WELCOME TO OPINIONS BASED ON FACTS (OBOF)
Name | Published |
OVERVIEW | Dec. 28, 2010 |
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 1 | Dec. 30, 2010 |
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 2 | Jan. 10, 2011 |
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 3 | Jan. 17, 2011 |
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 4 | Jan. 24, 2011 |
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 5 | Jan. 31, 2011 |
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 6 | Feb. 07, 2011 |
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 7 | Feb. 14, 2011 |
SPECIAL ISSUE | Feb. 18, 2011 |
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 8 | Feb. 21, 2011 |
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 9 | Mar. 01, 2011 |
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 10 | Mar. 07, 2011 |
SS & MORE PART 1 | Mar. 14, 2011 |
SPECIAL SPECIAL SPECIAL SPECIAL
I finished writing this posting yesterday afternoon. I wasn't going to post it until Monday evening. The first part was about Social Security. So, when you get to the part about SS you will know that that is where this week's posting did start. Why the change? Ann Kent, the backbone of the Oklahoma Progressive Coalition, brought to my attention the Rachael Maddow's show of Mar. 9, 2011, one of the few nights that I missed her show. I listen to it and could not believe what I was hearing, except that I place a lot of confidence in her reporting.
Later, in this posting, I talk about the seriousness of actions that are occurring leading to an affront to Democracy. At the time, little did I know what was happening in Michigan Michigan
I will give you the link so you can listen to her yourself, but first I want to summarize what she is reporting. It seems, that in Michigan
First, the excuse used for these actions is the Budget Crisis. It starts with an increase in taxes. Well, that makes some sense if you have a budget crisis. The increase would bring in 1.7 billion dollars. The problem is that this increase is entirely on Seniors and Poor people. Worse is that, the Governor then gives that 1.7 billion dollars to large corporations in the form of a 1.8 billion dollar tax cut. The tax increase really helped the budget crisis, didn't it.
THE REAL KICKER
Here is the part that is just unreal. This legislation, in essence says, that if the Governor determines that a town has a budget crisis, he can declare it an emergency and send in a person to take over the operation of that town. What does that mean? The bill says, in essence, that this person has the total authority to suspend or dismiss any an all elected officials. He would have the authority to merge school districts if he decided to do so. HE CAN DECARE THE ENTIRE GOVERNMENT OF THE TOWN NUL AND VOID. He could be the sole person telling you what you can and cannot do in that town.
I don't know about you, but that simply scares the hell out of me. Later, I talk about some of the things that have been happening and that they are just the beginning. How true that was. It is now happening. THIS IN AMERICA
I will, however, continue to do whatever I can to keep you informed as to things that I see happening that I think you should know about, because they are ISSUES THAT EFFECT ALL OF US. The link for the Rachael Maddow's show is
SOCIAL SECURITY & MORE Part 1
I spend more time on the internet than I do watching TV. Considering that, I still have heard Social Security mentioned no less than 19 times this week on TV in a negative manner. The most compelling problem, at the moment, for Congress and the President is reaching a responsible agreement on spending for the remainder of this fiscal year, so that a budget can be passed that will avoid a government shut-down.
However, in the process, the Republicans want to use this present pressure to make cuts in the entitlements and Social Security is being included in every statement made, as the first entitlement they want to cut. FOLKS, THEY AREN'T AS INTERESTED IN CUTTING THE FUNDING FOR SS AS THEY ARE TO DO AWAY WITH IT ALTOGETHER.
The agenda of the Republican party has been against SS from the very beginning in 1935. That is the reason that Pres. Roosevelt had to put a clause in the original bill so as to get it passed. The clause, in essence gave the Congress and the President total power to do anything they want to do to SS. Yes, that's right, they can even totally cancel it, if they want to. THE ONLY THING THAT KEEPS THEM FROM DOING THOSE THINGS IS THE PRESSURE OF THE VOTERS. I am trying to show you how VERY IMPORTANT YOU ARE. The pressure is felt, to some degree, in Congress now, as evident by a statement House Speaker Boehner made that follows, in part,
"Americans aren't yet ready to embrace far-reaching changes to Social Security and Medicare"
WE JUST HAVE TO KEEP THOSE LETTERS COMING.
I received a reply from one of my Senators. True, it was a form letter, however, it was a little different in that he said that he would personally read my letter. He said that it might take, at least, 30 days, but he would read it. That's the way the form letter read and I have never had that kind of response before. Now we'll have to wait and see if he really does.
WE HAVE TO KEEP HITTING THIS "ENTITLEMENT" MATTER REAL STRONG. IT IS NOT AN ENTITLEMENT.
I HAVE SAID THAT MANY TIMES AND I AM GOING TO KEEP ON SAYING IT. IT IS THAT IMPORTANT.
UP TO NOW I HAVE STAYED AWAY FROM COMMENTING ABOUT POLITICS. I SIMPLY CAN'T DO THAT ANY LONGER. IF SOME OF YOU READ THIS AND YOU ARE UPSET WITH ME, WRITE ME ABOUT IT, BUT I HAVE TO DO THIS.
