The Reverse Robin Hood Party
In rank and file republicans, many, many good people exist. Actor Paul Newman, who has given more than $150 million to charity from his Newman's Own food products line is a fine example. However, in the republican congressional leadership, this sense of decency is often lacking. As early as this morning, the republican congressional leadership is promoting a cut of as much as $50 billion for essential services for the poor of America including cuts in nutrition, health care and education services. At the same time, the same twisted morality proposal awards $70 billion in tax cuts for the wealthy.
The bill cannot even be justified as a proposal to cut spending. It does not. It pushes the federal budget deficit even higher. And every tax cut proposal aimed at the wealthy usually does not even have the "trickle down" effect to eventually aid those at the bottom of the economic ladder. Every tax proposal that benefits the wealthy usually encourages more and more jobs to leave America for labor cheap states such as China, India or Vietnam. And this is despite the dismal human and religious rights record in China and Vietnam.
In the old Superman comics, a world known as the "Bizarro world" existed, in which right was wrong, and wrong was right. It the same sense of twisted logic, the justification for the current proposal to cut what little safety net exists for the poorest of Americans while further rewarding those of far more means than they can often possiby use makes no moral sense at all.
The legendary Robin Hood character sought justice for the poor, by giving back to them what the wealthy often stole. The current republican congressional leadership often lacks any sense of moral balance, unconcerned that poor children are permanently damaged by poor nutrition, or that poor persons needlessly die due to lack of basic health care. They embrace right wing organizations such as Focus On The Family or the Family Research Council, who are supportive of family issues in name only. These organizations lack any commitment to decent wages, health care, education or nutrition issues, and instead deceptiviely use the name "family" as a cover for a wide range of right wing issue covers.
Congress may get the chance as soon as early as this morning to prove where their heart actually is.
posted by Paul Hooson @ 3:10 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
During the past eight years since the last minimum wage increase, transportation and housing costs for working Americans have soared. The Bush Administration and our Republican Congress have opposed a minimum wage increase and taken overtime pay away from millions of workers. Democrats must keep fighting for a living wage and the 40 hour work week. Low wages and dismal benefits are really a subsidy for big business as their employees can often qualify for food stamps and Medicaid programs. The Democratic Party needs to focus on representing the interests of working families. For too long, Democrats have been distracted by exotic social issues and allowed Republicans to get away with their hypocritical talk about compassionate conservatism and family values. It's hard to have family values without the wages and benefits to support a family.
Amen, RightDemocrat. The commitment to basic moral issues such as a decent working wage were the "bread and butter" basis of the FDR Administration. Basic values to strongly defend some level of support for working people's values are essential to the moral role that Democrats should play in American politics.
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