Every good past President has looked to the future, while every failed administration has suffered with the past, in part by their own misunderstandings of the failure(s) and to fully concentrate on moving their own agenda’s forward! Consequently, we the American public are as much to blame, for their failures as they are.
Today in office we have elected a forward looking Chief Executive, tasked with the mission of tackling the previous administrations failures and deceptions; while moving onwards his own vision of how America should be.
To me, this means let the president delegate responsible, for corrective action on the issues concerning Gitmo, torture, Rove, FOIA and FISA to his appropriate cabinet members and select committees within congress.
We as diligent citizens and supposed caretakers of our country should and must be focused on issues such as health care, getting out of Iraq, the economy and perhaps an over looked issued by many, an improved, affordable plan to enhance our current educational system of higher learning.
We have seen hundreds of thousands of jobs disappear over the past several months, will these jobs ever come back? The answer is “No”!
Soon we will have thousands of veterans returning from overseas, will they remain in the military service? Again, the answer is possibly “No”!
So what are the solutions to the aforementioned issues within the Obama Administration? I feel the president has chosen the most correct choice by relying on what made our nation what it was in the “past” – “Education”.
But, as we all know, including the president, both the cost and quality are the downsides for most of us, even the slightly “upper middle class”.
As quoted by President Obama (President Obama on Higher Education and Reforming Student Loans):
Over the past few decades, the cost of tuition at private colleges has more than doubled, while costs at public institutions have nearly tripled. Tuition has grown ten times faster than a typical family’s income, while inefficiencies in the student loan system provide lenders billions of dollars in wasteful subsidies instead of making college more affordable for all Americans.
When we review the 60’s, the days of placing a man on the moon and the golden times of NASA; education was at our country’s forefront, even while the Vietnam War was in progress, education was considered a must for survival in the Cold War overall and personal success in life as an individual(s).
We must not accept taking a backseat within the international community, as we have and again noted by the President in his Remarks by the President at the National Academy of Sciences Annual Meeting:
Our schools continue to trail other developed countries and, in some cases, developing countries. Our students are outperformed in math and science by their peers in Singapore, Japan, England, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, and Korea, among others. Another assessment shows American 15-year-olds ranked 25th in math and 21st in science when compared to nations around the world. And we have watched as scientific integrity has been undermined and scientific research politicized in an effort to advance predetermined ideological agendas.Complementing while confirming the aforementioned is the following from Gallup Polls with an article entitled: “Public Discontent With Quality of U.S. Education, where we can see the American public over the past eight years have been frustrated with the Bush Administration’s progress on education:A three-year aggregate of Gallup data (2002-2004)* on attitudes toward the public schools indicates that 44% of Americans are very (11%) or somewhat (33%) satisfied with public education, but a slight majority, 55%, are either very (25%) or somewhat (30%) dissatisfied. Despite these negative perceptions about the quality of the U.S. education system, past surveys have demonstrated that most Americans are happy with their own educations and the educations their children receive.
Our schools continue to trail other developed countries and, in some cases, developing countries. Our students are outperformed in math and science by their peers in Singapore, Japan, England, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, and Korea, among others. Another assessment shows American 15-year-olds ranked 25th in math and 21st in science when compared to nations around the world. And we have watched as scientific integrity has been undermined and scientific research politicized in an effort to advance predetermined ideological agendas.
Complementing while confirming the aforementioned is the following from Gallup Polls with an article entitled: “Public Discontent With Quality of U.S. Education, where we can see the American public over the past eight years have been frustrated with the Bush Administration’s progress on education:
A three-year aggregate of Gallup data (2002-2004)* on attitudes toward the public schools indicates that 44% of Americans are very (11%) or somewhat (33%) satisfied with public education, but a slight majority, 55%, are either very (25%) or somewhat (30%) dissatisfied. Despite these negative perceptions about the quality of the U.S. education system, past surveys have demonstrated that most Americans are happy with their own educations and the educations their children receive.
So, should you subscribe to the fact our nation’s higher learning institutions are to expensive and our primary education system(s) of public schools are not performing as they should; how is the president and perhaps more selfishly “us the American public” going to resolve the educational systems and turn their services into “jobs” and an increased standard of living for all of us?
The President has prepared congress for needed changes, staring with his Fiscal Budget for 2010 with major investments in broadband networks, clean energy technologies, and health information technology, as I’ve quoted him here (Fact Sheet A Historic Commitment To Research And Education):
President Obama has already made science and technology a top priority: The Recovery Act includes $21.5 billion for research and development, the largest increase in our Nation’s history, and well as major investments in broadband networks, clean energy technologies, and health information technology. The President’s FY10 budget includes sustained increases in basic research, $75 billion to make the research and experimentation tax credit permanent, and funding to triple the number of the National Science Foundation’s graduate research fellowships. The President is committed to restoring integrity to science policy, and making decisions on the basis of evidence, rather than ideology.
Also, the President has enacted steps within his own Executive Branch (President Obama Meets with Family Struggling with College Costs, Underscores Need to Eliminate Wasteful Spending in Federal Student Loan Program, Reinvest Savings in Making College More Affordable):
Today, President Barack Obama met with a family struggling to afford the cost of college and underscored his commitment to cutting wasteful spending on federal student loans by ending taxpayer subsidies to banks. President Obama discussed the strain that rising tuition costs are placing on middle class families and his proposal to end the private Federal Family Education Loans program that lines the pockets of the banks who serve as middlemen while costing the American people $5 billion a year.
As I elated to earlier, since this is a failure of past administrations to attend address the president has wisely delegated this national concern to Vice President Joe Biden, who in my own opinion as been doing an outstanding job for the president in seeing all measurers are brought to the forefront on getting legislation authored and past in a bipartisan manner.
Vice President Biden has implemented “Middle Class Task Force” to find solutions and assist him in seeing colleges become more affordable through a series of town hall meetings. Here in an excerpt from such a meeting in St. Louis, the excerpt is entitled: “Middle Class Task Force Report: College Affordability”
Middle Class Task Force Report: College Affordability
An obstacle to federal student aid is the unnecessarily complicated application process that is often intimidating to families and students seeking loans. In order to qualify for aid, students or their parents must first complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, which contains well over 100 questions on income, assets, family characteristics, personal characteristics, and other items. Completing the FAFSA requires families to sift through paperwork and transfer numbers from tax forms that they may or may not have readily available.
The following is a downloadable pdf report, which bears reading, regarding steps being taken by the Obama administration to lower college cost to the middle class desiring to enter college and making the application procedure more simplified and friendly:
Middle Class Task Force Staff Report (pdf)
So, what’s the Point:
Much “to do” recently has been made in the media over the release of torture memos and the president’s first 100 days in office, which are all constructive concerns and self-servicing pats on our own backs for electing the “right person for the right job”, but lets not get hung-up on the issues of witch hunts and arrogance that got us into the trouble we’re in today.
Lets keep pressing forward in correcting mistakes and apathy of the past with “new ideas” and approaches that will insure we’re never in the fix we are in today.
After all wasn’t it President Bush who said “Fool me once and you’re a fool, fool me twice and I’m a fool”.
The following selections of videos cement President Obama’s commitment to the middle class and his devotion to insuring every American is entitled to higher learning:
Opening the Doors of Higher Education
Taking a defiant stance towards those banks defending the status quo, the President proposes cutting out the middle man in student loans for a savings of almost $50 billion over ten years.
Additional Videos:
Real Tax Cuts Making a Real Difference
Flanked by Americans who have benefited from his Making Work Pay tax credit, President Obama speaks about his tax policy and how it is helping people across the nation.
Taking on Education
The President explains the urgency of changing the way we educate our children, and offers four pillars of reform.
Meet Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan talks about the source of his passion for education reform — and why he thinks it’s about more than education, it’s about social justice.
Additional postings regarding this topic and others may be found here:
It is becoming a common occurence, hard working Americans unable to be hired for a job because they placed having a home over credit cards when their jobs are lost in this economy. The level of oversight and regulations over credit reporting agencies are appalling. Essentially they have extraordinary power over Americas, but none of the members of their boards are elected or under respectable oversight.
Legislation to protect Americans is vastly limited. They are not merely a tool for banks to assess risk of loaning, but used by employers, military recruitment, and other entities for a purpose other than lending money.
Jobs are a de facto right for all Americans. Most of cannot survive without their income. Yet, private entities without any electoral oversight and virtually no legislative regulations are in control of such vital aspects for the very existence of the working class.
For those that read this, please pressure the Obama Administration and your Representatives to push for credit reform.
Funny how quickly the first stimulus bill passed Congress under Bush's watch with nary a Republican or Democratic objection. Interesting how Republicans did not camp out and nitpick any of the provision of the bill nor suggest a single condition. Our brave Congress even allowed a gaping loophole governing executive compensation that the current president today has plugged. The fact that Republican, yes, let us call them now obstructionists, can bang their chests over spending when billions of dollars went unaccounted for is the height of hypocrisy and political posturing. What is even worse is that this comes at the expense of the quickly dimming prospects of economic recovery and stability. This is not the time for political partisanship but unity; during the Great Depression this country was able to unite in order to enact the government programs that helped put Americans back to work and steer its economy in the right direction. This time around you have the ilk of House Minority Leader Boehner and Senate Republican Mitch McConnell literally smirking while they pick out spending projects that amount to an infinitesimal amount of the total package. Even Senator McCain has sent a mass e-mail to his supporters urging that they oppose this bill. I am a citizen of this country and I am watching my political representatives very carefully. It was remarked on one news station that if certain Republicans vote against this bill and it actually works that I will forget how they voted. I will not forget who jeopardized the course of this nation for political expediency. I am willing to wager I will not be the only one, this is the most important piece of legislation in our lifetime, the fate of our nation hangs in the balance. Any political representative who puts party and self-interest ahead of our nation has shown that he or she is not a true patriot; ironically a charge against a party that has trumpeted patriotism so vociferously in the past. We will remember who sided with America and who would have let her fail.
I have an idea for part of an economic stimulus package that can take a giant step towards alternative energy usage. Create a major tax incentive and 0% interest loans for individual home owners to convert their homes to solar or wind for electricity.
