USA Declares Martial Law????!

[Draconia]

I have got to join in on this rant again! I remember when I was working for HeadStart (government paid for preschool) I made decent money and had pretty good benefits, but we were barely scrapping by. Headstart is for low-income families. They all drove better cars than me had beautiful houses with white carpet and marble fireplaces. I can't understand how they did it since most of them were on welfare. I admit that our family has had to resort to applying for assistance but never for long and could never afford those things. I guess being honest and hardworking is my downfall. I have never had credit cards, a new car, or even new furniture. Even with the hubby and I both working we couldn't afford to be flamboyant. We did buy a house (twice and twice took to the cleaners by circumstances beyond our control), we paid the utilities, the child care, bought the food, paid the insurance, so on and so on. Occasionally we could spare enough dough to go to the movies or the zoo as a family, but there was not a whole lot left. After what happened with our last house I look forward to renting and having someone else fix the problems. The banks can keep their loans right now. My Daddy was a very wise man and he told me many times, "Honey if you can't afford to buy something outright then you don't need it." The only exceptions to the rule was a house and a car (too much money at once). I think he had the right idea

[FyreGarnet]

I think, going back to an earlier topic, that what someone heard about Bush running for another term was misconstrued. I found out tonight that the Governor of New York is looking to run for another term. His name is Bloomburg, I believe. I don't live in New York, or even close to there, so I don't really know what is going on with that, and if that is truly his name.

FyreGarnet

[socialgreen]

Draconia wrote:

I have got to join in on this rant again! I remember when I was working for HeadStart (government paid for preschool) I made decent money and had pretty good benefits, but we were barely scrapping by. Headstart is for low-income families. They all drove better cars than me had beautiful houses with white carpet and marble fireplaces. I can't understand how they did it since most of them were on welfare.

Ifind that hard to believe considering that in the midwest the poor usually drive cars that are rusted out with no rear bumbers and have to live either in housing projects or rent dumps. Did I just tuned into the Faux News Network? Perhaps reading the book Nickled and Dime: on (not ) getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich may help. Though we may see things we don't approve of the majority of the poor are actually poor and don't drive nice cars, live in nice homes, nor wear fancy dress. While there are those who actually abuse the system they are a minority in which Right Wing politicians focus on to justify cutting social programs. One thing I do know that those who work the hardest are the least paid. Don't get me started on the class struggle.

John

[Lotus]

Sorry, but I see the abuse everyday. I truely see it. Yes, there are people who really need assistence and really do not abuse it. However, I do see more people abusing it.
Where I work there is always people using their foodstamp cards for everything but actual food and whiping out their cash for their smokes or booze.

If you can afford almost twenty dollars for your smokes then you can afford to buy your own food.
I believe in stricter control over assistence programs to curb all of the abuse.
Honestly if my money (tax dollars) are being spent to assist your lifestyle then I should get to decide how you spend it.

BB
Lotus

[Kystar]

For every two people who actually needed it and didn't abuse the assistance programs, I saw five who WERE abusing it. I'm not sure HOW they can get government assistance for housing when they're driving a $23,000+ car...but they do.

I admit that there are people who honestly need it...who won't abuse it...but seriously, how do they fall through the cracks when people who can afford $60 nail jobs, $120 purses, $40 hairdos and all get the help?

It's messed up. Completely. I just wish there was better oversight so this stuff doesn't keep happening.

[Bandersnatch]

I understand where you are all coming from. But how do you provide assistance to those who truly need it and keep the abusers out?

The people who abuse the system make it their life's mission to take what they can. Sometimes we have to take the good with the bad in order to provide for the least of our society. Of course if anyone has a better idea, I'm all for it.

[Crazy Healer Lady]

I'm needing income assistance right now due to my injury and being unable to work. My partner's parents are needing income assistance for the same reason - his EI has run out and I'm trying to convince them to hit up Welfare rather than starve and borrow our money which we don't have right now.

My sister owes about $4000 for lying to the gov't and getting tax benefits she was not entitled to, and insurance money as well. This is a person who genuinely just does not want to work.

In my job and in daily life I see both ends: Those who abuse the system as much as possible, and those who truly need it (and often those who truly need it are too proud to apply). Those who abuse it frustrate me because my tax money is wasted, so it seems. And then I see someone who has one leg and is kept off the street because of government programs. They're both out there. We can gripe about the abusers and still acknowledge the good that income assistance does. I know I do.

[socialgreen]

Crazy Healer Lady wrote:

My sister owes about $4000 for lying to the gov't and getting tax benefits she was not entitled to, and insurance money as well. This is a person who genuinely just does not want to work.

In my job and in daily life I see both ends: Those who abuse the system as much as possible, and those who truly need it (and often those who truly need it are too proud to apply). Those who abuse it frustrate me because my tax money is wasted, so it seems. And then I see someone who has one leg and is kept off the street because of government programs. They're both out there. We can gripe about the abusers and still acknowledge the good that income assistance does. I know I do.