Michael Moore, the award winning movie producer said, on the Rachel Marrow show MSNBC Wed. evening 3-9-11 that, "400 rich people in this country have more monetary wealth than the total of 50% of the remainder of families in this country."
Now I can't prove that to be a fact and I have told you before, if I don't know something to be a fact I either won't print it or I will tell you that it isn't a provable fact. Even though the above is not a provable fact by me, I have no reason not to believe him. It isn't something that I made up.
With the exception of the days of John L. Lewis and the coal miners problems and Civil Rights demonstrations in 1968, I have never seen anything like what is happening to our country right now. Even those days were not as destructive as what is happening now. In fact, both of those incidents proved, finally, to be constructive instead of destructive as is the case now. Maybe, this will, finally, be constructive. I hope so, but right now it doesn't seem to be going that way.
Earlier, I told you that I was a progressive Democrat, not a dyed in the wool, extremely left Democrat, but a Democrat. I try very hard to see all sides of an issue, but the issues that are taking place now are so lopsided that, for whatever it is worth, I have to speak out. I never, in my 86+ years, thought I would ever use the words describing my government that I have been and will be using.
Now I won't say that there are no bad apples in the Democratic Party, there may be some. At the same time, though, I can say that the Democratic Party is not BOUGHT & PAID FOR as, almost, all the Republican Party.
With regard to the Republican agenda, I'm convinced that there are only three (3) points in their agenda. One (1), do everything they can to see that Obama is defeated in 2012, which means; defeat him now every way they can. Two (2), Take every action they can to pass legislation for the well to do, big corporations, banks and Wall Street. Three (3), Legislate anything they can against the middle and working class of our country.
I never thought I would ever live to see what is happening in Wisconsin , Michigan , Ohio , Indiana , Oklahoma California
You can't call it a conspiracy, although it kind of smells like one. You simply have to call it a Nation Wide Republican Agenda. I'm trying to be a little diplomatic, probably, very little.
There's nothing even remotely funny about all this. It is very serious and if we, everyone, doesn't speak out in anyway you can, they will succeed in changing this from a democracy to, I don't know what you would call it. It's like going back to the days when the Lords and the Rich ruled and the people had nothing to say. Isn't that what we are seeing happening?
Now maybe, just maybe, I am over reacting, but I don't think so. Folks, we are going to have to let it be known that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH AND WE AREN'T GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE. This is serious. We've never seen anything like this happen before, at least not in my lifetime. As Michael Moore said, "This is War." He pointed out that this all started when Pres. Reagan fired the Aircraft Controllers thirty (30) years ago and now is the first time, since, that they have had an opportunity to do this.
What is happening in Wisconsin
I have talked before about the problems with that. For a few, I think it would be a very few, it might work fine. But, how about those who are smart enough to invest when some of their investments go sour. And what about the majority of us who probably would have trouble putting back enough to invest. In both cases, we will wind up having to have some program to take care of them. A program like Social Security, for which people do pay a premium, is self supporting and has been the most successful program the government ever developed.
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT FORMER PRESIDENT REAGAN AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO TODAY'S PROBLEMS.
Many people will say that some of our countries best years were those when Ronald Reagan was president. The fact is that during those years were real good in terms of everyone was spending, with credit cards, and it was so much fun to spend instead of save.
The Government was doing the same. In 150 years before 1981, our country only accumulated 997 billion dollar national debt. In just 8 years, during the Ronald Reagan presidency, it rose to 2.5 trillion dollars. It took 150 years to have a debt of less than 1 trillion dollars, but it only took 8 years to have a debt of 2.5 trillion dollars. No wonder everyone was having a good time, with that kind of money pouring into the economy.
Reagan increased the number of federal workers by 61,000 as compared to Clinton
A little mentioned fact is, Reagan signed the largest tax increase in American history.
There is a lot of concern, right now, about the National Debt. Accordingly, it's interesting to note what happened to the National Debt during various Presidential Administrations. For example:
Reagan 1981 - 1989 Increase 20.6% of GDP
H. W. Bush 1989 - 1993 Increase 15.0% of GDP
G. W. Bush 2001 - 2009 Increase 27.1% of GDP
Source: Wikipedia - The free encyclopedia
When people get upset at the amount of National Debt we face, they can certainly see who got us there. It sure wasn't the Democrats.
As you look at just a few things that former President Reagan did and you think about what happened in our country from 2001 to 2009, don't you see a lot of comparisons. In fact, some historians are saying that our present day problems are a result of Reagan's presidency and that Geo. W. Bush carried on the same way. The two of them are credited with today's predicaments.
I have arrived, at the above, through research and reading a number of creditable references on the subject. In fact everything I write is based on, what I consider to be, creditable references and I consider those to be facts.
Next week will be more about Social Security and other developments that take place during the week.
IF YOU FIND ANYTHING IN MY WRITING THAT YOU DISAGREE WITH AND THINK I AM WRONG, PLEASE WRITE ME ABOUT IT. I AM HUMAN AND, TRY AS HARD AS I DO, I COULD BE WRONG SOMETIMES.
Either write comments at the end of the posting or write me at fab_80@cox.net .
See you next week.
Floyd
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