When we looked into converting our split-level home to solar, we found the price tag was going to be $18,000 to $20,000. This was well outside what we could afford without a loan, which would increase the price because of interest. It also would take us a decade to make that money back on savings from our utility bills; half the expected life time of such systems.
ADVANTAGES:
DISADVANTAGES:
There are a number of ways that the incentives could be done, but they should be major. Ideas that would make converting a home to alternative energy without direct costs to the consumer would be ideal. Such ideas could include a 100% tax credit rather than just a tax write-off, longterm 0% loans which are paid back at amounts similar to current utility bills, 100% tax write-offs that repeat for 2 or 3 years (at 100% each year), etc.
Additionally, there are a number of ways the incentives could be designed to focusing them towards the general population, though I would not want to exclude the wealthy as they likely use more electricity than the average home. Ideas could include initial limitations to a primary residency, an upper limit to how much incentive is provided for a single home (say $30,000), etc. There may also need to be limitations for when the owner sells the home, such as: full payback of 0% loan due at time of sale, multi-year tax write-offs stop if home is sold during that time, etc.
Is this a perfect idea? Of course not. But I firmly believe that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. I believe that this can be done quickly, with relatively little up-front costs to the government. I believe that it can provide an almost immediate shot in the arm to the economy, and can make a huge leap towards the use of alternative energy; much faster than any type of major wind/solar/tide/geothermal/hydro projects could, or than changing our auto industry could. At the same time, it works fine while these, and other longer term, stimulus projects get off the ground.
You see I know from personal experience that things often don’t end the way they do in the movies. I did everything right, went to college, worked for over thirty years, had good credit, paid my bills on time etc. Unfortunately I got sick in America. After a freak accident, I almost died, had to have brain surgery, and now have several incurable autoimmune diseases. That was hard enough to deal with, but when I filed a claim to get a government insurance policy (Social Security Disability Insurance) that I paid for every week out of my wages, just like many of you do, my life was permanently destroyed with the stroke of a pen, by a government worker to whom I was just an SS number, and who did not do their job properly. I lost all my life savings, and pension money while fighting for my benefits, and will never be able to recover from the emotional, physical and financial devastation that had on my life.
Unlike Frank Capra’s character George Bailey, there are no bailouts for me, or others like me. While family and friends have good intentions, they are not much better off either, so they really can’t help like they might want to, and I don’t qualify for Social Service programs. I don’t know how I am going to survive without some miracle like winning the lottery. I am now doomed to spend what’s left of my days here on earth, living in poverty, in addition to all my medical concerns. I will never be able to own a home, or get another car. My current vehicle which is on death’s door, is the only method of transportation I have for survival. Then there is always the struggle of deciding whether I should buy food, or get medicine, that much needed medical test, or see the doctor instead. When things break down now, I cannot fix them and have to do without. This totally unbearable, continuing source of stress and frustration, is killing me. I tell you this not for pity but to warn you that anyone of you reading this could end up just like me, and have your life changed forever by an unfortunate illness, accident, vicious act, service to our country or natural disaster. Remember that disease and tragedy do not discriminate on the basis of age, sex or race, and if you think this could not happen to you – you could be dead wrong, just like over 16,000 Americans in the last two years who did not survive the wait to get their Social Security Disability benefits.
Since most of our elected officials will probably never experience this scenario personally, because they usually have a nice financial cushion to fall back on, I don’t see any hope for change in regards to this problem, no matter who is in office. Let’s be brutally honest here. The first thing to get cut in local, state and federal budgets is always the money to fund programs that help the people who need it most. This problem has festered for decades and nobody is going to convince me that they don’t want us to give up or die. They continually talk about helping the upper class and the middle class. What about the millions of Americans that do not fit either of those categories? Thanks to their neglect of our situations, they continue to prove that they have no class. The only thing that ever trickles down to us is too nasty a word to mention, and the only light at the end of the tunnel is a freight train! Buildings are not built from the top down, and a chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link. You can judge a country by how it treats it’s most vulnerable citizens, and we have been left to die in the streets, and on hospital waiting room floors. Based on what I have seen, heard, and personally experienced, America should hang its head in shame! Unfortunately for myself, and others like me it’s not such a wonderful life. There is no possibility of the American dream, only the reality of the American nightmare. My only hope is that it never happens to you.
Dear Barack,
If you ever read these things, and I highly doubt that you will ever see this, we really need to talk!
The rest of my horror story can be found on my website “A Bump On The Head” at:
http://www.frontiernet.net/~lindaf1/bump.html
LJ Fullerton - Social Security Disability Coalition
We are on a hstoric path to becoming the "community" of Bellflower. I recall the first time that I saw the sign that stands facing Alondra from the South End of Bellflower near the old railroad tracks. It reads "Make Bellflower Your Home." What a wonderful and inviting sign... Yet, I know that it will take more than a mere sign to make this a true "home" where all who are within it can grow together as a connected community. Yet, I know that it can be done. We are a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, group of people of various educational, economic, religious, etc backgrounds and beliefs. We have a richness of spirit here that has emerged overtime...and the time has come for us to become a caring community. A first step in doing that is perhaps to come to know each other better, to know our hopes and dreams for our families, our neighborhoods, our children, our parents, our poor, our homeless, our professionals, our immigrants, our middle class, our wealthy, our small business owners and workers, .... The list could go on and on but I think that you get the picture. I want to hear about each of you. I want this blog to be a place where you can provide us with a positive glimpse into your life your concerns, and most of all your talents that may benefit us all as we move towards truly becoming a community. Please talk to us.... We will be hosting a series of meetings in homes to dig deeper into how we can all make a difference...and we need to hear from you.... Let's start the new year together.
Dr. Willingham-Toure'
And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it’s been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years – block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand. – Barack Obama, Election Night 2008
The present economic crisis is the only argument needed to support Reason and Cause for the currency board for the American working Class. Get a copy of the constitutional lawyers letter of opinion regarding the currency board for the American working class.
It creates consumer demand for United States Treasury notes for the general circulation money supply: M0, M1... This will establish a unit account for the public obligation paper - Federal ReserveBank notes; U.S. Banknotes. Consumer confidence will grow.
It is structured to restore unit of account to the monetary base of the economy. Taxable revenues are generated by the local community bank sector and the Federal Reserve Bank. The currency board drives taxable revenues from the financial service sector of the economy. The U.S. government just needs to collect the taxes from the banks and the Federal Reserve Bank.
This act by 50 million American workers will break the liquidity trap. The revenues generated for the banks will enable them to loan credit to the local community they service. The demand deposits will increase adding more liquidity to loan credit to the local community.
The general circulation money supply for the American working class becomes permanent and readily accessible via the currency board.
The currency board officially opened effective November 11, 2008. American workers can register through www.my.barackobama.com
Just Google the phrase slogan… “POPLUV THE PAYGO”
Join the group “POPLUV THE PAYGO” and receive additional information how to create jobs. The currency board is an instant job creator for the security service industry; the human service business industry; the not-for-profit charitable foundation industry.
“POPLUV THE PAYGO” promotes the currency board for the American working class. The currency board is structured with one or more free enterprise trust organizations in simple estate. The currency board offers a home-based business opportunity to the American working class to develop and expand the monetary base of the economy.
The currency board will drive local community-based community focused small business development that will employ more people; expand the human service business industry to employ more people that pay good wages with health and retirement benefits indexed to inflation and other cost of living indicators.
The act of 50 million American workers will wipe out unemployment. The currency board is structured for 50 million American workers. It is fixed. First come first serve. It’s an equal opportunity. That’s what free market capitalism is supposed to do… create competition.
Social Justice and the Common Well is not socialism. The following encyclical is an example and a good reference why we need to support the Barack Obama plans for CHANGE, as catholics or christians.
Raymark Clement
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Rerum NovarumOn the Condition of the Working ClassesPope Leo XIII, 1891
Encyclical Letter of Pope Leo XIII issued on May 15, 1891.
To Our Venerable Brethren the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, Bishops and other Ordinaries of Places Having Peace and Communion with the Apostolic See:
1. Once the passion for revolutionary change was aroused -- a passion long disturbing governments -- it was bound to follow sooner or later that eagerness for change would pass from the political sphere over into the related field of economics. In fact, new developments in industry, new techniques striking out on new paths, changed relations of employer and employee, abounding wealth among a very small number and destitution among the masses, increased self-reliance on the part of workers as well as a closer bond of union with one another, and, in addition to all this, a decline in morals have caused conflict to break forth.
2. The momentous nature of the questions involved in this conflict is evident from the fact that it keeps men's minds in anxious expectation, occupying the talents of the learned, the discussions of the wise and experienced, the assemblies of the people, the judgment of lawmakers, and the deliberations of rulers, so that now no topic more strongly holds men's interests.
3. Therefore, Venerable Brethren, with the cause of the Church and the common welfare before Us, We have thought it advisable, following Our custom on other occasions when We issued to you the Encyclicals "On Political Power", "On Human Liberty", "On the Christian Constitution of States", and others of similar nature, which seemed opportune to refute erroneous opinions, that We ought to do the same now, and for the same reasons, "On the Condition of Workers." We have on occasion touched more than once upon this subject. In this Encyclical, however, consciousness of Our Apostolic office admonishes Us to treat the entire question thoroughly, in order that the principles may stand out in clear light, and the conflict may thereby be brought to an end as required by truth and equity.
4. The problem is difficult to resolve and is not free from dangers. It is hard indeed to fix the boundaries of the rights and duties within which the rich and the proletariat -- those who furnish material things and those who furnish work -- ought to be restricted in relation to each other. The controversy is truly dangerous, for in various places it is being twisted by turbulent and crafty men to pervert judgment as to truth and seditiously to incite the masses.
5. In any event, We see clearly, and all are agreed that the poor must be speedily and fittingly cared for, since the great majority of them live undeservedly in miserable and wretched conditions.
6. After the old trade guilds had been destroyed in the last century, and no protection was substituted in their place, and when public institutions and legislation had cast off traditional religious teaching, it gradually came about that the present age handed over the workers, each alone and defenseless, to the inhumanity of employers and the unbridled greed of competitors. A devouring usury, although often condemned by the Church, but practiced nevertheless under another form by avaricious and grasping men, has increased the evil; and in addition the whole process of production as well as trade in every kind of goods has been brought almost entirely under the power of a few, so that a very few rich and exceedingly rich men have laid a yoke almost of slavery on the unnumbered masses of non-owning workers.