Many abuser are being caught these days. I see it in the local newspaper. However, the $700 billion bailout is welfare for the rich and that is where our taxes will be going. It may save some jobs and do some stablization but a lot of money will be lining many wallets and purses--none of whom are poor. How many times have big business (who complain day in and day out about how bad government is) asked the very same government for a bailout? The reason that lead to these bailouts is criminal conduct. Here is an example, in 1961 seven executives of the big electrical equipment manufacturers were sent to jail for collusive price fixing. The general sympathy shown for these felons "by businessmen" reflected the attitude that their "crime" was not in conspiring to cheat the buyers of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of electrical equipment, but in getting caught! I guess the concept of who is really the parasites of society has not dawned on anyone yet. We all labor and yet we don't make the connection that labor creates all of society's wealth--it's the rich boys and girls who live off of that wealth.

[Librarian]

Amazing how quickly the panic sets in...

No, no martial law, no soldiers in the streets, no hoarding of food.

BTW, it would be illegal to put US Army soldiers in the streets without a declaration of martial law. even when the LA riots went off a few years, only a few soldiers were deployed, and those were National Guard, not Army.

[Arcanum Owl]

People panicing?
Not really surprised considering most western government tend to use fear as a method of control.
In regards to the martial law check this out; http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=HaG9d_4zij8&eurl=http://www.zgeek.com/forum/showthread.php?t=78584
Don't worry it's pretty short.

Also, the way it has been explained to be by professional business men is that if the US do the $700 billion bailout, they will be essentially writing off $700 billion dollars worth of assets.
Imagine the effect on your currency if $700 billion dollars is suddenly reduced to zero.

This has largely been the problem, the banks have been loaning out money to people who want to buy a $100k property, it's evaluated at $120k and the bank loans out $150k. The loan becomes default and the bank retrieves the asset which they purchased for $150k but is only worth $100k. Now times that by several hundred thousand cases.

The US market has started to have an effect over here (Australia). Our national interest rate fell a full 1% yesterday (such a large fall hasn't occurred in 16yrs), the banks refuse to pass on the full rate reduction, people are scared so have stopped spending and government infrastructure projects have all been speed up to be completed within 5yrs (basically they are running in to grab all the borrowed money now, before the banks refuse lending).

[Lotus]

The USA Today and The Columbus Dispatch announced in their headlines yesterday that the world market fell dramatically......actually crashed.
Not to sound American pompus here but, we are the country that everyone hates and when something goes wrong we are either begged to correct it or blamed for it.
The lead singer of U2 (Bono) complained that if the USA has $700 billion to bail itself out then we have the money to feed all the children in Darfur. Yes, it is America's job to feed everyone not the rest of the world.
If we do not bail ourselves out then no one has money and we become like Darfur.
This is my rant of the moment:
Why is it always America's responsibility to diaper the rest of the world?
Part of our national debt is from rebuilding countries. We paid for both France and Germany to be rebuilt after WWII.
Lately (last decade) we will bomb the living poop out of somewhere and then rebuild it. It is like *bomb* and then saying "Oh, we're so sorry for bombing you.....here is some money to rebuild." Iraq is sitting at a surplus while we are rebuilding them and are trillions of dollars in debt.
This all does not make sense.

BB
Lotus

[Lotus]

*the sound of crickets*
It seems that I scared everyone off with the general feelings that Central Ohioans are feeling lately.

BB
Lotus

[FyreGarnet]

Didn't scare me off. You said it well, and I agree with you.

FyreGarnet

[Draconia]

Something really does need to happen. I just saw on the news that AIG paid for a $400,000 training/vacation directly after their bailout. Haven't they learned anything! Okay I admit some of these companies need help because if they don't get it, there are many regular people that will be hurt. If AIG didn't get help then look how many people would have had to find other insurance companies, had to pay start up fees, new broker fees, and may not have the same low premiums. I would have been one of those people, I also banked at Washington Mutual.

The welfare program does need to change though. Here in California. if you have a job already and apply for welfare you automatically are denied, even if you are only making $400 a month working part time. That's not enough to even put gas in your car. When you get on welfare they usually will not let you get en education, they would rather you get a job at Burger KIng than get your degree and make something out of your self. You can not support your family on fast food wages. The one thing california has done is limit adding new babies to the case when you have continually been on welfare. I have seen many people who are 4th generation welfare recipients. people will keep having babies just to stay on welfare. We also have a 5 year limit on cash aid. We just had to apply this week, on the other hand my husband and I have working and paying taxes for 17 years. We paid into the program so I don't feel bad for having to use it temporarily while looking for another job.

okay I have now stepped back off my soapbox.

[davisherm]

I have so much to say on this topic and no time to say it in, so I will leave it at this.

Librarian, I love your new avatar.