Class warfare

Rocinante wrote:

steveschneider wrote:GM cuts 14,000 jobs

8,000 white collar jobs and roughly 6,000 blue collar jobs.

Most likely those people are going to end up working low pay service industry jobs that are just going to get replaced by computers and robots.

Yeah but it didn't happen until after the midterms, so it's the Democrats' fault.

I think at the heart of class warfare isn't either political party, it's corporate power. We live in an oligarchy.

Oligarchy or maybe a plutocracy.

not a bad read about the stigma and prejudices experienced by the poor.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-poverty-wealth-conservative_us_5bfc52cbe4b03b230fa59f96

Lame-duck bill would restrict state policing of fraudulent charities

How can r's justify this?

Seriously....

Sickening.

AvgMSUJoe wrote:Lame-duck bill would restrict state policing of fraudulent charities

How can r's justify this?

Seriously....

Sickening.

Shirkey's bill, which he dubbed the "Personal Privacy Protection Act," is one of at least two examples of Republican lame-duck bills that would limit the powers of Democrats who on Jan. 1 will take control of the offices of governor, attorney general and secretary of state, as a result of defeating Republican candidates in the Nov. 6 general election.

Authoritarian Governments will seek to take the power away from the people. These people seek to take the poser away from the electors of the state of Michigan. A final "fuck you" to them, if you will.

DWags wrote:

AvgMSUJoe wrote:Lame-duck bill would restrict state policing of fraudulent charities

How can r's justify this?

Seriously....

Sickening.

Shirkey's bill, which he dubbed the "Personal Privacy Protection Act," is one of at least two examples of Republican lame-duck bills that would limit the powers of Democrats who on Jan. 1 will take control of the offices of governor, attorney general and secretary of state, as a result of defeating Republican candidates in the Nov. 6 general election.

Authoritarian Governments will seek to take the power away from the people. These people seek to take the poser away from the electors of the state of Michigan. A final "fuck you" to them, if you will.

These cocksuckers do nothing for years... then in 2 weeks in Dec, a flood of bullshit.

I always sensed Snyder wasn't totally full of it. (at least he never bowed to the tea party)... I suppose we will see with this bullshit.

Also (not in this article) the assholes are gutting the minimum wage hike and sick leave act... So every Republican making less then say...$20/hr just got directly fucked by them....(of course they don't know it, and wouldn't admit it if they did)

AvgMSUJoe wrote:Lame-duck bill would restrict state policing of fraudulent charities

How can r's justify this?

Seriously....

Sickening.

https://splinternews.com/michigan-gop-pushing-desperate-ploy-to-fuck-over-low-wa-1830713804

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/11/28/gop-michigan-minimum-wage-leave/2136112002/

https://www.theringer.com/tech/2018/11/30/18118211/amazon-hq2-search-cities-left-behind

https://splinternews.com/the-next-big-legal-case-to-assassinate-unions-is-on-the-1830908179

https://splinternews.com/the-war-against-amazon-is-here-1831227559

https://splinternews.com/its-almost-christmas-so-trump-is-trying-to-take-food-fr-1831230047

Can't stop, won't stop.

Cameron wrote:https://splinternews.com/its-almost-christmas-so-trump-is-trying-to-take-food-fr-1831230047

Can't stop, won't stop.

had a fake job doing business deals for like 50 years before stumbling ass-backwards into becoming president

https://splinternews.com/top-pelosi-aide-reportedly-told-health-insurance-compan-1832356368

Cameron wrote:https://splinternews.com/top-pelosi-aide-reportedly-told-health-insurance-compan-1832356368

Maybe she's just telling them what they want to hear? Seriously though, I would agree there are significant logistical challenges to a single payer system. Namely, dismantling an entire industry & it's profits. Things change though. It wasn't that long ago that Democratic leadership was against gay marriage.

Well it makes sense. Big Insurance and Big Pharma got in bed with the Dems during Obamacare.

Dr. Strangelove wrote:Well it makes sense. Big Insurance and Big Pharma got in bed with the Dems during Obamacare.

Exactly. Obama’s goal in the beginning was a single payer system. The negotiating process got us the ACA, which was designed to be like MassCare, which is super popular in that state. As passed, it was a huge win for Insurance companies. However, it’s slow dismantling at the hands of Republicans has also been a win for the insurance companies. They win no matter what happens short of single payer, and they are a big player in campaigns in both parties. It will take a grassroots sea change type of election(s) to get a Congress and President that can make it happen.

I didn’t see those bullet points as anything other than a the current feelings towards Single Payer, not so much Dem leaders as against it. Those points mentioned are all true; there’s a lot of strikes going against it presently. From a realistic standpoint, the Ds are wise to restrengthen the ACA and bring down drug prices. Voters would reward Ds if they can see cost savings on RXs. I also see a political civil war brewing between the leadership and the new Justice Dems wing of the party. AOC is happy to have the fight, but I worry she’s willing to leave the party too bloodied and divided for any success in ‘20. She doesn’t recognize, or doesn’t care, that most Americans aren’t yet ready for single payer, and especially if people can’t keep their own insurance.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jan/30/historian-berates-billionaires-at-davos-over-tax-avoidance

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/feb/01/rutger-bregman-world-economic-forum-davos-speech-tax-billionaires-capitalism

https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/30/wealth-banks-google-facebook-society-economy-parasites?__twitter_impression=true

What about these rich assholes that write their pets into the will? Karl Lagerfields cat is going to inherit a chunk of his $300 million dollar fortune. I’m big cat fan but come on. Dude could have made such a difference with that money. This planet does not need millionaire cats.

https://splinternews.com/ray-dalios-capitalism-for-cowards-1833887111

Trump May Redefine Poverty, Cutting Americans From Welfare Rolls

The Trump administration may alter the way it determines the national poverty threshold, putting Americans living on the margins at risk of losing access to welfare programs.