7. To cure this evil, the Socialists, exciting the envy of the poor toward the rich, contend that it is necessary to do away with private possession of goods and in its place to make the goods of individuals common to all, and that the men who preside over a municipality or who direct the entire State should act as administrators of these goods. They hold that, by such a transfer of private goods from private individuals to the community, they can cure the present evil through dividing wealth and benefits equally among the citizens.
8. But their program is so unsuited for terminating the conflict that it actually injures the workers themselves. Moreover, it is highly unjust, because it violates the rights of lawful owners, perverts the function of the State, and throws governments into utter confusion.
9. Clearly the essential reason why those who engage in any gainful occupation undertake labor, and at the same time the end to which workers immediately look, is to procure property for themselves and to retain it by individual right as theirs and as their very own. When the worker places his energy and his labor at the disposal of another, he does so for the purpose of getting the means necessary for livelihood. He seeks in return for the work done, accordingly, a true and full right not only to demand his wage but to dispose of it as he sees fit. Therefore, if he saves something by restricting expenditures and invests his savings in a piece of land in order to keep the fruit of his thrift more safe, a holding of this kind is certainly nothing else than his wage under a different form; and on this account land which the worker thus buys is necessarily under his full control as much as the wage which he earned by his labor. But, as is obvious, it is clearly in this that the ownership of movable and immovable goods consists. Therefore, inasmuch as the Socialists seek to transfer the goods of private persons to the community at large, they make the lot of all wage earners worse, because in abolishing the freedom to dispose of wages they take away from them by this very act the hope and the opportunity of increasing their property and of securing advantages for themselves.
10. But, what is of more vital concern, they propose a remedy openly in conflict with justice, inasmuch as nature confers on man the right to possess things privately as his own.
11. In this respect also there is the widest difference between man and other living beings. For brute beasts are not self- ruling, but are ruled and governed by a two-fold innate instinct, which not only keeps their faculty of action alert and develops their powers properly but also impels and determines their individual movements. By one instinct they are induced to protect themselves and their lives; by the other, to preserve their species. In truth, they attain both ends readily by using what is before them and within immediate range; and they cannot, of course, go further because they are moved to action by the senses alone and by the separate things perceived by the senses.
Man's nature is quite different. In man there is likewise the entire and full perfection of animal nature, and consequently on this ground there is given to man, certainly no less than to every kind of living being, to enjoy the benefits of corporeal goods. Yet animal nature, however perfectly possessed, is far from embracing human nature, but rather is much lower than human nature, having been created to serve and obey it. What stands out and excels in us, what makes man man and distinguishes him generically from the brute, is the mind and reason. And owing to the fact that this animal alone has reason, it is necessary that man have goods not only to be used, which is common to all living things, but also to be possessed by stable and perpetual right; and this applies not merely to those goods which are consumed by use, but to those also which endure after being used.
12. This is even more clearly evident, if the essential nature of human beings is examined more closely. Since man by his reason understands innumerable things, linking and combining the future with the present, and since he is master of his own actions, therefore, under the eternal law, and under the power of God most wisely ruling all things, he rules himself by the foresight of his own counsel. Wherefore it is in his power to choose the things which he considers best adapted to benefit him not only in the present but also in the future. Whence it follows that dominion not only over the fruits of the earth, but also over the earth itself, ought to rest in man, since he sees that things necessary for the future are furnished him out of the produce of the earth. The needs of every man are subject, as it were, to constant recurrences, so that, satisfied today, they make new demands tomorrow. Therefore, nature necessarily gave man something stable and perpetually lasting on which he can count for continuous support. But nothing can give continuous support of this kind save the earth with its great abundance.
13. There is no reason to interpose provision by the State, for man is older than the State. Wherefore he had to possess by nature his own right to protect his life and body before any polity had been formed.
14. The fact that God gave the whole human race the earth to use and enjoy cannot indeed in any manner serve as an objection against private possessions. For God is said to have given the earth to mankind in common, not because He intended indiscriminate ownership of it by all, but because He assigned no part to anyone in ownership, leaving the limits of private possessions to be fixed by the industry of men and the institutions of peoples. Yet, however the earth may be apportioned among private owners, it does not cease to serve the common interest of all, inasmuch as no living being is sustained except by what the fields bring forth. Those who lack resources supply labor, so that it can be truly affirmed that the entire scheme of securing a livelihood consists in the labor which a person expends either on his own land or in some working occupation, the compensation for which is drawn ultimately from no other source than from the varied products of the earth and is exchanged for them.
15. For this reason it also follows that private possessions are clearly in accord with nature. The earth indeed produces in great abundance the things to preserve and, especially, to perfect life, but of itself it could not produce them without human cultivation and care. Moreover, since man expends his mental energy and his bodily strength in procuring the goods of nature, by this very act he appropriates that part of physical nature to himself which he has cultivated. On it he leaves impressed, as it were, a kind of image of his person, so that it must be altogether just that he should possess that part as his very own and that no one in any way should be permitted to violate his right.
16. The force of these arguments is so evident that it seems amazing that certain revivers of obsolete theories dissent from them. These men grant the individual the use of the soil and the varied fruits of the farm, but absolutely deny him the right to hold as owner either the ground on which he has built or the farm he has cultivated. When they deny this right they fail to see that a man will be defrauded of the things his labor has produced. The land, surely, that has been worked by the hand and the art of the tiller greatly changes in aspect. The wilderness is made fruitful; the barren field, fertile. But those things through which the soil has been improved so inhere in the soil and are so thoroughly intermingled with it, that they are for the most part quite inseparable from it. And, after all, would justice permit anyone to own and enjoy that upon which another has toiled? As effects follow the cause producing them, so it is just that the fruit of labor belongs precisely to those who have performed the labor.
17. Rightly therefore, the human race as a whole, moved in no wise by the dissenting opinions of a few, and observing nature carefully, has found in the law of nature itself the basis of the distribution of goods, and, by the practice of all ages, has consecrated private possession as something best adapted to man's nature and to peaceful and tranquil living together. Now civil laws, which, when just, derive their power from the natural law itself, confirm and, even by the use of force, protect this right of which we speak. -- And this same right has been sanctioned by the authority of the divine law, which forbids us most strictly even to desire what belongs to another. "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his house, nor his field, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is his." [1]
18. Rights of this kind which reside in individuals are seen to have much greater validity when viewed as fitted into and connected with the obligations of human beings in family life.
19. There is no question that in choosing a state of life it is within the power and discretion of individuals to prefer the one or the other state, either to follow the counsel of Jesus Christ regarding virginity or to bind oneself in marriage. No law of man can abolish the natural and primeval right of marriage, or in any way set aside the chief purpose of matrimony established in the beginning by the authority of God: "Increase and multiply." [2] Behold, therefore, the family, or rather the society of the household, a very small society indeed, but a true one, and older than any polity! For that reason it must have certain rights and duties of its own independent of the State. Thus, right of ownership, which we have shown to be bestowed on individual persons by nature, must be assigned to man in his capacity as head of a family. Nay rather, this right is all the stronger, since the human person in family life embraces much more.
20. It is a most sacred law of nature that the father of a family see that his offspring are provided with all the necessities of life, and nature even prompts him to desire to provide and to furnish his children, who, in fact reflect and in a sense continue his person, with the means of decently protecting themselves against harsh fortune in the uncertainties of life. He can do this surely in no other way than by owning fruitful goods to transmit by inheritance to his children. As already noted, the family like the State is by the same token a society in the strictest sense of the term, and is governed by its own proper authority, namely, by that of the father. Wherefore, assuming, of course, that those limits be observed which are fixed by its immediate purpose, the family assuredly possesses rights, at least equal with those of civil society, in respect to choosing and employing the things necessary for its protection and its just liberty. We say "at least equal" because, inasmuch as domestic living together is prior both in thought and in fact to uniting into a polity, it follows that its rights and duties are also prior and more in conformity with nature. But if citizens, if families, after becoming participants in common life and society, were to experience injury in a commonwealth instead of help, impairment of their rights instead of protection, society would be something to be repudiated rather than to be sought for.
21. To desire, therefore, that the civil power should enter arbitrarily into the privacy of homes is a great and pernicious error. If a family perchance is in such extreme difficulty and is so completely without plans that it is entirely unable to help itself, it is right that the distress by remedied by public aid, for each individual family is a part of the community. Similarly, if anywhere there is a grave violation of mutual rights within the family walls, public authority shall restore to each his right; for this is not usurping the rights of citizens, but protecting and confirming them with just and due care. Those in charge of public affairs, however, must stop here; nature does not permit them to go beyond these limits. Paternal authority is such that it can be neither abolished nor absorbed by the State, because it has the same origin in common with that of man's own life. "Children are a part of their father," and, as it were, a kind of extension of the father's person; and, strictly speaking, not through themselves, but through the medium of the family society in which they are begotten, they enter into the participate in civil society. And for the very reason that children "are by nature part of their father...before they have the use of free will, they are kept under the care of their parents." [3] Inasmuch as the Socialists, therefore, disregard care by parents and in its place introduce care by the State, they act against natural justice and dissolve the structure of the home.
22. And apart from the injustice involved, it is only too evident what turmoil and disorder would obtain among all classes; and what a harsh and odious enslavement of citizens would result! The door would be open to mutual envy, detraction, and dissension. If incentives to ingenuity and skill in individual persons were to be abolished, the very fountains of wealth would necessarily dry up; and the equality conjured up by the Socialist imagination would, in reality, be nothing but uniform wretchedness and meanness for one and all, without distinction.
23. From all these conversations, it is perceived that the fundamental principle of Socialism which would make all possessions public property is to be utterly rejected because it injures the very ones whom it seeks to help, contravenes the natural rights of individual persons, and throws the functions of the State and public peace into confusion. Let it be regarded, therefore, as established that in seeking help for the masses this principle before all is to be considered as basic, namely, that private ownership must be preserved inviolate. With this understood, we shall explain whence the desired remedy is to be sought.
24. We approach the subject with confidence and surely by Our right, for the question under consideration is certainly one for which no satisfactory solution will be found unless religion and the Church have been called upon to aid. Moreover, since the safeguarding of religion and of all things within the jurisdiction of the Church is primarily Our stewardship, silence on Our part might be regarded as failure in Our duty.
