But what did our “smartest men in the room” do to take care of this impending cash flow problem? They financed it with easy credit and loaned a dwindling middle class the money for which they are now in a double bind. That our spoiled middle class was slow to catch on to what was taking place, and expected the USA to bounce back like it always did, you could call them stupid, or you could say they were exploited, depending on your perspective. But either way, America the Beautiful, land of opportunity, is being turned into a mere Plutocracy right before our eyes, no matter which way you choose to view it. Sad, if it weren’t so damned infuriating.

The Military Industrial Complex that helped win WWII, converted easily into the manufacturing dynamo that employed our retrurning GIs and a growing population that benefitted from their fore-fathers’ fight (labor Unions) during the Guilded Age against the Robber Barons for a decent working wage that ushered in the most dynamic consumer market this world has ever seen. That, coupled with a rebuilding world that desired/needed the goods that our industries were pumping out, and the race propelled by the cold war, helped bring the USA to the top as the worlds largest economy.

But Big Bad Government was on the side of the commoner back then in ways you don’t see today. For instance; The Employment Act of 1946 recognized the vital role of a prosperous middle class. The three stated goals of that bill were maximized employment, production, and purchase power through a decent middle class wage. Another example was during the Korean War, when the Military Industrial Complex was cranking up again, and CEOs in that Industrial sector, found themselves awash in profits, and would have claimed the lion’s share in pay hikes and bonuses until the Big Bad Govt. stepped in and deemed that the increase was due to national events (a War), and had nothing to do with the sagacity of their executive team, so it decreed that the CEOs spread the wealth to their workers, against their will.

Another Plutocratic trend that I find alarming is marginal tax rates and the lack of tax policies with built-in incentives to steer USA capital toward investments that actually benefit the nation. For example: in the 50s and 60s when marginal rates on our wealthy were over 90% (yes, it’s true- look it up!), to get a tax break, our wealthy INVESTED their fabulous wealth in the USA; namely, USA stocks, USA bonds, USA corporations, USA Parks, USA Research & Development, NASA, philanthropy, etc. In other words, they invested in their nation.

Then in 1980, Reagan reduced marginal rates from 71% to 28% (who knows better how to create wealth than the wealthy? Give ‘em a break up front, watch ”em go, and call it “Supply Side” economics). By that time the offshoring model begun in the 60s, which was the precursor to the FTAs of the 90s saw our jobs leave for Mexico. But in 2001, when Red China joined the WTO, even our jobs in Mexico left for China (today their avg. wage is $1.36/hr.) and in just 18 years our “Industrial Belt” of the Mid-west has become the “Rust Belt” and China has drawn even with the mighty USA, thanks to yankee ingenuity and technical know-how that we either gave them or they have hacked in and stolen. Either way, these cheap products roll up on our shores in Maersk freighters capable of a payload of 2.2 million train car sized “containers” full of this cheap crap to fleece the declining middle class and line the pockets of our “multinationals.”

And after 18 years, the best game on the street is no longer USA investments, but the China derivatives realized by banking on the returns of the sweatshops abroad. To compete with these large short-term returns enjoyed by CEOs and “multinational corporations’ stock holders, our businesses that remain in the USA are cutting costs to the bone, exerting downward pressure on wages on workers here to compete, and/or spinning off whole departments, or liquidating them to the highest bidder to maximize their stocks returns with no concern for long term solvency and longevity. Our very pensions, 401Ks, and Insurance investments brokered by our Hedge Fund Managers on the market, are now dependent of these returns that keep our financial house of cards from building a stronger foundation. So our only real hope for a sustainable return to the days of glory, namely a prosperous middle class with a decent pay, becomes the casualty in the pursuit of protecting the wealthy and the continuation of zero variance from the course that is sending us into insolvency.

I have grown weary and disgusted by the absolute bias this organization has for the democratic party. Please pay careful attention to your take home pay as Obama’s plan takes effect. Your take-home pay WILL DECREASE. He is a charlatan and the blind faith given to him and his party by unions and their members are responsible for his re-election.

FACT: Regarding the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, recently signed into law, the Act does not extend the payroll tax holiday during 2012, so the employee Social Security tax rate went from 4.2 percent back to 6.2 percent, up to the 2013 taxable wage limit of $113,700. As a result, a worker earning $50,000 per year will now see $1,000 less in their net take-home pay as compared to 2012. Paychecks will reflect the higher Social Security tax rate with the first payrolls of the new year on January 4, 2013.

He says he is for the middle class…but watch what happens to your check
. You’ve been fooled and the NEA is one of his minions. I want teachers supported, but at what expense. According to the NEA if a politician is a republican he/she is anti-education and evil; if the candidate is a democrat, he/she is pro-education and can do no wrong.

Personally, I’m fed up with the NEA’s pro-democratic propaganda and in-your-face bias.
Do they believe we’re all so unintelligent as to buy what they’re
without seeing through the obvious bias.

Fed Up in VA!