When I graduated high school in 1965 America was the richest and most powerful nation on the face of the planet. It was a time when most
citizens worshiped a Christian God, the U.S. practiced Fair Trade not Free Trade, the US Dollar was the strongest currency in the world and it was
understood the basis of the 2nd Amendment was government should fear the people and not the other way around.
It was a time when U.S. Corporations employed U.S. workers and were loyal to America its people and ideals. It was a time when GE Appliance
Park, Kentucky, a manufacturing city, housed 25,000 blue collar American workers, who enjoyed a middle class life style.
Obama, not everyone can be a college graduate. Surely you understand that a nation also needs a strong back and the ability to manufacture what is
needed is a nation???s backbone.
Sovereignty/nationhood/borders mean Government and publically chartered corporations should work for the best interest and betterment of
citizens within. Instead Free Trade, One World Ideals and International Corporations have allowed entire American industries to be destroyed by
subsidized foreign competitors. ???American??? companies have built their manufacturing facilities overseas to take advantage of cheaper labor and
now are off shoring the lower paying customer service and service economy jobs.
Bottom line Obama: What has been off shored is America???s wealth, ideals, lifestyle, hopes and dreams. In my lifetime ???leaders??? like you who
mock the ???old ways??? have made America the world???s biggest debtor nation. A nation that begged allies for war plane parts during the first Gulf
War because they are no longer manufactured in the US but sends troops overseas to protect corporations that fail to repatriate international profits
in order to avoid paying American taxes and exhibit no loyalty to American families or soldiers.
Soon the world will cease to accept constantly devaluing US fiat dollars as the international currency for oil trade and America will be left utterly
bankrupt. You and the other leaders who followed the ???new wisdom??? will be brought down to those you have already destroyed. Perhaps then you
can rediscover a lost faith and an appreciation for the 2nd Amendment.
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Today’s ‘Culture of Poverty’
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Conservative critics constantly carp that the culture of poverty has encouraged a sense of dependency on Washington. Of course, in recent months, the bureaucracy—the Federal Reserve, the Federal Housing Authority, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—has generally ignored the struggles of poor homeowners. Yet it vaulted into action to save the bankers from their own disastrous bets. When Bear Stearns, the nation's fifth largest investment bank, approached insolvency, the Feds orchestrated JPMorgan's acquisition of it.
In 1993, the late senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan coined the term "defining deviancy down." The prevalence of bad behavior in the underclass, he argued, caused institutions to lower standards and expectations, which effectively socialized the costs of dysfunction. Today, the Federal Reserve is "defining solvency down."
In recent weeks, the Fed has responded to Wall Street's crisis by systematically lowering the standards of what it would accept as collateral for loans. (Historically, only government bonds or bonds backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were good enough.) But as part of the Bear Stearns deal, it agreed to lend $30 billion against assets of dubious provenance.And guess who bears the risk if that $30 billion can't be paid back? You and me. If write-downs continue, rumor has it, the Fed might start accepting sports memorabilia, Beanie Babies and Pokémon card collections as collateral.
There are important differences between the underclass and the overclass, notes Susan Mayer, dean of the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy Studies. The overclass is better connected, and it can cause more damage. "Poor inner-city kids selling drugs to suburban kids can harm people," Mayer says. "But financial markets can bring thousands and thousands of people to ruin."
The pernicious culture of affluence merits further study. When self-proclaimed rogue sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh sought to learn about the culture of poverty, he hung out in Chicago's notorious Robert Taylor Homes and befriended drug dealers. The tale is chronicled in his fascinating book "Gang Leader for a Day."
If he really wants to understand the workings of the dysfunctional class that's threatening American values and taxing national resources, Venkatesh, who teaches at Columbia, should move into a co-op on the Upper East Side and get a job on Morgan Stanley's trading desk. He can call it "Hedge-Fund Manager for a Day."
© 2008
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