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Let us not forget this article as events of the day play out:
Obama's America Will Become Detroit
December 12, 2012
esident Barack Obama travelled to Michigan this week and made his case for class war in defense of the welfare state.
We need to take more money from the rich, he said, or schools will not be able to afford books, students will not be able to afford college, and disabled children will not get health care.
"Our economic success has never come from the top down," said Obama. "It comes from the middle out. It comes from the bottom up."
Obama spoke these words a few miles from Detroit — the reductio ad absurdum of his argument.
If America continues down the road to Obama's America — a road that began when President Franklin Roosevelt started building a welfare state here — our entire nation will become Detroit.
Obama's economic and moral vision has played out in that city. What he seeks has been achieved there.
Last week, as reported by the Detroit Free Press, Michigan's state treasurer told Detroit's mayor and city council that the state may soon appoint an emergency financial manager for the city. Under Michigan law, the paper said, only such a manager can initiate the steps leading to a bankruptcy filing for the city.
By current calculations, Detroit faces obligations over the next six months that exceed its revenues by $47 million. The city, the Free Press reported, now pays $1.08 in benefits to municipal workers and retirees for every $1.00 it pays in salary.
What happened to Detroit? It is achieving socialism in one city.
Traditional two-parent families and the productive taxpaying citizens they produce have fled. In 1950, according the U.S. Census Bureau, Detroit had 1,849,568 people and was the fifth-largest city in the nation. By 2000, its population had dropped to 951,270; by 2010, to 713,777; and by 2011, to 706,585.
What has happened to the people who remain? The Census Bureau estimates there are 563,055 people age 16 or older in the city who could potentially work and be part of the labor force. But only 54.3 percent of these — or 305,479 individuals — actually do participate in the labor force, meaning they either have a job or are looking for one.
Another 257,576 of Detroit residents age 16 or older — 45.7 percent of that demographic — do not participate in the labor force. They do not have a job, and they are not looking for one.
In fact, these 257,576 people in Detroit who do not have a job and are not looking for one outnumber the 224,846 residents who do have jobs. But of the 224,846 residents who do have jobs, 34,500 — or 15.3 percent — have jobs with the government. Thus, this city that boasted 1,849,568 residents in 1950 has only 190,346 private-sector workers today.
There are 264,209 households in Detroit, and 91,204 of them — or 34.5 percent — get food stamps.
Very few of the people who are staying out of the labor force in Detroit are staying out because they are stay-at-home moms with working husbands. Of the 264,209 households in Detroit, only 24,275 — or 9.2 percent — are married couple families with children under 18. Another 78,438 households — or 29.7 percent of the total — are "families" headed by women with no husband present. Of these, 43,742 have children under 18.
There were 12,103 babies born in Detroit in the 12 months prior to the Census Bureau survey, and 9,124 of them — or 75.4 percent — were born to unmarried women.
Of the 363,281 housing units in Detroit, 99,072 are vacant. Indeed, vacant houses have become a powerful visual symbol of what advancing socialism has done to the city. Traditional family life is nearing extinction in this once vibrant corner of America.
Obama said in Michigan that if the federal government does not take more money away from people who have earned it, the public schools may not be able to buy school books. But the Department of Education says that in the Detroit public schools — which have books — only 7 percent of the eight graders are grade-level proficient in reading and only 4 percent are grade-level proficient in math.
School books are not lacking here. Self-reliance, the spirit of individualism, and the Judeo-Christian values that support marriage and family are. They have been driven out by a government that wants the people to depend on it rather than on themselves, their families and their faith.
http://cnsnews.com/blog/terence-p-jeffrey/obamas-america-will-become-detroit
7% of Americans backs the Republican position on gun background checks.
Hey AJ, seems that Zumi and the Chihuahua are irrelevant:
Americans so over hipsters
Just 16% of Americans have a favorable opinion of hipsters, a new PPP poll on the much-discussed subculture shows. 42% have an unfavorable opinion of hipsters, and 43% aren’t sure. Democrats (18% favorable, 34% unfav) are twice as likely as Republicans (9% fav, 48% unfav) to have a favorable opinion. Voters age 18-29 have a favorable opinion of them (43% fav-29% unfav), but very few voters over age 65 do (6% fav -37% unfav).
Just 10% of voters say they consider themselves to be hipsters – and almost all of those are younger voters. Half of all voters aged 18-29 consider themselves hipsters; every other age group is 5% or less.
14% of voters say they’d be more likely to vote for a hipster for political office – mostly independent voters. 12% of Democrats and 27% of independent voters say they’d be more likely to vote for a hipster, but just 2% of Republicans agreed. 98% of Republicans say they’d be less likely to vote for a hipster.
