State-Journal.com - Two Kinds of People

Home | Back

Two Kinds of People

Email To A Friend
Printer Friendly
Comments

July 8, 2010

Republicans in the name of fiscal responsibility are filibustering an extension of unemployment benefits and financial help for the states, which includes 238 million dollars for Kentucky. Their argument is mainly ideological. Fear of the deficit and unwillingness to be bipartisan is driving them to verbally assault those in need of these benefits. A recession as long and strong as the one we are currently in requires increased stimulus from the government to carry those most affected, middle class workers, minimum wage workers, and the poor till the economy turns around and jobs become available. As we are still in the early stages of the recession, cutting back on spending is the last thing we need right now. It is true we need to tackle the deficit and I agree, but later after the economy and jobs are back on track.
Kentucky's Republican Federal Delegation, in the name of cutting the deficit are willing to let unemployment benefits run out for eight thousand Kentuckians and the State to lose out on 238 million dollars it needs to balance it's budget. That's eight thousand Kentuckians who can't make their mortgage payments, rent, utility payments, Doctor bills, food, and are facing ruin and homelessness. Eight thousand Kentuckians scrambling to find the money just to survive. Eight thousand Kentuckians to swell the welfare rolls. Eight thousand families in crisis.
Even worse for these families in crisis, some Republicans in Congress and some running for Congress are beginning to ridicule and deride those who need benefits. Senator John Kyl of Arizona said giving people unemployment was a disincentive to them finding work. Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah said of unemployment benefits that we shouldn't give cash for people to by drugs. Sharon Engle, the Republican candidate for Senator from Nevada claimed that too many entitlements have 'spoiled' our citizenry, people would rather stay on unemployment than get a job. Republicans filibustering over the unemployment benefits extension are giving action to the way they really feel. That unemployed people are that way because after losing their jobs, which must have somehow been their fault, they are too lazy, after getting unemployment benefits, to look for another job and are spending the money on drugs.
There seems to be two kinds of people in America these days. Those who cheer when their fellow citizens get ahead, and those who ask, How come you're getting something and I'm not? Republicans are fastly becoming the party of those who begrudge others for getting ahead. They have forgotten that Social Security, Social Security Disability Insurance, and unemployment insurance are what keeps our society from descending into riot and anarchy over the inequity of wealth inherent in a Capitalist Society. These programs are the way we give action to the belief that we are all in this together, that we are not a country of all for one, but as we should be, a country of one for all.

Comments

By Posting to this site, you agree to our Terms of Service Be polite. Inappropriate posts may be removed. State-Journal.com doesn't necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post.

9.	Posted by daniel2497451 July 11, 2010
	Wayne's World, Wayne's World: ""For the record, I will never take up arms against anyone either,..." - Jim Daniels As I said before it's the coward in you. You now support sending others to fight for you, but you would never stand up and do it yourself. Coward." "Go ahead and post a partial quote taking it out of context. I have guns that are for self-protection from "real" threats to me or my family...and if anyone thinks I am a "coward" and thus attacks us thinking that there will be no retribution times 10, they are sadly mistaken. I am all for revenge, and not just getting even...in fact, my idea of how to stop these suicide bombers is to kill their whole families. It is one thing for some idiot who has no life to seek martyrdom and cash in on the virgins...it is entirely another to wipe out his entire gene pool. Let's let his mother convince him just how bad of an idea it is to get the whole family killed just so that he can become a martyr. Since we haven't had a "real" reason to fight a war in my lifetime, how can you be so sure? I am not about risking life and limb for some nebulous or false reason, or corporate interests...it would have to be a defense action only. None of the folks in the article about your family were ever in a just war defending this nation, because this nation has not been in jeopardy in my lifetime, and that is for the past 60 years.

8.	Posted by photomagic1 July 11, 2010
	"For the record, I will never take up arms against anyone either,..." - Jim Daniels As I said before it's the coward in you. You now support sending others to fight for you, but you would never stand up and do it yourself. Coward.