25. Assuredly, a question as formidable as this requires the attention and effort of others as well, namely, the heads of the State, employers and the rich, and finally, those in whose behalf efforts are being made, the workers themselves. Yet without hesitation We affirm that if the Church is disregarded, human striving will be in vain. Manifestly, it is the Church which draws from the Gospel the teachings through which the struggle can be composed entirely, or, after its bitterness is removed, can certainly become more tempered. It is the Church, again, that strives not only to instruct the mind but to regulate by her precepts the life and morals of individuals, that ameliorates the condition of the workers through her numerous and beneficent institutions, and that wishes and aims to have the thought and energy of all classes of society united to this end, that the interests of the workers be protected as fully as possible. And to accomplish this purpose she holds that the laws and the authority of the State, within reasonable limits, ought to be employed.
26. Therefore, let it be laid down in the first place that a condition of human existence must be borne with, namely, that in civil society the lowest cannot be made equal to the highest. Socialists, of course, agitate the contrary, but all struggling against nature is vain. There are truly very great and very many natural differences among men. Neither the talents, nor the skill, nor the health, nor the capacities of all are the same, and unequal fortune follows of itself upon necessary inequality in respect to these endowments. And clearly this condition of things is adapted to benefit both individuals and the community; for to carry on its affairs community life requires varied aptitudes and diverse services, and to perform these diverse services men are impelled most by differences in individual property holdings.
27. So far as bodily labor is concerned, man even before the Fall was not destined to be wholly idle; but certainly what his will at that time would have freely embraced to his soul's delight, necessity afterwards forced him to accept, with a feeling of irksomeness, for the expiation of his guilt. "Cursed be the earth in thy work: in thy labor thou shalt eat of it all the days of thy life." [4] Likewise there is to be no end on earth of other hardships, for the evil consequences of sin are hard, trying, and bitter to bear, and will necessarily accompany men even to the end of life. Therefore, to suffer and endure is human, and although men may strive in all possible ways, they will never be able by any power or art wholly to banish such tribulations from human life. If any claim they can do this, if they promise the poor in their misery a life free from all sorrow and vexation and filled with repose and perpetual pleasures, they actually impose upon these people and perpetuate a fraud which will ultimately lead to evils greater than the present. The best course is to view human affairs as they are and, as We have stated, at the same time to seek appropriate relief for these troubles elsewhere.
28. It is a capital evil with respect to the question We are discussing to take for granted that the one class of society is of itself hostile to the other, as if nature had set rich and poor against each other to fight fiercely in implacable war. This is so abhorrent to reason and truth that the exact opposite is true; for just as in the human body the different members harmonize with one another, whence arises that disposition of parts and proportion in the human figure rightly called symmetry, so likewise nature has commanded in the case of the State that the two classes mentioned should agree harmoniously and should properly form equally balanced counterparts to each other. Each needs the other completely: neither capital can do without labor, nor labor without capital. Concord begets beauty and order in things. Conversely, from perpetual strife there must arise disorder accompanied by bestial cruelty. But for putting an end to conflict and for cutting away its very roots, there is wondrous and multiple power in Christian institutions.
29. And first and foremost, the entire body of religious teaching and practice, of which the Church is interpreter and guardian, can pre-eminently bring together and unite the rich and the poor by recalling the two classes of society to their mutual duties, and in particular to those duties which derive from justice.
30. Among these duties the following concern the poor and the workers: To perform entirely and conscientiously whatever work has been voluntarily and equitably agreed upon; not in any way to injure the property or to harm the person of employers; in protecting their own interests, to refrain from violence and never to engage in rioting; not to associate with vicious men who craftily hold out exaggerated hopes and make huge promises, a course usually ending in vain regrets and in the destruction of wealth.
31. The following duties, on the other hand, concern rich men and employers: Workers are not to be treated as slaves; justice demands that the dignity of human personality be respected in them, ennobled as it has been through what we call the Christian character. If we hearken to natural reason and to Christian philosophy, gainful occupations are not a mark of shame to man, but rather of respect, as they provide him with an honorable means of supporting life. It is shameful and inhuman, however, to use men as things for gain and to put no more value on them than what they are worth in muscle and energy. Likewise it is enjoined that the religious interests and the spiritual well- being of the workers receive proper consideration. Wherefore, it is the duty of employers to see that the worker is free for adequate periods to attend to his religious obligations; not to expose anyone to corrupting influences or the enticements of sin, and in no way to alienate him from care for his family and the practice of thrift. Likewise, more work is not to be imposed than strength can endure, nor that kind of work which is unsuited to a worker's age or sex.
32. Among the most important duties of employers the principal one is to give every worker what is justly due him. Assuredly, to establish a rule of pay in accord with justice, many factors must be taken into account. But, in general, the rich and employers must remember that no laws, either human or divine, permit them for their own profit to oppress the needy and the wretched or to seek gain from another's want. To defraud anyone of the wage due him is a great crime that calls down avenging wrath from Heaven, "Behold, the wages of the laborers...which have been kept back by you unjustly, cry out: and their cry has entered into the ears of the Lord of Hosts." [5] Finally, the rich must religiously avoid harming in any way the savings of the workers either by coercion, or by fraud, or by the arts of usury; and the more for this reason, that the workers are not sufficiently protected against injustices and violence, and their property, being so meager, ought to be regarded as all the more sacred. Could not the observance alone of the foregoing laws remove the bitterness and the causes of the conflict?
33. But the Church, with Jesus Christ as her teacher and leader, seeks greater things than this; namely, by commanding something more perfect, she aims at joining the two social classes to each other in closest neighborliness and friendship. We cannot understand and evaluate mortal things rightly unless the mind reflects upon the other life, the life which is immortal. If this other life indeed were taken away, the form and true notion of the right would immediately perish; nay, this entire world would become an enigma insoluble to man. Therefore, what we learn from nature itself as our teacher is also a Christian dogma and on it the whole system and structure of religion rests, as it were, on its main foundation; namely, that, when we have left this life, only then shall we truly begin to live. God has not created man for the fragile and transitory things of this world, but for Heaven and eternity, and He has ordained this earth as a place of exile, not as our permanent home. Whether you abound in, or whether you lack, riches, and all the other things which are called good, is of no importance in relation to eternal happiness. But how you use them, that is truly of utmost importance. Jesus Christ by His "plentiful redemption" has by no means taken away the various tribulations with which mortal life is interwoven, but has so clearly transformed them into incentives in virtue and sources of merit that no mortal can attain eternal reward unless he follows the bloodstained footsteps of Jesus Christ. "If we endure, we shall also reign with Him." [6] By the labors and suffering which He voluntarily accepted, He has wondrously lightened the burden of suffering and labor, and not only by His example but also by His grace and by holding before us the hope of eternal reward. He has made endurance of sorrows easier: "for our present light affliction, which is for the moment, prepares us for an eternal weight of glory that is beyond all measure." [7]
34. Therefore, the well-to-do are admonished that wealth does not give surcease of sorrow, and that wealth is of no avail unto the happiness of eternal life but is rather a hindrance; [8] that the threats [9] pronounced by Jesus Christ, so unusual coming from Him, ought to cause the rich to fear; and that on one day the strictest account for the use of wealth must be rendered to God as Judge.
35. On the use of wealth we have the excellent and extremely weighty teaching, which, although found in a rudimentary stage in pagan philosophy, the Church has handed down in a completely developed form and causes to be observed not only in theory but in everyday life. The foundation of this teaching rests on this, that the just ownership of money is distinct from the just use of money.
36. To own goods privately, as We saw above, is a right natural to man, and to exercise this right, especially in life in society, is not only lawful, but clearly necessary. "It is lawful for man to own his own things. It is even necessary for human life." [10] But if the question be asked: How ought man to use his possessions? the Church replies without hesitation: "As to this point, man ought not regard external goods as his own, but as common so that, in fact, a person should readily share them when he sees others in need. Wherefore the Apostle says: 'Charge the rich of this world...to give readily, to share with others'." [11] No one, certainly, is obliged to assist others out of what is required for his own necessary use or for that of his family, or even to give to others what he himself needs to maintain his station in life becomingly and decently: "No one is obliged to live unbecomingly." [12] But when the demands of necessity and propriety have been met, it is a duty to give to the poor out of that which remains. "Give that which remains as alms." [13] These are duties not of justice, except in cases of extreme need, but of Christian charity, which obviously cannot be enforced by legal action. But the laws and judgments of men yield precedence to the law and judgment of Christ the Lord, Who in many ways urges the practice of alms- giving: "It is more blessed to give than to receive," [14] and Who will judge a kindness done or denied to the poor as done or denied to Himself, "As long as you did it for one of these, the least of My brethren, you did it for Me." [15] The substance of all this is the following: whoever has received from the bounty of God a greater share of goods, whether corporeal and external, or of the soul, has received them for this purpose, namely, that he employ them for his own perfection and, likewise, as a servant of Divine Providence, for the benefit of others. "Therefore, he that hath talent, let him constantly see to it that he be not silent; he that hath an abundance of goods, let him be on the watch that he grow not slothful in the generosity of mercy; he that hath a trade whereby he supports himself, let him be especially eager to share with his neighbor the use and benefit thereof." [16]
37. Those who lack fortune's goods are taught by the Church that, before God as judge, poverty is no disgrace, and that no one should be ashamed because he makes his living by toil. And Jesus Christ has confirmed this by fact and by deed, Who for the salvation of men, "being rich, became poor;" [17] and although He was the Son of God and God Himself, yet He willed to seem and to be thought the son of a carpenter; nay, He even did not disdain to spend a great part of his life at the work of a carpenter. "Is not this the carpenter, the Son of Mary?" [18] Those who contemplate this Divine example will more easily understand these truths: True dignity and excellence in men resides in moral living, that is, in virtue; virtue is the common inheritance of man, attainable equally by the humblest and the mightiest, by the rich and the poor; and the reward of eternal happiness will follow upon virtue and merit alone, regardless of the person in whom they may be found. Nay, rather the favor of God Himself seems to incline more toward the unfortunate as a class; for Jesus Christ calls the poor [19] blessed, and He invites most lovingly all who are in labor or sorrow [20] to come to Him for solace, embracing with special love the lowly and those harassed by injustice. At the realization of these things the proud spirit of the rich is easily brought down, and the downcast heart of the afflicted is lifted up; the former are moved toward kindness, the latter toward reasonableness in their demands. Thus the distance between the classes which pride seeks is seduced, and it will easily be brought to pass that the two classes, with hands clasped in friendship, will be united in heart.
