When Jesus heard that, he said to them, "Healthy people don't need a doctor; those who are sick do. I've come to call sinners, not people who think they have God's approval."
(emphasis added)
GOP Health Care Obstructionists, are you Listening???
The Pharisees, thought they were doing God's work too.
Imagine their surprise when this upstart Carpenter, from the old neighborhood, dared to stand up to their blatant self-righteousness ... and dish back to them some cold, hard truth ...
Left to their own devices, Private Interests will UNDERCUT the Public Interest, most every time!
That's what the Profit Motive is all about -- it cares more about the interests of ME, instead of the well-being of the WE, from which Societies are built.
Way back in March of 2009, Rachel explained the "Highway Robbery" which happened on Wall Street, using a few simple word-pictures. (ie. simple Frames). These perhaps deserve a quick review ...
a novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. It depicts the plight of the French proletariat under the brutal oppression of the French aristocracy in the years leading up to the revolution
The share of total income going to the top-earning 1 percent of Americans went from 8 percent in 1980 to 16 percent in 2004.
...
One reason: gains in the stock market. Affluent people own more stocks, and executives are often paid in stock or stock options. So when the market does well, their wealth accelerates quickly
Well, Bill Moyers is currently telling the historic Story about the Need for "Two Banking Systems" ...
If you thought the Bank Bailout was nothing to laugh at, wait until hear what Bill, Rachel, Keith, and Bernie have to say about it
[Bill Maher, Rachel Maddow, Keith Olbermann, Bernie Sanders]
(some economy for your morning... - promoted by poligirl)
Humanity has been subject to these Goldrush whims of the Market, for as long as, well, there have been Markets. Markets open to both buyers and sellers, each trying to best the other, in the competitive game of Capitalist Checkers.
When the wealth that Bubbles create is based on little more than Greed, Leverage, and Speculation -- who really benefits in the long run? Real wealth results from creating things, not just from trading things. Real wealth is based on real work -- not short cuts.
Look out, when the Bubble finally pops ...
Sooner or later, any "hot commodity" -- ends up
being, not so hot ...
President Obama spoke to business executives and said that the current economic crisis was no excuse to postpone costly federal investments in health care, energy and other areas. He also said that the country could not keep ignoring long-term threats to the nation's prosperity, which he listed as medical costs, the U.S. dependence on oil, and an education and fiscal deficit.
(emphasis added)
Could it be that they are finding out Obama actually supports Free (and Fair) Market Principles? Could it be, dare I say it, Obama actually believes in Capitalism too -- (gasp!)
(it's all in the framing... - promoted by poligirl)
Progressives, Populists, all! Being called by Brewer to reframe wealth. Time for a paradigm change in the way we define wealth.
OK, all you progressives and populists, all!, Joe Brewer of Cognitive Policy Works, in Common Dreams today admonishes us to reframe the concept of wealth and to not buy in to the outmoded definitions of wealth in this country (outmoded at least by today's economic standards pertaining to conservative corporate, wall-street mentality}.
Having worked in the non-profit sector most of my life, I was pretty used to being treated as expendable and a unit cost and unit provider. Certainly, I never could expect compensation that would anywhere near approach what is generally called wealth in our society. But I used to take consolation in the belief that I was doing good. Nonetheless, when, as a supervisor, I was seen as overvaluing my staff and wanting them to be adequately compensated, provided with continuing education, and to otherwise be treated as special people of great inherent value, I was seen as too bold an advocate for staff. How I wished we could unionize! and all be accorded proper justice. I thought there was something really amiss with the boards of non-profits I worked for who saw us primarily in terms of cost and benefit. This happened not once, not twice, not thrice, but four times, in various settings.
Yet, I heard myself say over and over that non-profits were the best school for business trainees, because it was our sector where great results were expected from very few resources or very little investment, i.e. make do on a shoe string. All, as if we had to apologize for doing good.
In all these four settings to which I refer, almost all the staff were, indeed, progressives who voted and campaigned progressively, but were so grateful to have a place where we could "do good", that we could hardly complain about employee injustices or inadequate compensation.
(the classic question asked this time around... - promoted by poligirl)
Have you been working harder and harder, becoming more productive all the time, only to see your wages, fail to keep up with that ever increasing cost of living?
According to CNN, every spouse of the politician they compared their personal wealth to was included, except of course Cindy McCain, who is estimated to be worth about a cool hundred million.
So what? Well, the media plays into this idea that Mr. Straight Talk is also Mr. Average American who does not have the same kind of filthy rich background as some of the other politician included in the piece. The fact is, McCain is most likely the wealthiest of them all.
