Posted on 12/12/2010 5:51:05 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Jesus said the last shall be first, and the first shall be last. Washington says that the wealthiest among us should get a huge Christmas tax cut, while the most hurting among us who have been jobless for more than 99 weeks should be left out in the cold. Ed Schultz says this is dead wrong. Ed Schultz is right.
It is immoral for a great nation to allow men and women to be jobless for 99 weeks and then tell them: Drop dead. Go hungry. Be homeless. Freeze in the cold. The nation of huge Wall Street bonuses and giant tax cuts for the wealthy must not refuse to help those who have been jobless for more than 99 weeks.
I dare any Republican, conservative, Tea Party supporter to tell me this is what America should be doing on the eve we will celebrate the birth of Jesus. I dare any Democratic president or member of the House or Senate to tell me that this is not the fight Democrats should be waging in the name of everything we believe in, as Americans.
I won't agree with everything Ed Schultz says, but he has been fighting like a true believer in the American idea to take care of these 99ers who have been jobless for far too long. Ed has been waging this fight on his radio and television show, that we should help these people, that they have suffered enough, that they should not suffer this life-endangering injustice and indignity.
Ed Schultz is right. This is what cable television should be. This is giving a voice to the voiceless, and a battle cry for those who share his call for decency and dignity. Ed is not alone. Last night Rachel Maddow asked a high-ranking Obama official about the 99ers, and he said we must help them. Good for her. Good for him. Why are we not yet raising this battle cry throughout Washington?
Michael Harrington wrote a book titled The Other America that heavily influenced John F. Kennedy, whom a recent poll found was America's most admired president over the last five decades.
Today there is another America that we do not hear about often enough on television or in the halls of Congress. They are the most poor, hurting, homeless, hungry and jobless. They are treated like the untouchables in the old caste system of India.
Where are the Edward R. Murrows, who used CBS to broadcast Harvest of Shame about migrant workers in 1950s America? Where are the Robert Kennedys, who fought for the hurting with the passion of a man who should have been president? Where are those with the moral courage to fight for the last who should be first, while we pass tax cuts for those with the most?
I dare any Democrat to tell me this is not a fight worth waging. I dare any Republican, conservative and Tea Party follower who waves the flag and quotes the Bible to tell me we should not help the most hurting among us, in the spirit we celebrate every December and honor every Fourth of July.
Let’s help the 99ers!
And if you want to blast me, look in the want ads for job listings. There are hundreds. It is just people are more comfortable living on a dole than having to get their lazy butts out of bed and go to work. PERIOD.
And if you pull the I CAN'T MOVE or I CANNOT AFFORD TO LOSE MY HOUSE, that is pure male bovine manure. Millions of people have moved to get a job, me included. Quit bitching and get to work.
Look, these people are not lazy. The bad economy is created by Obama and his minions like Schultz have created this disasaster. The fix is actually voting these antibusiness, hate America lefties out of power.
What are your solutions, Ed?
I’ve been a career counselor, job search instructor and recruiter most of my life. If anyone here needs assistance finding a job, FReepmail me. BTW, here’s a good job search site:
No matter what happens in Washington between now and the end of the year, NO ONE IS GETTING A DAMMED TAX CUT......... NO ONE!!!!
You are partially right. The bad economy had its start with the election of the Dimocrats four years ago. Obama has just added to it. And I agree very much we should get rid of these anti-business jerks. But I still contend that those who have been on 99 weeks of unemployment will have done the same even if Obama was gone and they could still get the freebie.
My point is if we had not been funding the unemployment for 99 weeks, the VAST majority of those on it for this extended time would have found jobs. The jobs may not be what they wanted, but who would not like to have a job paying twice as much with half the work.
I still say those who have soaked up the public dole for all these years have been playing the system. They found they could be living almost as well on unemployment as they would have been with a lesser job than the one they lost.
I moved halfway across the country to take a contract job. I was out of work for nine months.
What i resent about all these threads is the assumption that “All” the people who cant find work are lazy pot smoking good for nothings. Trust me when i tell you the professionals have been looking for work. We made looking for work our full time jobs.
My church did a career transition workshop and there were over a hundred people there each week. Most of us with masters degrees and over twenty years of professional experience,
Valero would not hire me to make change. Dominos wouldn’t hire me to deliver pizza. The democrat party wouldn’t hire me to hand out flyers. The republican party didn’t even interview me.
When i wasn’t looking for work i went to tea party events, looking to network with people I shared common interests with.
Jesus never said give to Caesar so Caesar can give to the poor. Jesus wanted US, ourselves to give. Caesar kept the tax money for himself to build palaces and clothe himself in finery. If Caesar “gave to the poor”, he made a big production of it “and drew more attention to himself than the pittance “he” gave to the poor. Much in the vein of Ted Kennedy.
