[kj] Latest Blog Post from Youth:

[Brendan]

"Obama DID inherit two wars and a pathetic economy on the brink of
implosion, whether one likes it or not."

The Republicans claim "yeah and he quadrupled the deficit"

Forgetting that he did it with the bailout...which Bush started, Republicans
voted for under Bush, and wouldn't vote for under Obama.

You're fucked when your politicians put politics ahead of everything else.

-----Original Message-----
From: gathering-bounces at misera.net [mailto:gathering-bounces at misera.net] On
Behalf Of B. Oliver Sheppard
Sent: Thursday, 11 March 2010 7:36 AM
To: A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)
Subject: Re: [kj] Latest Blog Post from Youth:

That's certainly not the official government statistic, or even the U-6 
(I think that's what it's called) which counts the UNDER-employed etc as 
"jobless." Bu who can trust the govt., right? better to trust private 
industry standards.

Having said that, I find it amusing that people have an amnesia that 
conveniently began on January 20, 2009, or so. Many people suddenly 
found their inner Libertarian on that day. Amazing!

Unemployment is always usually higher than the official statistics. But 
the idea that the sun set and darkness in one month in January of last 
year is laughable. This has been a creping catastrophe that, yes, 
whether your favorite Republican/Libertarian talking points like it or 
not, did not start and/or end with Obama the 
NAZI/FASCIST/HIPPIE/SOCIALIST/DICTATOR/KENYAN/MUSLIM. It's a structural 
deficiency in our under-regulated, capitalist run economy. Most 
politicians in DC are lieutenants of the business community (i.e. bosses 
and employers). Obama DID inherit two wars and a pathetic economy on the 
brink of implosion, whether one likes it or not.

The criticism one can have is: Has Obama done too much -- or too little? 
The right says he has done *too much*! ("Government takeovers," blah 
blah blah). He needs to sit on his hands, as FDR should have done during 
the Great Depression, reading the Greek classics in the Oval Office, 
letting the markets play themselves out and work out their own kinks, 
consequences be damned.

Yet -- Obama was elected for a reason, which was not to be an absentee 
president, but to play a pro-active role in government to address these 
pressing, serious issues. He has actually failed on this account by 
being TOO beholden to industry, capitalist prerogatives, bankers' whims. 
etc. The current US economic climate is not because he hasn't been 
friendly enough to business. That is just Loony Tunes land, if you 
believe that sort of FOX News conspiranoid bullshit. He has been too 
craven in the face of private, capitalist power.

Again: Obama, if anything, has been TOO craven to the whim of private 
business power - has not taken them on enough - unlike FDR, who had 
absolutely no p[roblem pissing off the right people and thus getting 
elected to 4 terms. Oh, and FDR also defeated fascism, while he was it. 
Republicans hate this. Obama is too beholden to private corporate 
interests and he needs to grow a pair and tell them to fuck off.

-Oliver


sade1 wrote:

> The U.S. jobless rate is now about 22% (the pre-Crash-of-2007 official 

> rate was 4.5%),

> but,

> household incomes: 

>

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/10/no-labor-market-recession_n_456797.
html

> $150K or more, now just *3.2%* jobless

> $100-150K, it is now at 4%,

> $0.00 - 12,500, it is now _/30.8%!/_

> the lowest 10% of homes are 50% jobless,

> 2nd lowest 10% of homes are 30% jobless,

>

> Also, "families with a net worth of at least $1 million, /_excluding 

> primary residences_/, *rose *to 7.8 million in 2009," an increase of 

> *16 percent*...from 6.7 million a year earlier, according to a survey 

> of high- net-worth U.S. households conducted by Spectrem Group"

>

http://www.truthout.org/number-millionaires-us-increased-16-percent-20095753
1

>  

> Where do I sign up?

>


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