- President Obama speaks
- Republicans get upset
Technorati Tags: Aetna, debt, healthcare, hypocrite, insurance, republicans, subsidies
"A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves" --Edward R. Murrow
The proposed "economic stimulus package" from the Bush administration is "too little, too late" and actually exacerbates the underlying difficulties that Americans are currently experiencing. What is being proposed are tax cuts that will increase consumer spending, raise prices even further, and be of no assistance in the debt to asset ratio that is already hurting so many consumers caught in a severe mortgage crisis. It is a fact that higher prices in oil have already worked their way through the economy causing the consumer to pay higher prices for practically everything they need to survive. Meanwhile, higher wages are non-existent and healthcare costs also continue to climb.
What does the Bush "plan" actually provide to the average American taxpayer? Some analysts have suggested that most people will see a $250 tax break. Think about this. Two hundred fifty extra dollars in your tax return is not enough to make a mortgage payment. Even if the $250 is put back into the economy in the form of consumer spending, it will not stop the recession (which I believe began last quarter). When everything from groceries to automobile parts cost 30% more than they did 2 years ago, but wages have remained flat, there is no way to stop a recession from occurring. It certainly cannot be stopped by increasing inflation and sinking the dollar to new all-time lows against currencies of other industrialized nations. I don't know about you, but this is the first time during my lifetime that the Canadian dollar has traded at a premium to the U.S. dollar. Bush can talk all he wants about lowering taxes, but THERE IS NO GREATER FINANCIAL TAX THAT YOU CAN PLACE ON THE WORKING CLASS THAN INFLATION. And inflation happens when the dollar's value deteriorates - it takes more dollars to buy the same products.
So, what are going to about this? Are going to allow Bush & Co. to crap on us one more time, or are we going to scream bloody murder until they start addressing the real issues behind this recession? Remember, it was just 8 years ago that we had a balanced budget and no deficit spending. If we can have it under a Democrat as President, surely we can have it under a Republican if he sticks to the ideals of his party.
Fisher-Price Recalling 1 Million Toys
Mattel announced that they are recalling 1.5 million - yes 1,500,000 - toys that were manufactured in China because of high lead levels in the paint. What is happening?! Talking heads here in the U.S. and government officials from China will tell you that its because of "poor oversight," "corruption," or "inability to keep up with rapid growth" in China's economy that are causing "problems" like this to occur. I don't think so. I believe that China has found a way of dumping their garbage in our country by putting it into products that they sell to us. It's rather ingenious, really. Manufacturing creates waste products. What better way to rid yourself of these wastes than to put them into the products that you will be exporting to other countries. Put that risk of disease and death upon another country's population. Increase their healthcare costs. Raise your own country's wealth and power by default. Our greatest threat is not from radical Muslim regimes like Iran but from the most populous and soon to be most powerful nation in the world. China has the intellect, will, and ability to infect our society with serious ills that will slowly but certainly degrade our health and our economy.
I just watched a video on YouTube.com of an interview between Wolf Blitzer and Michael Moore concerning Moore's new film "Sicko." Sadly, CNN ran a hit piece by Dr. Sanjay Gupta just before the interview began which infuriated Moore and rightly so. CNN owes Moore an apology. The piece by Gupta claims to check Sicko's facts but gets its own facts incorrect. You can see the entire interview and the real facts here on Moore's site. I have gone through each point that Moore makes about Gupta's attacks, and Moore's facts check out. The real fact is that the message brought to us in "Sicko" is real. It's about real Americans facing real failures by our healthcare system. I urge everyone to see it. I also urge you to find and support alternative news sources because even those that formerly provided balanced views on the issues are now moving far to the right in support of their sponsors. I am very much enjoying the hammering that some "reporters" and "pundits" are receiving from their guests. Here's another one you might enjoy - Jon Stewart hammering the hosts of CNN's Crossfire.