7.	Posted by daniel2497451 July 11, 2010
	Great points all, ema.

6.	Posted by melli July 10, 2010
	Denial sez: "I found that the US was investing $2 billion in Brazil's state run oil company (what a novel idea...instead of the US leasing its reserves to private multi-national corporations for a song, and letting them sell the oil on the open market to the highest bidder, keeping the oil for ourselves and the money)." Did you know that Soros can't have that oil company fail... Where else does he have investments? Right, China and Obama, big time. Who is really pulling the strings? And who is rewarding a good old buddy there?

5.	Posted by ema July 10, 2010
	I don't give a double dam* about the politics of all this - and that is exactly what it is. When you take money out of the economy, how are you stimulating the economy? And these are real people, not statistical data. Stop giving the pentagon a blank check to buy endless bombers and ships that aren't being used and we would have lots of money. This has been happening for many years. Also "my good buddy" contracts - Haliburton, Blackwater,.... Why is it so easy to pick on the working people (who for the most part) are on the lower end of the economic scale?? Could it be because they don't have the money and power to lobby congress to get what they need????????????? You think?? This has become very personal for me as I am helping extended family weather this economic storm.

4.	Posted by daniel2497451 July 10, 2010
	Wayne's World! Wayne's World! anything is possible in Wayne's World. If I wanted a publicist or interpreter, I would have hired one...a good one who could paraphrase without nefarious intent. But Wayne's World is free...but in this case, you get what you pay for... $133 Billion huh? Source that for us Wayne's World. I found that the US was investing $2 billion in Brazil's state run oil company (what a novel idea...instead of the US leasing its reserves to private multi-national corporations for a song, and letting them sell the oil on the open market to the highest bidder, keeping the oil for ourselves and the money). The US investment would be in loans or loan guanrantees. China has already invested $10 in the same Brazil owned company, in order to assure a reliable non-middle east source. Why can't Wayne's World look this stuff up himself? How does Wayne's World have the slightest idea what I "could care less about"? But since Conman is no longer allowed on here, somebody who lives for endless wars has to bastardize my positions. Whether or not one of my family members was killed in 9/11, I still would have supported a military attack on al qaeda and Osama bin laden in Afghanistan. Get in there, kill them all and get out is what we should have done. But I do not support this 9 year half-arsed war that Boosh has been leading on while attacking Iraq for its oil. Nope, not at all. A year and a half ago, after reading, "Vietnam: A History," written by author Stanley Karnow. General Stanley McChrystal commander of U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan asked a question of the author. It was a simple question. "Is there anything we learned in Vietnam that we can apply to Afghanistan? The answer was just as simple. "The main thing I learned was that we should never have been there in the first place." Read more: http://socyberty.com/military/general-stanley-mcchrystal-and-afghanistan/#ixzz0tHZiyM2U

3.	Posted by photomagic1 July 9, 2010
	The maximum UE benefit check is 455.00 per week, and the maximum benefit is 99 weeks. No matter how long you have worked, or whether you worked for 40 years or the 10 week minimum. The issue is why the Obama administration just gave Brazil 133 Billion dollars to invest in deep water off shore drilling, Why the United States sends 8 Billion a year to Israel, 2.7 Billion Egypt, and nearly 2.7 trillion combined to 14 other countries... Mr. Daniels would have you believe the ONLY life worth fighting for are the lives of members of his own family. So if one of his family members had died in the 9-11 terrorist attacks, then Afghanistan would be a worthwhile effort. But since it was only the lives of other peoples families,........he could care less.

2.	Posted by daniel2497451 July 9, 2010
	Republicans are the party of endless war...those aren't my words, but rather Republicans Pat Buchannon's, Joe Scarborough's, Ann Coulter's and Ron Paul's recently published statements. We could easily fund these stimulus bills if we were not fighting two needless wars...again not my words. Afghanistan is costing us $5.5 billion a week...a billion dollars is 1000 million dollars. The average unemployment benefit check is $1200...how many checks could we send out for just a weeks expenditure in Afghanistan?

1.	Posted by ema July 9, 2010
	Unemployment benefits only pay a percentage of a person's wages. Living on a reduced income has already sent some people into a crisis situation. And "welfare" (AFDC) is only for people with dependent children. There isn't any "welfare roll" for anyone else. An individual qualifies for food stamps, but it's difficult to cook or refrigerate your food when you're homeless. I don't know the answer. I do know it's a sad situation for a lot of people. We live in a country where society pays billions of $$$$ for diet products and children go to bed hungry.