The possible move would involve changing how inflation is calculated in the “official poverty measure,” the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a regulatory filing on Monday. The formula has been used for decades to determine whether people qualify for certain federal programs and benefits.

That’s a classic, cheap fix to create a “See!” fact.

I rep’ed for a company that grew too fast and delivery went from 3-4 weeks to 7-10 while they kept telling customers 3-4. At a sales meeting they told us the were hitting 97% of their ship dates. We called BS on the claim, they told us they used their revised number that kept getting moved back, not the initial date told to customers.

https://splinternews.com/money-is-your-real-enemy-1837367100

The New Servant Class

In an age of persistently high inequality, work in high-cost metros catering to the whims of the wealthy—grooming them, stretching them, feeding them, driving them—has become one of the fastest-growing industries.

The MIT economist David Autor calls it “wealth work.”

Low-skill, low-pay, and disproportionately done by women, these jobs congregate near dense urban labor markets, multiplying in neighborhoods with soaring disposable income. Between 2010 and 2017, the number of manicurists and pedicurists doubled, while the number of fitness trainers and skincare specialists grew at least twice as fast as the overall labor force.

Guess What Happens?

There is no thought of operating the NLRB honestly, and trying to rule on cases based on the fairest interpretation of laws and precedents. That is a fairy tale, and if you believe that this government operates like that, they will laugh heartily at you behind your back. But even if you understand power politics, and cutthroat capitalism, and robotic profit-seeking with no regard for humanity, there is still an argument to be made not to treat organized labor like shit. That argument stems from wisdom, and history. Two things the Trump administration has not demonstrated much interest in.

This probably belongs here....

So I don't understand the tax laws well enough, but there's a thing going on in our town where a couple of billionaire real estate assholes from the city are buying up all the buildings in our town as tax shelters. They kick out the businesses, jack the rents up and leave them empty. I guess they use it as a tax write off and then can sell them in a few years to avoid paying taxes. At any rate it's causing all the independent businesses to be shut down, all the good restaurants, music venues, bars, etc.

Also, if your dream was to ever grow up and own a small business fuckers like this are making it that much harder.

Fuck Harvard

US income inequality jumps to highest level ever recorded

Income inequality last year reached its highest level in more than half a century, as a record-long economic expansion continued to disproportionately benefit some of the wealthiest Americans.

A key measure of wealth distribution jumped to 0.485 in 2018, the Census Bureau said Thursday, its highest reading since the so-called Gini index was started in 1967. The gauge, which uses a scale of 0 to 1, stood at 0.482 a year earlier.

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The top 1% globally hold 45% of global wealth.

I was gonna post these in the giving pledge thread, but they really veer more towards class warfare generally. I also wonder if maybe some people have been put off of participating in that thread due to the general pettiness of the OP, but who knows...

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/everyone-tries-to-dodge-the-tax-man-and-it-keeps-getting-easier/amp/

https://www.propublica.org/article/earned-income-tax-credit-irs-audit-working-poor/amp

Watching 60 Minutes and they had a good article on homelessness in seattle. The leading cause of homelessness was pretty interesting. An expert attributed it to wealthy moving to cities and driving up rents. Also, they had a full time employee for the usps and all she could afford was to live in an RV.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/homeless-in-america-the-issues-forcing-people-in-seattle-onto-the-street-60-minutes-2019-12-01/

We should change zoning laws and allow multiple Quonset Huts be built on lots at affordable prices.

It's absurd that someone can work full time making almost $20 an hour and still not be able to find somewhere to live, definitely a clear sign of a broken society. We need vastly more affordable housing options in most if not all of our major metropolitan areas.

Cameron wrote:It's absurd that someone can work full time making almost $20 an hour and still not be able to find somewhere to live, definitely a clear sign of a broken society. We need vastly more affordable housing options in most if not all of our major metropolitan areas.

Yeah, in that 60 Minutes piece they said the leading cause to homelessness is the rise of affluent people in that city. It’s happenint in Our town in 3-4 years rents have doubled. There’s an explosion of New Yorkers leaving the city and buying shit up. There’s also a couple of billionaires from the city using the surrounding towns as tax shelters. They are buying up property, keeping it vacant and will sell in a few years to dodge taxes. Also there’s a neighborhood that is mostly African American and the affordable housing units are being sold to develop and in the listing it says tenants pay well below market value. No one even cares about that town it’s literally invisible to everyone else and they push the local gov to redone areas to bring in luxurious high rises and more parking in the shopping district.

A little “financial segregation” anyone? Wink wink nod nod.