38. Yet, if they obey Christian teachings, not merely friendship but brotherly love also will bind them to each other. They will feel and understand that all men indeed have been created by God, their common Father; that all strive for the same object of good, which is God Himself, Who alone can communicate to both men and angels perfect and absolute happiness; that all equally have been redeemed by the grace of Jesus Christ and restored to the dignity of the sons of God, so that they are clearly united by the bonds of brotherhood not only with one another but also with Christ the Lord, "the first-born among many brethren," [21] and further, that the goods of nature and the gifts of divine grace belong in common and without distinction to all human kind, and that no one, unless he is unworthy, will be deprived of the inheritance of Heaven. "But if we are sons, we are also heirs: heirs indeed of God and joint heirs with Christ." [22]
39. Such is the economy of duties and rights according to Christian philosophy. Would it not seem that all conflict would soon cease wherever this economy were to prevail in civil society?
40. Finally, the Church does not consider it enough to point out the way of finding the cure, but she administers the remedy herself. For she occupies herself fully in training and forming men according to discipline and doctrine; and through the agency of bishops and clergy, she causes the health-giving streams of this doctrine to be diffused as widely as possible. Furthermore, she strives to enter into men's minds and to bend their wills so that they may suffer themselves to be ruled and governed by the discipline of divine precepts. And in this field, which is of first and greatest importance because in it the whole substance and matter of benefits consists, the Church indeed has a power that is especially unique. For the instruments which she uses to move souls were given her for this very purpose by Jesus Christ, and they have an efficacy implanted in them by God. Such instruments alone can properly penetrate the inner recesses of the heart and lead man to obedience to duty, to govern the activities of his self-seeking mind, to love God and his neighbors with a special and sovereign love, and to overcome courageously all things that impede the path of virtue.
41. In this connection it is sufficient briefly to recall to mind examples from history. We shall mention events and facts that admit of no doubt, namely, that human society in its civil aspects was renewed fundamentally by Christian institutions; that, by virtue of this renewal, mankind was raised to a higher level, nay, was called back from death to life, and enriched with such a degree of perfection as has never existed before and was not destined to be greater in any succeeding age; and that, finally, the same Jesus Christ is the beginning and end of these benefits; for as all things have proceeded from Him, so they must be referred back to Him. When, with the acceptance of the light of the Gospel, the world had learned the great mystery of the Incarnation of the Word and the redemption of man, the life of Jesus Christ, God and man, spread through the nations and imbued them wholly with His doctrine, with His precepts, and with His laws. Wherefore, if human society is to be healed, only a return to Christian life and institutions will heal it. In the case of decaying societies it is most correctly prescribed that, if they wish to be regenerated, they must be recalled to their origins. For the perfection of all associations is this, namely, to work for and to attain the purpose for which they were formed, so that all social actions should be inspired by the same principle which brought the society itself into being. Wherefore, turning away from the original purpose is corruption, while going back to this discovery is recovery. And just as we affirm this as unquestionably true of the entire body of the commonwealth, in like manner we affirm it of that order of citizens who sustain life by labor and who constitute the vast majority of society.
42. But it must not be supposed that the Church so concentrates her energies on caring for souls as to overlook things which pertain to mortal and earthly life. As regards the non-owning workers specifically, she desires and strives that they rise from their most wretched state and enjoy better conditions. And to achieve this result she makes no small contribution by the very fact that she calls men to and trains them in virtue. For when Christian morals are completely observed, they yield of themselves a certain measure of prosperity to material existence, because they win the favor of God, the source and fountain of all goods; because they restrain the twin plagues of life -- excessive desire for wealth and thirst [23] for pleasure -- which too often make man wretched amidst the very abundance of riches; and because finally, Christian morals make men content with a moderate livelihood and make them supplement income by thrift, removing them far from the vices which swallow up both modest sums and huge fortunes, and dissipate splendid inheritances.
43. But, in addition, the Church provides directly for the well- being of the non-owning workers by instituting and promoting activities which she knows to be suitable to relieve their distress. Nay, even in the field of works of mercy, she has always so excelled that she is highly praised by her very enemies. The force of mutual charity among the first Christians was such that the wealthier ones very often divested themselves of their riches to aid others; wherefore, "Nor was there anyone among them in want." [24] To the deacons, an order founded expressly for this purpose, the Apostles assigned the duty of dispensing alms daily; and the Apostle Paul, although burdened with the care of all the churches, did not hesitate to spend himself on toilsome journeys in order to bring alms personally to the poorer Christians. Moneys of this kind, contributed voluntarily by the Christians in every assembly, Tertullian calls "piety's deposit fund," because they were expended to "support and bury poor people, to supply the wants of orphan boys and girls without means of support, of aged household servants, and of such, too, as had suffered shipwreck." [25]
44. Thence, gradually there came into existence that patrimony which the Church has guarded with religious care as the property of the poor. Nay, even disregarding the feeling of shame associated with begging, she provided aid for the wretched poor. For, as the common parent of rich and poor, with charity everywhere stimulated to the highest degree, she founded religious societies and numerous other useful bodies, so that, with the aid which these furnished, there was scarcely any form of human misery that went uncared for.
45. And yet many today go so far as to condemn the Church as the ancient pagans once did, for such outstanding charity, and would substitute in lieu thereof a system of benevolence established by the laws of the State. But no human devices can ever be found to supplant Christian charity, which gives itself entirely for the benefit of others. This virtue belongs to the Church alone, for, unless it is derived from the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, it is in no wise a virtue; and whosoever departs from the Church wanders far from Christ.
46. But there can be no question that, to attain Our purpose, those helps also which are within the power of men are necessary. Absolutely all who are concerned with the matter must, according to their capacity, bend their efforts to this same end and work for it. And this activity has a certain likeness to Divine Providence governing the world; for generally we see effects flow from the concert of all the elements upon which as causes these effects depend.
47. But it is now in order to inquire what portion of the remedy should be expected from the State. By State here We understand not the form of government which this or that people has, but rather that form which right reason in accordance with nature requires and the teachings of Divine wisdom approve, matters that We have explained specifically in our Encyclical "On the Christian Constitution of States."
48. Therefore those governing the State ought primarily to devote themselves to the service of individual groups and of the whole commonwealth, and through the entire scheme of laws and institutions to cause both public and individual well-being to develop spontaneously out of the very structure and administration of the State. For this is the duty of wise statesmanship and the essential office of those in charge of the State. Now, States are made prosperous especially by wholesome morality, properly ordered family life, protection of religion and justice, moderate imposition and equitable distribution of public burdens, progressive development of industry and trade, thriving agriculture, and by all other things of this nature, which the more actively they are promoted, the better and happier the life of the citizens is destined to be. Therefore, by virtue of these things, it is within the competence of the rulers of the State that, as they benefit other groups, they also improve in particular the condition of the workers. Furthermore, they do this with full right and without laying themselves open to any charge of unwarranted interference. For the State is bound by the very law of its office to serve the common interest. And the richer the benefits which come from this general providence on the part of the State, the less necessary it will be to experiment with other measures for the well-being of workers.
49. This ought to be considered, as it touches the question more deeply, namely, that the State has one basic purpose for existence, which embraces in common the highest and the lowest of its members. Non-owning workers are unquestionably citizens by nature in virtue of the same right as the rich, that is, true and vital parts whence, through the medium of families, the body of the State is constituted; and it hardly need be added that they are by far the greatest number in every urban area. Since it would be quite absurd to look out for one portion of the citizens and to neglect another, it follows that public authority ought to exercise due care in safe-guarding the well-being and the interests of non-owning workers. Unless this is done, justice, which commands that everyone be given his own, will be violated. Wherefore St. Thomas says wisely: "Even as part and whole are in a certain way the same, so too that which pertains to the whole pertains in a certain way to the part also." [26] Consequently, among the numerous and weighty duties of rulers who would serve their people well, this is first and foremost, namely, that they protect equitably each and every class of citizens, maintaining inviolate that justice especially which is called distributive.
50. Although all citizens, without exception, are obliged to contribute something to the sum-total common goods, some share of which naturally goes back to each individual, yet all can by no means contribute the same amount and in equal degree. Whatever the vicissitudes that occur in the forms of government, there will always be those differences in the condition of citizens without which society could neither exist nor be conceived. It is altogether necessary that there be some who dedicate themselves to the service of the State, who make laws, who dispense justice, and finally, by whose counsel and authority civil and military affairs are administered. These men, as is clear, play the chief role in the Sate, and among every people are to be regarded as occupying first place, because they work for the common good most directly and pre-eminently. On the other hand, those engaged in some calling benefit the State, but not in the same way as the men just mentioned, nor by performing the same duties; yet they, too, in a high degree, although less directly, serve the common weal. Assuredly, since social good must be of such a character that men through its acquisition are made better, it must necessarily be founded on virtue.
51. Nevertheless, an abundance of corporeal and external goods is likewise a characteristic of a well-constituted State, "the use of which goods is necessary for the practice of virtue." [27] To produce these goods the labor of the workers, whether they expend their skill and strength on farms or in factories, is most efficacious and necessary. Nay, in this respect, their energy and effectiveness are so important that it is incontestable that the wealth of nations originates from no other source than from the labor of workers. Equity therefore commands that public authority show proper concern for the worker so that from what he contributes to the common good he may receive what will enable him, housed, clothed, and secure, to live his life without hardship. Whence, it follows that all those measures ought to be favored which seem in any way capable of benefiting the condition of workers. Such solicitude is so far from injuring anyone, that it is destined rather to benefit all, because it is of absolute interest to the State that those citizens should not be miserable in every respect from whom such necessary goods proceed.
