'Trinkle-down' economics have failed us
By
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To the editor:
Both Mr. Ryan and Mr. Lewis have asked questions about my response to an article decrying an alleged tax increase on average Americans which in reality is only allowing the portion of Bush's cut on that applies to wealthiest Americans to expire as intended.
Let me ask a couple of questions.
Doesn't President Obama propose only to allow only the portion of Bush's tax cut that went to upper income people to expire, thus ending the tax cut for the rich?
Where did you get that President Obama proposes cutting child care credits. According to CNN News, President Obama has proposed nearly doubling the tax credit available for child and dependent care and they went on to point out, as any unbiased source would, that such a move would add $900 billion to the deficit.
Mr. Lewis asks, "Exactly how long should unemployment benefits last?" That is a very good question. When I graduated from high school, I had options that would allow me to have a decent standard of living. Things were still made in America and there were lots of jobs available that offered totally paid health insurance and paid enough for me to afford to get married and have my wife stay home to raise the children. I could also choose to attend college, which I did, and earn enough over summer or in part-time or co-op jobs to pay for a higher education and upon graduation I could find a job that paid enough to make the investment in higher education worthwhile. Back then, unemployment benefits were available to cover the short period between jobs. Today, thanks to trinkle down economics, export of jobs, welfare for the rich and an overall devaluation of the American worker, high school graduates can look forward to living for years in their parent's basements, assuming the parents home has not been foreclosed on and they are not living on the street. Today there are few decent paying manufacturing jobs left and close to minimum wage, part-time jobs that don't offer health insurance or pension plans are about the only options. Today most young people graduate from college faced with a mountain of debt and with no prospects of obtaining a job that doesn't involve flipping burgers or selling products made by Chinese workers paid less than a dollar an hour. Today older people who have lost jobs, thanks to an economy that has crashed due to globalization and cut backs of workers, often can't find jobs that pay enough for them to afford health insurance, let alone food and shelter.
How long should unemployment benefits last? In my opinion they should last until the United States returns to being a land of opportunity rather than the a feudal society much like that which many of our parents, grandparents or great-grandparents cane to America to escape. How can the country afford this? By focusing on creating jobs in America rather than offering incentives for exporting them. By not paying trillions to invade, occupy and then rebuild countries we have no business being in. By not pouring more trillions into the industrial military complex that President Eisenhower warned us about. By not approving any more unfunded mandates such as Bush's Medicare drug benefit plan that will cost $1.2 trillion according to the Washington Post. By not playing into bin Laden's hands by bankrupting ourselves fighting criminals that who wouldn't be trying to set off bombs in Time Square if we were not setting off bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan. By recognizing the reality that people are living longer and raising retirement age. By raising the cap on Social Security taxes to reflect the explosion in income for the richest Americans and means testing Social Security payments. By working toward increasing wages in countries that have what amounts to slave labor instead of forcing American workers to compete with slave laborers.
I will end with a question for Mr. Lewis.
What would you have us do with people who might starve or be living on the street if not for unemployment benefits? Should they be rounded up and put in some sort of camps as happened in Europe in the 30s and 40s? Should we turn our backs on them and pretend they don't exist? Should we leave them to the tender mercy of once compassionate people who have been largely brainwashed into believing that people are poor because they are lazy or who are too busy protesting same sex unions or too fixated on ending abortion to notice that people already born are starving? What is your plan?
Sincerely,
Charles Leach
Lynchburg[[In-content Ad]]
Both Mr. Ryan and Mr. Lewis have asked questions about my response to an article decrying an alleged tax increase on average Americans which in reality is only allowing the portion of Bush's cut on that applies to wealthiest Americans to expire as intended.
Let me ask a couple of questions.
Doesn't President Obama propose only to allow only the portion of Bush's tax cut that went to upper income people to expire, thus ending the tax cut for the rich?
Where did you get that President Obama proposes cutting child care credits. According to CNN News, President Obama has proposed nearly doubling the tax credit available for child and dependent care and they went on to point out, as any unbiased source would, that such a move would add $900 billion to the deficit.
Mr. Lewis asks, "Exactly how long should unemployment benefits last?" That is a very good question. When I graduated from high school, I had options that would allow me to have a decent standard of living. Things were still made in America and there were lots of jobs available that offered totally paid health insurance and paid enough for me to afford to get married and have my wife stay home to raise the children. I could also choose to attend college, which I did, and earn enough over summer or in part-time or co-op jobs to pay for a higher education and upon graduation I could find a job that paid enough to make the investment in higher education worthwhile. Back then, unemployment benefits were available to cover the short period between jobs. Today, thanks to trinkle down economics, export of jobs, welfare for the rich and an overall devaluation of the American worker, high school graduates can look forward to living for years in their parent's basements, assuming the parents home has not been foreclosed on and they are not living on the street. Today there are few decent paying manufacturing jobs left and close to minimum wage, part-time jobs that don't offer health insurance or pension plans are about the only options. Today most young people graduate from college faced with a mountain of debt and with no prospects of obtaining a job that doesn't involve flipping burgers or selling products made by Chinese workers paid less than a dollar an hour. Today older people who have lost jobs, thanks to an economy that has crashed due to globalization and cut backs of workers, often can't find jobs that pay enough for them to afford health insurance, let alone food and shelter.
How long should unemployment benefits last? In my opinion they should last until the United States returns to being a land of opportunity rather than the a feudal society much like that which many of our parents, grandparents or great-grandparents cane to America to escape. How can the country afford this? By focusing on creating jobs in America rather than offering incentives for exporting them. By not paying trillions to invade, occupy and then rebuild countries we have no business being in. By not pouring more trillions into the industrial military complex that President Eisenhower warned us about. By not approving any more unfunded mandates such as Bush's Medicare drug benefit plan that will cost $1.2 trillion according to the Washington Post. By not playing into bin Laden's hands by bankrupting ourselves fighting criminals that who wouldn't be trying to set off bombs in Time Square if we were not setting off bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan. By recognizing the reality that people are living longer and raising retirement age. By raising the cap on Social Security taxes to reflect the explosion in income for the richest Americans and means testing Social Security payments. By working toward increasing wages in countries that have what amounts to slave labor instead of forcing American workers to compete with slave laborers.
I will end with a question for Mr. Lewis.
What would you have us do with people who might starve or be living on the street if not for unemployment benefits? Should they be rounded up and put in some sort of camps as happened in Europe in the 30s and 40s? Should we turn our backs on them and pretend they don't exist? Should we leave them to the tender mercy of once compassionate people who have been largely brainwashed into believing that people are poor because they are lazy or who are too busy protesting same sex unions or too fixated on ending abortion to notice that people already born are starving? What is your plan?
Sincerely,
Charles Leach
Lynchburg[[In-content Ad]]