1. If you have kept your job through the last 2-3 years, you really, REALLY don't know. You can read that unemployment is 9.8% and that unemployment claims went up or when down. You can get a sense that there are extended unemployment benefits and the economy is tough. But unless you've been out there, every day looking for one morsel of employment under every rock, you simply have no clue what you are talking about. That, of course, doesn't stop many people from compartmentalizing their thoughts on a very vast issue and loudly proclaiming "I'M A CONSERVATIVE....THERFORE,LET THEM STARVE. TOO BAD! IT'S NOT IN THE CONSTITUTION!" And good for you, heroes of conservatism. I hope you stick to your loudly proclaimed principles when it's your turn to face losing everything.
2. I'll save the louder loudmouths the trouble. I'm not a conservative. Never realized this, but it's apparently true. I'm no liberal, mind you. I recognize the failings of that philosophy pretty well. No way, you won't catch me voting democrat or even RINO. But I'm also not a conservative. I visit this forum daily and several others and I'm just floored by the percentage of people who wail about the unemployment extensions - while fully aware that the unemployment rate is high, businesses have been under attack for years now, and the obamacare bill and the tax rate uncertainty has shut down any prospects for growth. I just don't understand it. Has the government stopped funding NPR, free welfare for illegal aliens, corporate welfare and bailouts for banks...and on and on? You turn your ire towards me? And you put me in your stereotypical "get a job loser" class? If that's conservatism, then I'm not a part of it and this will be my last post.
I get that people are pissed off about spending, the obscene amount of taxes we pay - and yea, we! I paid way more taxes this year than i touched in the 26 weeks of unemployment that got cut off last week. I know that there's a minute portion of the unemployment rate that is only there because there IS unemployment. No kidding, really? There's corruption in government programs. What a genius revelation! Now for bonus points, why don't the wicked smart people here who say "get a job" tell me what to do IF THERE AREN'T ANY?
What if they cut off the unemployment completely as many here want, yet those McDonald's jobs and the pages of fake/temporary placement company jobs on monster really only cover about 20-25% of the millions of job seekers out there. Then what? You know, it's like the idea of deporting all illegal aliens tomorrow. Sounds good. It will help the economy, right? I'm certainly for it - look at all the jobs that will open up instantly. And we might even get wages to rise a bit too. Well, how do we go about that? See, I live in the real world where just this week I applied for 23 positions listed in my area. These ranged from jobs in my former industry and close to the tasks and level of my previous job to a job at Whole Foods stocking shelves/customer service. Not one call. I have no criminal record, can provide outstanding references and clearly state - "Look, I know it might seem like I'm overqualified, but you'll be hiring the most appreciative worker in the market". And no call. Not even the courtesy of "no thanks". So what should happen here. I'm going to apply to 23 more this week. I'll apply to 46 if they are listed. I'm doing what I can. Is it criminal of me to take an extension check to keep my apartment? I really don't know - OR CARE - at this point. If you do, send me your address and I'll be sure to return the hard earned money I "stole" from you.
They can apply for welfare and food stamps. They are not starving on the streets. The job market is real hard, especially for older folks but there are alternatives to hittin the street as this shrill piece is saying.
Just like to clarify the last bit because it was written awfully. My point is that just saying you want to deport all illegals is one thing. Actually doing it tomorrow is something else and completely impossible. It’s also easy to post on an internet forum and say “get a job” - that doesn’t surmount the fact that unemployment is outrageously high and try as we might, millions of us won’t find our next job tomorrow.
While I agree with you somewhat, just how long is unemployment supposed to go on? I don’t mind an extension in this job market but there has to be an end somewhere.
After 99 weeks, if you haven’t got a job, either you aren’t looking, too picky, or will never work again. Welfare at that point, is an option.
I am 49 and am fortunate to still have my job, as I realize that in this environment, I may never get a job for some time. I now sell on weekends at flea markets a couple weekends a month. That will probably be my full time job if I lose the one I got.
However, to say that none are gaming the system is flat out untrue. I know a 28 year old who lost his job last Dec. He has not applied for one job since then. He told me so. He was at least smart enough to not have a lot of bills but has taken this time to go on a 99 week vacation paid for by you and me. He has gone to Florida 3 times on “vacation”, since losing his job.
There is no true solution to this except for jobs, but that is NOT going to happen for a long time, as the democrats and obama are determined to kill the economy. My best guess is at least 10 years to get a real recovery going again. It will take that long to finally wake up the people to really turn on the moonbats who are killing any recovery with their environmental and green non-sense.
I’m the exception! I’m a doctor who got laid off 1 1/2 years ago. Still am looking every day for a job in the vicinity. Let me tell you it is near impossible to find something. I’m NOT whining, I just want to WORK.
Within the next few years, most Americans will be demanding the big repudiation of debt (default) against the wishes of nearly all who get their incomes from government. And sooner or later, one way or the other, the default will happen.
Somebody agrees with Sgt Schlitz!
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