52. It is not right, as We have said, for either the citizen or the family to be absorbed by the State; it is proper that the individual and the family should be permitted to retain their freedom of action, so far as this is possible without jeopardizing the common good and without injuring anyone. Nevertheless, those who govern must see to it that they protect the community, because nature has entrusted its safeguarding to the sovereign power in the State to such an extent that the protection of the public welfare is not only the supreme law, but is the entire cause and reason for sovereignty; and the constituent parts, because philosophy and Christian faith agree that the administration of the State has from nature as its purpose, not the benefit of those to whom it has been entrusted, but the benefit of those who have been entrusted to it. And since the power of governing comes from God and is a participation, as it were, in His supreme sovereignty, it ought to be administered according to the example of the Divine power, which looks with paternal care to the welfare of individual creatures as well as to that of all creation. If, therefore, any injury has been done to or threatens either the common good or the interests of individual groups, which injury cannot in any other way be repaired or prevented, it is necessary for public authority to intervene.
53. It is vitally important to public as well as to private welfare that there be peace and good order; likewise, that the whole regime of family life be directed according to the ordinances of God and the principles of nature, that religion be observed and cultivated, that sound morals flourish in private and public life, that justice be kept sacred and that no one be wronged with impunity by another, and that strong citizens grow up, capable of supporting, and, if necessary, of protecting the State. Wherefore, if at any time disorder should threaten because of strikes or concerted stoppages of work, if the natural bonds of family life should be relaxed among the poor, if religion among the workers should be outraged by failure to provide sufficient opportunity for performing religious duties, if in factories danger should assail the integrity of morals through the mixing of the sexes or other pernicious incitements to sin, or if the employer class should oppress the working class with unjust burdens or should degrade them with conditions inimical to human personality or to human dignity, if health should be injured by immoderate work and such as is not suited to sex or age -- in all these cases, the power and authority of the law, but of course within certain limits, manifestly ought to be employed. And these limits are determined by the same reason which demands the aid of the law, that is, the law ought not to undertake more, nor it go farther, than the remedy of evils or the removal of danger requires.
54. Rights indeed, by whomsoever possessed, must be religiously protected; and public authority, in warding off injuries and punishing wrongs, ought to see to it that individuals may have and hold what belongs to them. In protecting the rights of private individuals, however, special consideration must be given to the weak and the poor. For the nation, as it were, of the rich, is guarded by its own defenses and is in less need of governmental protection, whereas the suffering multitude, without the means to protect itself, relies especially on the protection of the State. Wherefore, since wage workers are numbered among the great mass of the needy, the State must include them under its special care and foresight.
55. But it will be well to touch here expressly on certain matters of special importance. The capital point is this, that private property ought to be safeguarded by the sovereign power of the State and through the bulwark of its laws. And especially, in view of such a great flaming up of passion at the present time, the masses ought to be kept within the bounds of their moral obligations. For while justice does not oppose our striving for better things, on the other hand, it does forbid anyone to take from another what is his and, in the name of a certain absurd equality, to seize forcibly the property of others; nor does the interest of the common good itself permit this. Certainly, the great majority of working people prefer to secure better conditions by honest toil, without doing wrong to anyone. Nevertheless, not a few individuals are found who, imbued with evil ideas and eager for revolution, use every means to stir up disorder and incite to violence. The authority of the State, therefore, should intervene and, by putting restraint upon such disturbers, protect the morals of workers from their corrupting arts and lawful owners from the danger of spoliation.
56. Labor which is too long and too hard and the belief that pay is inadequate not infrequently give workers cause to strike and become voluntarily idle. This evil, which is frequent and serious, ought to be remedied by public authority, because such interruption of work inflicts damage not only upon employers and upon the workers themselves, but also injures trade and commerce and the general interests of the State; and, since it is usually not far removed from violence and rioting, it very frequently jeopardizes public peace. In this matter it is more effective and salutary that the authority of the law anticipate and completely prevent the evil from breaking out by removing early the causes from which it would seem that conflict between employers and workers is bound to arise.
57. And in like manner, in the case of the worker, there are many things which the power of the State should protect; and, first of all, the goods of his soul. For however good and desirable mortal life be, yet it is not the ultimate goal for which we are born, but a road only and a means for perfecting, through knowledge of truth and love of good, the life of the soul. The soul bears the express image and likeness of God, and there resides in it that sovereignty through the medium of which man has been bidden to rule all created nature below him and to make all lands and all seas serve his interests. "Fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fishes of the sea and the fowls of the earth." [28] In this respect all men are equal, and there is no difference between rich and poor, between masters and servants, between rulers and subjects: "For there is the same Lord of all." [29] No one may with impunity outrage the dignity of man, which God Himself treats with great reverence, nor impede his course to that level of perfection which accords with eternal life in heaven. Nay, more, in this connection a man cannot even by his own free choice allow himself to be treated in a way inconsistent with his nature, and suffer his soul to be enslaved; for there is no question here of rights belonging to man, but of duties owed to God, which are to be religiously observed.
58. Hence follows necessary cessation from toil and work on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation. Let no one, however, understand this in the sense of greater indulgence of idle leisure, and much less in the sense of that kind of cessation from work, such as many desire, which encourages vice and promotes wasteful spending of money, but solely in the sense of a repose from labor made sacred by religion. Rest combined with religion calls man away from toil and the business of daily life to admonish him to ponder on heavenly goods and to pay his just and due homage to the Eternal Deity. This is especially the nature, and this the cause, of the rest to be taken on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, and God has sanctioned the same in the Old Testament by a special law: "Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath Day," [30] and He Himself taught it by His own action; namely the mystical rest taken immediately after He had created man: "He hath rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done." [31]
59. Now as concerns the protection of corporeal and physical goods, the oppressed workers, above all, ought to be liberated from the savagery of greedy men, who inordinately use human beings as things for gain. Assuredly, neither justice nor humanity can countenance the exaction of so much work that the spirit is dulled from excessive toil and that along with it the body sinks crushed from exhaustion. The working energy of a man, like his entire nature, is circumscribed by definite limits beyond which it cannot go. It is developed indeed by exercise and use, but only on condition that a man cease from work at regular intervals and rest. With respect to daily work, therefore, care ought to be taken not to extend it beyond the hours that human strength warrants. The length of rest intervals ought to be decided on the basis of the varying nature of the work, of the circumstances of time and place, and of the physical condition of the workers themselves. Since the labor of those who quarry stone from the earth, or who mine iron, copper, or other underground materials, is much more severe and harmful to health, the working period for such men ought to be correspondingly shortened. The seasons of the year also must be taken into account; for often a given kind of work is easy to endure in one season but cannot be endured at all in another, or not without the greatest difficulty.
60. Finally, it is not right to demand of a woman or a child what a strong adult man is capable of doing or would be willing to do. Nay, as regards children, special care ought to be taken that the factory does not get hold of them before age has sufficiently matured their physical, intellectual, and moral powers. For budding strength in childhood, like greening verdure in spring, is crushed by premature harsh treatment; and under such circumstances all education of the child must needs be foregone. Certain occupations, likewise, are less fitted for women, who are intended by nature for work of the home -- work indeed which especially protects modesty in women and accords by nature with the education of children and the well-being of the family. Let it be the rule everywhere that workers be given as much leisure as will compensate for the energy consumed by toil, for rest from work is necessary to restore strength consumed by use. In every obligation which is mutually contracted between employers and workers, this condition, either written or tacit, is always present, that both kinds of rest be provided for; nor would it be equitable to make an agreement otherwise, because no one has the right to demand of, or to make an agreement with anyone to neglect those duties which bind a man to God or to himself.
61. We shall now touch upon a matter of very great importance, and one which must be correctly understood in order to avoid falling into error on one side or the other. We are told that free consent fixes the amount of a wage; that therefore the employer, after paying the wage agreed to would seem to have discharged his obligation and not to owe anything more; that only then would injustice be done if either the employer should refuse to pay the whole amount of the wage, or the worker should refuse to perform all the work to which he had committed himself; and that in those cases, but in no others, is it proper for the public authority to safeguard the rights of each party.
62. An impartial judge would not assent readily or without reservation to this reasoning, because it is not complete in all respects; one factor to be considered, and one of the greatest importance, is missing. To work is to expend one's energy for the purpose of securing the things necessary for the various needs of life and especially for its preservation. "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." [32] Accordingly, in man sweat labor has two marks, as it were, implanted by nature, so that it is truly personal, because work energy inheres in the person and belongs completely to him by whom it is expended, and for whose use it is destined by nature; and secondly, that it is necessary, because man has need of the fruit of his labors to preserve his life, and nature itself, which must be most strictly obeyed, commands him to preserve it. If labor should be considered only under the aspect that it is personal, there is no doubt that it would be entirely in the worker's power to set the amount of the agreed wage at too low a figure. For inasmuch as he performs work by his own free will, he can also by his own free will be satisfied with either a paltry wage for his work or even with none at all. But this matter must be judged far differently, if with the factor of personality we combine the factor of necessity, from which indeed the former is separable in thought but not in reality. In fact, to preserve one's life is a duty common to all individuals, and to neglect this duty is a crime. Hence arises necessarily the right of securing things to sustain life, and only a wage earned by his labor gives a poor man the means to acquire these things.
63. Let it be granted then that worker and employer may enter freely into agreements and, in particular, concerning the amount of the wage; yet there is always underlying such agreements an element of natural justice, and one greater and more ancient than the free consent of contracting parties, namely, that the wage shall not be less than enough to support a worker who is thrifty and upright. If, compelled by necessity or moved by fear of a worse evil, a worker accepts a harder condition, which although against his will he must accept because an employer or contractor imposes it, he certainly submits to force, against which justice cries out in protest.
64. But in these and similar questions, such as the number of hours of work in each kind of occupation and the health safeguards to be provided, particularly in factories, it will be better, in order to avoid unwarranted governmental intervention, especially since circumstances of business, season, and place are so varied, that decision be reserved to the organizations of which We are about to speak below, or else to pursue another course whereby the interests of the workers may be adequately safeguarded -- the State, if the occasion demands, to furnish help and protection.
65. If a worker receives a wage sufficiently large to enable him to provide comfortably for himself, his wife and his children, he will, if prudent, gladly strive to practice thrift; and the result will be, as nature itself seems to counsel, that after expenditures are deducted there will remain something over and above through which he can come into the possession of a little wealth. We have seen, in fact, that the whole question under consideration cannot be settled effectually unless it is assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought to favor this right and, so far as it can, see that the largest possible number among the masses of the population prefer to own property.