We asked voters whether they thought hipsters made a positive cultural contribution to society or whether they just “soullessly appropriate cultural tropes from the past for their own ironic amusement.” 23% of voters said they made positive cultural contributions while nearly half – 46% – went with soulless cultural appropriation. Independents at 31% were most likely to say hipsters make a positive cultural contribution, while Republicans were least likely (15%) with Democrats in the middle (23%).
27% of voters said they thought hipsters should be subjected to a special tax for being so annoying, while 73% did not think so.
About one in five voters (21%) said they thought Pabst Blue Ribbon, commonly associated with hipsters, was a good beer. Democrats (29%) were more likely than Republicans (23%) to think so, while independents (11%) were least likely.
http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2013/05/americans-so-over-hipsters.html
House GOP Votes To End Overtime Pay With ‘Working Families Flexibility Act’
The Working Families Flexibility Act will make it easier for employers to avoid paying for overtime and give workers far less flexibility in their lives.
A few people have asked why I’m against this bill. It’s a fair question: what’s so bad about getting to choose whether you get overtime pay or comp time (paid time off) at your job? If you’re a working parent, or you wish you had more time to travel, or whatever, getting comp time instead of overtime pay doesn’t sound too bad.
Here’s the issue: it lets your EMPLOYER choose which one you get. The Fair Labor Standards Act says your boss has to pay you time-and-a-half when you work overtime. If you’re struggling to pay the bills, you probably don’t want more vacation days. You want the money you earned by working ridiculous hours. You want to see your paycheck, not your PTO balance, reflect the time you put in.
Comp time is great. But you can’t trade it in for money - or for your electricity bill. It’d be great if workers could CHOOSE overtime pay or extra paid time off, but letting the employer choose on your behalf is a pretty clear ploy to let employers stop paying you more to work more.
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/05/11/house-gop-votes-to-end-overtime-pay-with-working-families-flexibility-act/
For those still out to lunch on the Obama care issue:
Insurers predict 100%-400% Obamacare rate explosion
May 13, 2013 | 3:02 pm
Internal cost estimates from 17 of the nation's largest insurance companies indicate that health insurance premiums will grow an average of 100 percent under Obamacare, and that some will soar more than 400 percent, crushing the administration's goal of affordability.
New regulations, policies, taxes, fees and mandates are the reason for the unexpected "rate shock," according to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which released a report Monday based on internal documents provided by the insurance companies. The 17 companies include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Kaiser Foundation.
The report found that individuals will face "premium increases of nearly 100 percent on average, with potential highs eclipsing 400 percent. Meanwhile, small businesses can expect average premium increases in the small group market of up to 50 percent, with potential highs over 100 percent."
One company said that new participants in the individual market could see a premium increase of 413 percent when new requirements on age rating and required benefits are taken into account, said the report. "The average yearly cost for a new customer in the individual market grows from $1,896 to $3,708 -- a $1,812 cost increase," it added.
The key reasons for the surge in premiums include providing wider services than people are now paying for and adding less healthy people to the roles of insured, said the report.
It concluded: "Despite promises that the law will lower costs, [Obamacare] will in fact cause the premiums of many Americans to spike substantially. The broken promises are numerous, and the empirical data reveal that many Americans, from recent college graduates to older adults, will not be able to afford the law's higher costs."
http://washingtonexaminer.com/insurers-predict-100-400-obamacare-rate-explosion/article/2529523
It's my understanding that this bill says comp time can be used only with the employer's approval and that the employer can refuse it indefinitely.
For those still out to lunch on the Obama care issue:
Insurers predict 100%-400% Obamacare rate explosion
May 13, 2013 | 3:02 pm
It's a boon for employers, a slap in the face to hourly wage earners. But then, the GOP doesn't really give a shit about Joe the Plumber.
but Republican Fred Upton will not release the letters. .
It's obvious who the GOP cares for and it's not the American worker. Guilded Age Part Deux..Can't wait to see what they do next.
Curry will be here telling us
$20 to $80, whats the big deal?
Besides, we all will get subsizies
Well, yeah the GOP will look an American family in the eye and tell them their premiums are going up $80 in an effort to scare the shit out of them. Nowhere will they mention that the family is going to get a 56% subsidy not only on that increase but on their entire plan and will be paying much less per month.
but on their entire plan and will be paying much less per month.
you have become insane
the only one paying $80 per month is a dog................or someone with a $3 million deductible
STFU WITH INSANITY ALREADY!