Homelessness or Death is No Joke - Or is it?

Nov. 15, 2010 - PRLog -- I don't agree with President Obama on many things, but I don't think he's an evil man. Glenn Beck may be correct about Obama's ideology concerning the Cloward-Piven Strategy, but I don't think that is was Obama, the Progressive movement, or a small percentage of the U.S. population who consider themselves to be Socialists who brought down the U.S. economy in 2008. I believe it was primarily the big central banks, with the help of all the corrupt and lazy government regulators and politicians (of ALL political ideologies).

But regardless... no amount of arguing, rationalizing, praying, inner circumspection, debate, planning, begging, crying, complaining, or luck will allow me to avoid making a very critical decision about my life within the next two months - homelessness or death. And yet, I don't blame myself, I blame the greed and selfishness of others.

Not one single person at AIG, Goldman Sachs, or the Federal Reserve (or any politician or government employee) who was responsible for the failure of this economy were ever held accountable. The government only prosecuted a couple of rouge schemers, such as Bernie Madoff who did his dealing while government employees at the SEC were watching pornography on their computers instead of watching the hedge fund mangers.

Since that time the rest of the crooks continued to make profits and bonuses (outsourcing more jobs and foreclosing on more homes), while regular working and unemployed Americans suffered the real consequences of the economic fall-out. No politicians, CEOs, or big investment bankers have ever had to cut back on their living expenses during the Great Recession, but everyone else was forced to.

Now pundits on cable news shows such as Glen Beck (and all the Republicans and Tea Party members) are advocating for extending tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% of these very same people who were ultimately responsible for putting me in the dilemma that I'm in today. Homelessness or death.

I'll bet that Glenn Beck's personal income is more than $250,000 a year...and I'll also bet that he doesn't want HIS taxes going up any higher either. Yet he claims that all the rich people (like himself) won't be able to hire more people if their personal income tax rate goes higher. (*cough-cough, clear throat*) The rich have already had these tax breaks during the past two years while the economy crashed and they were still laying people off!

But according to Glenn, it's the long-term unemployed (those who can't find jobs) that are the ones who are supposed to be "ashamed to call themselves Americans."

And the rich STILL aren't hiring people - - - it's been just the opposite. With their current tax breaks, they are still out-sourcing jobs and making huge profits and bonuses. Even though the stock market is UP about 40% since it bottomed out in early March of 2009, regular folks are still suffering with a 20% U-6 unemployment rate in late 2010. For the past two years while corporate stocks gained in value, unemployment has continued to rise. Nobody such as Glen Beck were ever laid off at Fox News (the people who called the unemployed lazy), so they continue to circle their own wagons in support of giving the wealthy (themselves included) extended tax breaks.

"Lazy? Mister Beck, were you joking? Where are all the damn jobs?" (About 5 million Americans have already exhausted all their unemployment benefits and another 5 million could in 3 months.)

Did you ever see the talking heads on Fox News making their whimsical bets with one another for $5,000 to $20,000? It was as though they were playing with Monopoly money, while millions of REAL Americans were wondering how their rent would be paid next month. How much does Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck earn? Are they REALLY looking out for us? They say the losers of these bets pays their gambling debt to a "worthy charity", while at the same time, they say unemployment benefits go to "lazy people" who "refuse to work" at all those make-believe jobs. But still, even though these contributions to charities may be tax write-offs for them, why do these cable TV news commentators, celebrities, personalities, and pundits flaunt their wealth in such an obscene manner? Unlike the "99ers", they can never know what it's like to bet their very lives on the actions of congress (i.g. Tier Five).

The massive and growing nation debt is the burden that only the average working person (earning between $20,000 and $40,000 a year) will actually feel in their day-to-day lives - not the rich people, or government employees who average $70,000 a year. They can send their spoiled kids to public schools or drive one less SUV if need be, they won't have to worry about actual survival. Even people drawing unemployment compensation must pay taxes. But the GOP, Tea Party, and Glen Beck wants to tell you that you shouldn't have the tax breaks unless all the rich people can have them as well. That sounds very much like nana-nana-boo-boo to me. (Stick a finger in my eye while you're at it.)

As noted by a reporter from my local newspaper, who says that they are "selfish people who actually believe that they don't have to pay into the system, because they don't need the system."

I believe the "great patriots" such as Glenn Beck and his ilk are the real beggars who are looking for a hand out, not the disenfranchised unemployed Americans who are barely trying to support their families on meager unemployment insurance (an average of $309 a week - which is near the poverty level of $16,000 a year).

So on this particular issue, I agree with Obama by ending the tax breaks for the mega-rich, while ordinary people can continue on with their current daily struggles without any change to their tax burden. The rich may buy one less private jet...so, how many more jobs will be lost for that? Maybe the rich can just build their own factory and hire their own people to build themselves a new jet!

I don't know about you, but I'm fed up with all the lies (And why were so many of these same liars just re-elected?). Greed and excess and gluttony by the wealthiest 2% in this country are also those who run the government (through the media and by political donations); while the masses are led to slaughter like sheep whenever it becomes necessary to thin the herd. The rich caused this mess, not us poor people. Like idiots, we continued to borrow and buy their crap...but weren't we supposed to?

Who was looking out for us? Who forgot to close the barn door at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? Was it your fault? Then why must YOU pay?

How can a congressperson earning a base salary of $174,000-a-year walk in your shoes and know your pain and represent you? They can't. They live in lofty places that only the richest 2% in this country are the most comfortable living. They are accustomed to this life-style and could not possibly imagine what it might be like trying to sustain themselves and their families on $309 a week in unemployment benefits. Many would most likely blow their brains out first.

Millions of regular Americans (not RICH Americans) are still unemployed - - - almost half have been for 6 months to two years. A vast number have already lost their homes and cars, and already exhausted their life's savings...and like me, they still can't find a job. Many have killed themselves when they were faced with the same choices I'll soon be facing.

But still, Glen Beck and the rest of the conservative movement INSISTS on rewarding all these mystery "job creators" with continued tax breaks. Does that make any sense to you? Or is that a joke? Those like Glenn Beck must be the real clowns. If I weren't going to be homeless or dead within the next two months, I might almost find them to be funny. But in reality, homelessness or death is no joke.

And if so, then the joke was on me.

(Original post - http://acompanyofone.org/homelessness-or-death-is-no-joke... )

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The Tier Five Times reports on the latest unemployment news such as the jobless numbers and unemployment benefits for "99ers" - those who have exhausted all unemployment insurance benefits.