66. If this is done, excellent benefits will follow, foremost among which will surely be a more equitable division of goods. For the violence of public disorder has divided cities into two classes of citizens, with an immense gulf lying between them. On the one side is a faction exceedingly powerful because exceedingly rich. Since it alone has under its control every kind of work and business, it diverts to its own advantage and interest all production sources of wealth and exerts no little power in the administration itself [sic] of the State. On the other side are the needy and helpless masses, with minds inflamed and always ready for disorder. But if the productive activity of the multitude can be stimulated by the hope of acquiring some property in land, it will gradually come to pass that, with the difference between extreme wealth and extreme penury removed, one class will become neighbor to the other. Moreover, there will surely be a greater abundance of the things which the earth produces. For when men know they are working on what belongs to them, they work with far greater eagerness and diligence. Nay, in a word, they learn to love the land cultivated by their own hands, whence they look not only for food but for some measure of abundance for themselves and their dependents. All can see how much this willing eagerness contributes to an abundance of produce and the wealth of a nation. Hence, in the third place, will flow the benefit that men can easily be kept from leaving the country in which they have been born and bred; for they would not exchange their native country for a foreign land if their native country furnished them sufficient means of living.
67. But these advantages can be attained only if private wealth is not drained away by crushing taxes of every kind. For since the right of possessing goods privately has been conferred not by man's law, but by nature, public authority cannot abolish it, but can only control its exercise and bring it into conformity with the commonweal. Public authority therefore would act unjustly and inhumanly, if in the name of taxes it should appropriate from the property of private individuals more than is equitable.
68. Finally, employers and workers themselves can accomplish much in this matter, manifestly through those institutions by the help of which the poor are opportunely assisted and the two classes of society are brought closer to each other. Under this category come associations for giving mutual aid; various agencies established by the foresight of private persons to care for the worker and likewise for his dependent wife and children in the event that an accident, sickness, or death befalls him; and foundations to care for boys and girls, for adolescents, and for the aged.
69. But associations of workers occupy first place, and they include within their circle clearly all the rest. The beneficent achievements of the guilds of artisans among our ancestors have long been well known. Truly, they yielded noteworthy advantages not only to artisans, but, as many monuments bear witness, brought glory and progress to the arts themselves. In our present age of greater culture, with its new customs and ways of living, and with the increased number of things required by daily life, it is most clearly necessary that workers' associations be adapted to meet the present need. It is gratifying that societies of this kind composed either of workers alone or of workers and employers together are being formed everywhere, and it is truly to be desired that they grow in number and in active vigor. Althoug
Fear is all John McCain has left and he is spewing it all over Pennsylvania in a last-ditch attempt to win the state.
Also, a huge polling day for Obama in Iowa and Palin's prank call is ALL over the news.
And, the Arizona Daily Star endorses Obama.
Rebecca Traister at Salon looks at the rampant fear mongering at McCain's rallies in Pennsylvania:
There are a "couple of hidden factors" in this election, said Specter. "The first is that people answer pollsters one way, but in the secrecy of the ballot booth, vote the other way." Yes. That is what he said, to a chorus of hopeful affirmation. Arlen Specter was openly -- in public, into a microphone -- crossing his fingers, and hoping for racism.
and:
Specter followed Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett, who had blustered about his hunting down of thousands of drug dealers and defrauders of senior citizens, as well as those people who would "go on the Internet and try to touch our children in a way that should never be allowed." It was the same kind of fear-mongering that the Republicans have been doing all over Pennsylvania in these last weeks, but on Saturday it felt more shameless, more swaggering, more exploitative of those Americans perceived as weak -- the old, the very young.
These people really are unbelievable.
::::::
And it's apparent that is all they have left. No positive messages on what John McCain can accomplish, just all anti-Obama, all the time. TPM reports on a GOP mailer claiming that electing Obama will lead to "tragic outcomes for the Jewish people."
Also in Pennsylvania, McCain is once again questioning Obama's patriotism:
"My country has never had to prove anything to me, my friends," McCain insisted at a morning rally in Springfield, Va., and again at an airport hangar here in the Philadelphia suburbs."I've always had faith in it and I've been humbled and honored to serve it," he added. "I haven't been vindicated by anything."
"My country has never had to prove anything to me, my friends," McCain insisted at a morning rally in Springfield, Va., and again at an airport hangar here in the Philadelphia suburbs.
"I've always had faith in it and I've been humbled and honored to serve it," he added. "I haven't been vindicated by anything."
Hey Everyone,
Ok, I am a hard working Middle Class man with a Salary of just $69,000 per year. Well, even that is much higher than your average hard working middle class man.
I wanted to write this post because I hear the McCain campaign trying to bash Mr. Obama raising taxes on a $250,000 Net income of a small business to help our country. Well, in my eyes the way I see it is if I were to receive a tax increase of say 4 - 7% I would have no problem with that at all knowing that my contribution is going to help our economy..
The way it is, if the economy continues my $69,000 salary may become a $0 salary, then not only could I not help this Country but wouldn't be able to help my family or myself either!
So, if it means anything, I am way below the higher tax bracket but if a slight increase in my taxes would save not only the economy but my JOB as well, than heck yeah, take a little from me now and then give me back a little when we are in a position to do so...
I had a dream: We are writing the year 2016, America has left behind the economy crisis of 2008 and developed to a green, social and prosperous society. The unemployment rate is down at 2.3 %, the number of poor people dropped from 37 to 9 million, the national deficit is only a fourth of that in 2008. Every American has affordable health care now, and Obama`s tax cuts have put more money into the pockets of the middle-class American, which led to higher consumption, re-fueled the economy, and created millions of new jobs. Above all 5 million new created green collar jobs and a better, more effective environmental policy with solar, wind and other renewable energies dropped America`s energy bill, air pollution and CO 2 balance by 25%, making the country cleaner and almost independent of foreign oil. America´s is about to become the world leader in green technology, especially due to the broad-scale introduction of US built hybrid cars. In foreign politics America has restored faith and regained respect in the world community of nations as a wise and peaceful mediator in all conflicts. This and other measures also led to an improvement of the national security. The dark Bush years are history and America has made the real CHANGE to a better future - YES WE COULD - And due to the great achievements of Barack Obama`s successful 8 years in national and international politics a committee was founded, proposing the extension of his presidency for 4 more years, as applied during the Roosevelt administration.
Was all of this just a dream ? - No, you can make it happen by voting for OBAMA next Tuesday - It is now up to you, America !
SHOP AMERICA SUPPORTS OBAMA
Obama is not taking money from one and giving it to another. This is what McCain wants you to believe.
All Obama is doing is cutting taxes for the majority which just happens to be the middle class. You know... the ones who have been paying an unfair amount of taxes over the past 8 years to support the rich and wealthy Republicans!
You know the same rich and wealthy whom made tons of money off of the middle classes backs via the Wall Street CEOs... the same rich and wealthy whom made ridiculous amounts of money thru the McCain backed de-regulations put into motion in financial institutions and in the oil futures.
McCain is a hardcore supporter of De-Regulation!
The Rich and Wealthy Republicans are DE-REGULATORS!
De-Regulation is the reason for this financial crisis!
Read My Lipsticked Lips...
The Rich and Wealthy REPUBLICANS are the folks to thank for the financial mess that we are in right now!
Remember Phil Gramms, whom just happens to be filthy rich, McCain's buddy and economic advisor whom called us a nation of whiners. He and Enron made a ton of money as did speculators when he created and pushed de-regulation. He's the one you can all thank for the $4.00 - $5.00 per gallon for gas fiasco. Maybe you heard of the Enron Loop hole! After it got passed his wifey pooh received a real nice cushy job at Enron. Gasp! Can anyone spell Corruption?
Obama is simply not going to let Bush's Welfare Tax Plan for the Rich and Wealthy Republicans continue. He is rolling it back to what we had in the Clinton era. Which by the way was a prosperous time. In the past 40 years the ONLY administration to actually have a balanced budget instead of a deficit is Bill Clinton's administration. In fact he had a SURPLUS!
Ronald Reagan ... A republican president promoted the Progressive Tax system on this video and he also berated the republicans as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFhoM6xZpEQ
Teddy Roosevelt also a republican president ALSO believed in the Progressive tax system!
Both Reagan and Teddy Roosevelt have been listed by McCain as being his hero's. So by damning Obama for the progressive tax system by calling him a socialist aka redistributor also means his hero's Ronald Reagan and Teddy Roosevelt were also socialist and redistributors.
The Republican party, John McCain and Palin will go down in history as an absolute disgrace for their fear, hate, lies, racist, smear tactics in 2008.
Juli Norwood
I guess I have knocked on 400 doors for Barack Obama in Gloucester County, VA, over that last couple months. During this week's Get-Out-the-Vote canvas, I encounter three people that really touched me.
The first was a 60-ish year old married woman first said she was undecided, but then admitted she was probably going to vote for Obama. She was obviously a woman of faith, wearing a cross pendant on her blouse. She said she was against abortion, and had saved 8 babies in the last couple weeks by encouraging their mothers to carry their babies full term. She knew in the last 8 years under that Bush administration, the number of abortions had not decreased, and she had concluded that the Republicans were using abortion to manipulate evangelical Christians. She also believed that Barack Obama was not for abortion. In what was a painful decision for her, she would vote for Obama hoping that people like herself would be given the opportunity to work with organizations like Planned Parenthood to give woman choices, and ultimately decrease the number of abortions. She told me that the pressure by her church to vote Republican was very strong. She said her church recently played a John Hagee "fear of God" video that said "vote the Bible" and everyone was going to vote for McCain, except her. She confided that she believed Obama was an intelligent and compassionate human being and would likely be a good president. In the end of our 15 minute conversation, she promised she would bring her husband to the polls on November 4th and they would vote for Obama.
The second person that I really felt for was a man, around 64 years old. He was working on his house, a very nice ranch style home, when I knocked on his door. He said he had never taken an interest in voting in all his adult life and had only just registered this year. He said that the past 8 years of the Bush administration were terrible and he was motivated to do his part to help the country make a change for the better by voting for the first time in his life. His life, in particular, has undergone painful changes in the last two weeks. He lost his job as a builder estimator/plans developer after more than 20 years in the business. The area's new building starts were slowing and his ability to use CAD drawing software was limited, a skill demanded by the new management that took over his company. The combination of limited technology skills and slowing business cost him his job. He said he would start getting an unemployment checks in a week, but he didn't think the money would pay his family's bills.
