Fight for a living wage and for the right of labor to organize.

Living wage -

Right of labor to organise -

* Fight for a national energy program that puts people and the planet -- not Big Oil -- first.

OK. But until that happens, please don't do anything to make Big Oil more expensive.

I'll give you just one of a long list of things that "liberals" have done....

fought for and given women the right to vote

Was that a good thing?