James Webb ( Ronald Reagan's Secretary of the Navy) wrote an editorial in the Wall Street Journal, and offended Fox Republicans by mentioning facts. Mr Webb wrote
Quote:
In the age of globalization and outsourcing, and with a vast underground labor pool from illegal immigration, the average American worker is seeing a different life and a troubling future. Trickle-down economics didn't happen. Despite the vaunted all-time highs of the stock market, wages and salaries are at all-time lows as a percentage of the national wealth. At the same time, medical costs have risen 73% in the last six years alone. Half of that increase comes from wage-earners' pockets rather than from insurance, and 47 million Americans have no medical insurance at all.
Manufacturing jobs are disappearing. Many earned pension programs have collapsed in the wake of corporate "reorganization." And workers' ability to negotiate their futures has been eviscerated by the twin threats of modern corporate America: If they complain too loudly, their jobs might either be outsourced overseas or given to illegal immigrants.
This ever-widening divide is too often ignored or downplayed by its beneficiaries. A sense of entitlement has set in among elites, bordering on hubris. When I raised this issue with corporate leaders during the recent political campaign, I was met repeatedly with denials, and, from some, an overt lack of concern for those who are falling behind. A troubling arrogance is in the air among the nation's most fortunate. Some shrug off large-scale economic and social dislocations as the inevitable byproducts of the "rough road of capitalism." Others claim that it's the fault of the worker or the public education system, that the average American is simply not up to the international challenge, that our education system fails us, or that our workers have become spoiled by old notions of corporate paternalism.
Still others have gone so far as to argue that these divisions are the natural results of a competitive society. Furthermore, an unspoken insinuation seems to be inundating our national debate: Certain immigrant groups have the "right genetics" and thus are natural entrants to the "overclass," while others, as well as those who come from stock that has been here for 200 years and have not made it to the top, simply don't possess the necessary attributes.
Most Americans reject such notions. But the true challenge is for everyone to understand that the current economic divisions in society are harmful to our future. It should be the first order of business for the new Congress to begin addressing these divisions, and to work to bring true fairness back to economic life. Workers already understand this, as they see stagnant wages and disappearing jobs.(WSJ, 11-15-06)
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Fox responded with
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BYRNES: But, then you have to stop paying athletes and rappers and people who never went to high school ...
PAYNE: You don't have to stop paying anyone!
BYRNES: ... millions and millions of dollars.
PAYNE: I would love to. I would love to stop paying a million dollars 'cause [indecipherable]
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And
Quote:
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BYRNES: I think it still comes down to who are their role models. Their role models are people who are hangin' out on the street, shooting guns, and now they're making millions of dollars.
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That's right. 47 million Americans have no health insurance because 47 million Americans idolize "role models" who are "hangin' out on the street, shooting guns". This also explains why jobs are being outsourced and medical costs are rising so sharply. All that's wrong with the world can be explained by stereotypes you learn on TV!
Or, as Bill O says, "Mother [curse word], I want my iced tea!" |