The last person I met this weekend was, although not on my official "knock-list", a 19-ish year old who brought me my burger at the local Sonic (Sonic burgers are a personal weakness). I had just completed my walk and submitted my tally sheet, and then stopped at Sonic. After bringing my food, I asked the Sonic "hop" if he was going to vote. He said, "no, my vote doesn't matter, especially in Virginia where they always go Republican." I told him that his vote would indeed make a difference, and Virginia might just vote for a Democrat for President for the first time in 44 years. I said that Obama was ahead, just barely, in the state-wide polls, and EVERY vote is important. He seemed surprised, but then said he would vote. When he came back to give me my change, I gave him my Obama pin (sorry JP, it was the cool one you gave me on Sunday with the red and blue circles). He said "thanks" and walked away smiling.
Seeing people in distress does not give me any joy. However, I share with them in the comfort that Obama, once elected at the 44th President of the United States, will have the middle classes' problems as his top priority.
I'm curius why the Obama - Biden campaign has studiously avoided using the term "working class"? Always, every time everyone in the campaign, at all events I've seen and attended talks about the "middle class": we need to help out the middle class, stand up for the middle class, make sure the middle class gets........ What ever happened to the working class?
the only ones talking about the working class are McCain and Palin. In fact they and the Republicans address the working class on nearly every occasion.
Hello Democrats..... do we really want to write off the traditional backbone of the party? Sure many of the working class left in droves to support Ronnie "ray gun zap" Reagan, but there's no reason not to enroll the next generation or two, that, in their best interests can surely recognize the Democratic party and its candidates as best serving their interests. But ... the democrats will need to address themselves to the working class. Why can't Obama and Biden simply include with their numerous, continual mention of middle class, "and working class"?????
There appears to be an intentionality here, which is unsettling.....
Here's to a higher analysis that understands 1) the difference between middle and working class, and 2) realizes that there is not an automatic inclusion of the latter in the former, and 3) that not everyone aspires to a white collar professional job/career, and thank god for that!
*sigh* I keep hearing over and over again about how Obama's plans are Socialism, and that he follows Marxist ideals.
Like so many things, Socialism and Marxism are only scary until you understand what they are and what they mean in terms of real understanding, instead of allowing the media to turn them into dirty words and talking points. The Obama plan is not Marxist, and to understand this, you need to know what Marxism is. People are using the words "Socialism" and "Marxism" interchangably, and they are not the same thing at ALL. All Marxists are Socialists, but not all Socialists are Marxists.
For those of you who don't know, here's a very layman explanation of what Marxism is.
The Ohio Democratic Party recently released a truly stunning advertisement that puts a visual on how eight years of failed Republican economic policies have wreaked havoc on Ohio workers and families. The facts are the following--under the Bush administration, Ohio has suffered:
Those numbers are a bit hard to grasp, until you see the ad:
In addition, the helpful website www.McCainvsOhio.com is chock full of resources that detail how Senator McCain stands on the wrong side of the issues most important to Ohio, including:
The site features many videos, and the ability to write a letter to the editor.
Enraged by this ad and what you see on the website? Like this Toledo woman, are you wondering how someone who owns seven homes can be in touch with the struggles of normal Ohioans? You can write a letter through Barack's website too, on any number of issues that are important to you. Just click the button below.
Here's a nice post exchange from fivethirtyeight.com -- I laid the educational smack down, so I had to share. (Apologies in advance for high levels of snark and annoyance, but I do grow tired of having to explain that 2 + 2 does indeed equal 4 to these idiots.)
Does saying the words "middle class" actually mean that Obama will help them, or is it just pandering? And does anyone really believe Obama's plan helps the middle class? McCain's plan favors the rich, Obama's the poor, and no one gives a crap about the middle class.Obama is likely going to win for one reason -- he's convinced people that McCain is another George Bush. In fact, there's few Republican Senators further from George Bush. Despite it being essentially a lie that McCain is "McSame," it's worked for Obama.Bring on the Socialism. Yippee.
Matthew said...Does saying the words "middle class" actually mean that Obama will help them, or is it just pandering? And does anyone really believe Obama's plan helps the middle class? McCain's plan favors the rich, Obama's the poor, and no one gives a crap about the middle class.You are such an Ashley Todd.Or, in verificationese, a "praffian."Instead of just making shit up (I know, it's what the right does), how about LOOKING IT UP?(Or, here's a pretty graph if you can't read all those boring words.)Obama's plan helps the middle class 3x as much as McCain's. Yes, he helps working class taxpayers, too, but the bottom two quintiles (0th - 40th percentile) get only about 60% as much as the next two quintiles (40th - 80th percentile). So, in absolute terms, Obama is definitely removing more tax burden from the middle class than anyone else.Matthew said...Bring on the Socialism. Yippee.Hmmm. Let's see here:(1) You're calling Obama a socialist.(2) I'm assuming it's being he's "redistributing wealth" from the rich to the poor, right?(3) Obama's total taxes -- AND EVEN THE TOP BRACKET TAX RATE -- are substantially lower than they were under Ronald Reagan. (Perhaps you've heard of him.)(4) Ergo, Ronald Reagan was a bigger socialist than Barack Obama.(5) Ditto for Nixon and Eisenhower.That's your argument, right? Just want to make sure we're all on the same page here. =)
To "GaMeS" -- Yes, the pretty little graph (yeah, I had to look, despite my bar license, I'm not yet sure what words are) shows that Obama's plan is a percent or two better in the middle class range. However, that's only true if you believe Obama can fully implement all of his programs while still sticking to his quoted numbers. Personally, I do not believe he can, and I believe taxes will be going up for far more than just those making $250,000 or more. We're going to have damn near 60 democrats in the senate, you're crazy if you don't think it's going to be social-program-central the next 4 years.And to be clear, I'm for small government, and believe that GWB is certainly the worst president of my lifetime.
Matthew said...To "GaMeS" -- Yes, the pretty little graph (yeah, I had to look, despite my bar license, I'm not yet sure what words are) shows that Obama's plan is a percent or two better in the middle class range. However, that's only true if you believe Obama can fully implement all of his programs while still sticking to his quoted numbers.By that logic, then, you must similarly discount everything McCain wants to do. Moreso, in fact, because he would face a Congress controlled by the opposition.Matthew said....Personally, I do not believe he can, and I believe taxes will be going up for far more than just those making $250,000 or more.And you have nothing but your own gut reaction to base this on. You think he's a "tax and spend liberal," so you just assume he's lying and will raise taxes on far more people.Because, I don't know, you must think liberals get off on raising taxes or something.Seriously, we don't like it, either. But unlike the moronic right-wing ideologues, we believe in paying our bills.That Tax Policy Center article I linked to projects that McCain would add $1.5 trillion more to the debt than Obama would.For all your talk about Obama's big spending programs, McCain would spend even more -- that tax cut is a giant earmark for the top 1%, welfare for the rich paid for by inflation that effectively taxes the middle & working class and debt that will burden our children and the unborn.So, really, who's being irresponsible here? It's a fact that as your income goes up, you spend more on investment and less on consumption. Taxes are an investment in our nation's future, building infrastructure, protecting our borders, rebuilding after disasters ... all the things that are just too fucking big to be done privately. Because you spend more on investment as you move up the income ladder, so too should you spend more on taxes as a part of that investment. So, here's a question: Why are the right-wingers so damned opposed to investing in their own country?Seriously, I don't get how these jackoffs can scoff at the idea that paying taxes is patriotic. Really? You think supporting our troops is not patriotic? Well, where do you think their body armor, bullet, humvees, etc. come from? The Army Fairy?To me, these assholes are saying they value having an extra couple of percent on everything past the first couple MILLION in a single year more than they value the lives of the soldiers who are overseas being KILLED to defend the rights (and property!) of those same assholes.They're motherfucking ingrates, if you ask me.Matthew said ....We're going to have damn near 60 democrats in the senate, you're crazy if you don't think it's going to be social-program-central the next 4 years.So, again, your argument hinges on phantom programs that no one has suggested, that they will want to add to the budget just for shits and giggles?And you really think that will catch up with the $1.5 trillion of extra debt McCain would add?And, for that matter, what do you consider a "social program"? * All of Obama's tax credits are dependent on the recipient working, so it's certainly not "welfare." * Investing in infrastructure ("green collar jobs," developing alternative energy)? No, that's really "public works" ... so unless the Hoover Dam is a "social program," this isn't it.* Helping to pay for college in return for community service? OK, that's arguably a "social program," but at the same time you're getting them to contribute directly to the community. As far as I'm concerned, that's no different from public works (hiring people to do stuff that the community needs), and it's directed in a way that is investing in infrastructure (i.e. an educated, competitive workforce). But I'll spot you that one if you want to call it a social program. =)* Health care? Well, McCain has a plan for health care, too (and a giant tax hike on benefits to boot!), so it's not entirely fair to single this out. On top of that, the whole reason we need health care reform is because the system doesn't work when left to private industry, as evidenced by our skyrocketing costs vis-a-vis countries with universal programs. So, when you really think about it, this isn't a "social program" so much as an investment: People will have more money to spend elsewhere (good for the economy) and people will get better preventative health care (reduce future costs of medicare). But, again, I'll let you call this one a social program if you really want. =)So, other than health care (which McCain also tries to address) and allowing students to work for tuition (which we already have at a smaller scale in "work-study" programs, and we're already providing Stafford loans, Pell grants, etc. anyway), I really don't see the giant government bogeyman you guys are always talking about. Matthew....And to be clear, I'm for small government, and believe that GWB is certainly the worst president of my lifetime.Well, no disagreement there. The biggest difference between us is that I want "small government" as "not intrusive, not neglectful, and not bigger than necessary to fulfill these two criteria." Some public goods simply cannot be left to the private sector -- it's the prisoner's dilemma, the collective action problem, the tragedy of the commons. Basic game theory predicts it and empirical studies prove it -- and that's why I'm a liberal and fucking proud of it.p.s. squie!
