Carol L. Clark: Here you state the nub of the issue:
"Reverting to the Meanness
"Grabby billionaires gonna be grabby billionaires and it makes no difference to them who pays the bill so long as it ain’t them. First suckers up: Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Or some other shiny pot of “handout” gold. SNAP? HEAP? Vets’ healthcare? Eh, so what?
"Income after retirement? There’s no crying in baseball and there’s no such thing as retirement for the “little people.” It’s your fault that you’re not a billionaire like us. And no, you get sick? Suffer. Health care is a privilege, not a right."
And the little people vote for THIS?!
There has been a major disconnect in the American polity.
This 76-year-old grew up in admiration of Progressivism from Theodore Roosevelt through Eugene Debs, the great Labor movement, the New Deal, the Great Society, the War on Poverty.
What you describe in the billionaires is something I have understood for a long while, but I am in disbelief, when I compare the current pedestrian, nihilistic rich-man's club with the 19th Century greedy billionaires -- Vanderbilt, Rockefeller -- who at least formed great philanthropies, building the renowned Vanderbilt University and the Rockefeller philanthropies.
If we could have philanthropists at the top, the billionaire privileges would at least contribute something worthwhile to society.
Maybe it is symbolic: The once great Boeing has had aircraft hatches blown-off midair, and now on its Starliner the astronauts in perpetual rotation around the atmosphere . . .
Hi Armand. This 76-year-old knows what you mean. The rot is everywhere and the very, very wealthy long ago decided that it's everyone for themselves. They're grabbing it while they can. The item in this piece that astounded me is proof that the GOP intentionally defrauds the public by cooking the books when it comes to fessing up about the latest debt they've created. See Mike Crapo's comment: "Pretend it isn't there." It recalls "I, Claudius" when Caligula makes a Senator of his horse. And we've yet to find the bottom.
All the warmth and blessings of the season to you and your family, Armand. Thank you for reading and liking my post.
About Boeing, I have a completely uninformed but intuitive opinion of why it's fallen on hard times. For one, it lost its great leader who went over to Chrysler, I believe, and it's been downhill ever since. That one's easy. The other is more difficult - I think Boeing lost its pride, and quality control when it gave away parts of the manufacturing processes to other countries. It seems to me that if you lose control of the entire process and you can't be sure of the quality of others you've contracted with, then you risk overall quality. Unless I'm mistaken, there are only two civilian airliner corporations in the West and they are Boeing and Airbus. Just my assumption.
Happy Holidays to you, Armand. A nice cup of eggnog in front of a roaring fire....sounds like vacation.
Carol L. Clark: Here you state the nub of the issue:
"Reverting to the Meanness
"Grabby billionaires gonna be grabby billionaires and it makes no difference to them who pays the bill so long as it ain’t them. First suckers up: Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Or some other shiny pot of “handout” gold. SNAP? HEAP? Vets’ healthcare? Eh, so what?
"Income after retirement? There’s no crying in baseball and there’s no such thing as retirement for the “little people.” It’s your fault that you’re not a billionaire like us. And no, you get sick? Suffer. Health care is a privilege, not a right."
And the little people vote for THIS?!
There has been a major disconnect in the American polity.
This 76-year-old grew up in admiration of Progressivism from Theodore Roosevelt through Eugene Debs, the great Labor movement, the New Deal, the Great Society, the War on Poverty.
What you describe in the billionaires is something I have understood for a long while, but I am in disbelief, when I compare the current pedestrian, nihilistic rich-man's club with the 19th Century greedy billionaires -- Vanderbilt, Rockefeller -- who at least formed great philanthropies, building the renowned Vanderbilt University and the Rockefeller philanthropies.
If we could have philanthropists at the top, the billionaire privileges would at least contribute something worthwhile to society.
Maybe it is symbolic: The once great Boeing has had aircraft hatches blown-off midair, and now on its Starliner the astronauts in perpetual rotation around the atmosphere . . .
And the wheels go round and round . . .
Hi Armand. This 76-year-old knows what you mean. The rot is everywhere and the very, very wealthy long ago decided that it's everyone for themselves. They're grabbing it while they can. The item in this piece that astounded me is proof that the GOP intentionally defrauds the public by cooking the books when it comes to fessing up about the latest debt they've created. See Mike Crapo's comment: "Pretend it isn't there." It recalls "I, Claudius" when Caligula makes a Senator of his horse. And we've yet to find the bottom.
All the warmth and blessings of the season to you and your family, Armand. Thank you for reading and liking my post.
About Boeing, I have a completely uninformed but intuitive opinion of why it's fallen on hard times. For one, it lost its great leader who went over to Chrysler, I believe, and it's been downhill ever since. That one's easy. The other is more difficult - I think Boeing lost its pride, and quality control when it gave away parts of the manufacturing processes to other countries. It seems to me that if you lose control of the entire process and you can't be sure of the quality of others you've contracted with, then you risk overall quality. Unless I'm mistaken, there are only two civilian airliner corporations in the West and they are Boeing and Airbus. Just my assumption.
Happy Holidays to you, Armand. A nice cup of eggnog in front of a roaring fire....sounds like vacation.
Bringing Vonnegut into this, with a panache