Welcome to the new American ghetto

[sm625]

It's not "free trade" that has conditioned americans to sit around watching tv while their country is carved up like a roast and feasted upon. There is nothing wrong with "free trade", but there is definitely something wrong with allowing it to run far away from basic common sense. Lack of education is the problem. And I dont mean just the "3 Rs". I am talking about the level of education required to see and properly identify evil scum like Greenspan and Bernanke and Krugman and all these minions of the elite spewing their vile wretched filth all over the masses like some kind of pre-digestive fluid. We have to be able to see what they are doing for what it is. They are debt pushers, selling us on our own demise. That's how we get generational bubbles like the roaring 20's. The people who learned the lessons of history all died off and now we have to relearn them. The debt pushers must be seen for what they really are and politically pushed back where they belong - back to the sewers. Our perceptions are totally broken, we cannot see what is so obvious. But we will learn to see, out of necessity.

The neocons and the warmongers, the greenies, the obamamama socialists, all these factions rely on the debt pushers to make their schemes palatable. The debt pushers make the masses think they can get something for nothing. All the other fraudulent political factions are dependent on the debt pushers. The problem is that the debt pushers control the intelligence apparatus, which in turn controls the population with alternative methods if the propaganda systems start to break down. Obviously the intelligence systems need to be completely purged of the filthy infestations we all know is there. It is a big job that this generation is just too gutless to undertake. But maybe the next generation will show more American spirit when they see how badly we messed things up.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

It's obvious that many in this forum and thread have never ventured out of the US, much less traveled to a real 3rd world country. The poor in a 3rd world country would kill to have a life as rough as the poorest Americans, in fact at the level of income they would be considered upper middle class in their countries.

 

[IBMer]

It's obvious that many in this forum and thread have never ventured out of the US, much less traveled to a real 3rd world country. The poor in a 3rd world country would kill to have a life as rough as the poorest Americans, in fact at the level of income they would be considered upper middle class in their countries.

Is that the plan then? To make the lowly serfs know what poor really is?

 

[Modelworks]

Poor for most Americans is not having a cell phone. I see people all the time that can't afford anything else, but they pay that cell phone bill.

 

[shadow9d9]

I thought it was the Democrats job to keep people in poverty and show them the golden vote getting carrot every 4 years.

Talking points don't equate with reality.

Try thinking for yourself instead of being told what to think.

 

[shadow9d9]

It's obvious that many in this forum and thread have never ventured out of the US, much less traveled to a real 3rd world country. The poor in a 3rd world country would kill to have a life as rough as the poorest Americans, in fact at the level of income they would be considered upper middle class in their countries.

This should be the mantra of the US.

If you think you are poor, you ain't seen nothing yet!

Great thinking. Truly brilliant.

 

[Ausm]

Talking points don't equate with reality.

Try thinking for yourself instead of being told what to think.

That would be a stretch for the Rightwing nutjob 😱

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Talking points don't equate with reality.

Try thinking for yourself instead of being told what to think.

So why do you spend so much time pushing the Democratic/Liberal/Progressive talking points? Can't think for yourself?

 

[Londo_Jowo]

That would be a stretch for the Rightwing nutjob 😱

LMAO!!!! Leftwing Nutjob Fapfest in progress.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Is that the plan then? To make the lowly serfs know what poor really is?

So they should be lied to so they will vote for the Democrats to pull them out of Poverty.

 

[Texashiker]

Is that the plan then? To make the lowly serfs know what poor really is?

Yes, I think the goal of wall street and big business is to make the USA a third world country. Why pay shipping fees to transport goods from china to the USA, when the middle class can be destroyed and people will work for almost nothing.

Back in the 1990s when NAFTA and GATT was being talked about, there were rumors going around that the UN and one world government wanted the same standard of living for everyone in the world. The rumors said that the plans were to take the wealth out of the USA, and redistribute that wealth to china and countries in africa.

By raising the standard of living of people in china, and other countries, those countries would be less likely to go to war.

So far those rumors have come true. While china builds some of the largest construction projects know to mankind, the infrastructure of the USA is falling apart. The wealth that built the USA, is being transferred to china, and other countries.

While parts of Texas and California experience rolling blackouts during peak summer heat, china has built the largest hydroelectric dam in the history of mankind.

 

[Thump553]

I'm generally seen as a liberal/progressive, and I support REAL free trade. But that is not what we have now, especially with countries like Red China -who openly steal all of our intellectual property through thier forced partnership rule, or places like South Korea and Japan, which put quotas on things like US car imports while dumping their products are artificially low prices here (compare Hyundai prices in Korea versus US, for example).

Real free trade will help the general population. The bogus system we have now does nothing but enrich the ruling ownership/top mangerial class at the expense of the US general population.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

While parts of Texas and California experience rolling blackouts during peak summer heat, china has built the largest hydroelectric dam in the history of mankind.

That's because China puts their electrical needs before the environment. Their hydroelectric dam displaced thousands of people and will effectively kill off many species of wildlife.

 

[Macamus Prime]

Poor for most Americans is not having a cell phone. I see people all the time that can't afford anything else, but they pay that cell phone bill.

You forgot the following where cell phone also equals:
- communist
- socialist
- devil worshipper
- on welfare
- out to rob and kill you
- demands everyone has abortions
- an illegal immigrant

You guys sure love bringing up the cellphone "point".

 

[Texashiker]

That's because China puts their electrical needs before the environment. Their hydroelectric dam displaced thousands of people and will effectively kill off many species of wildlife.

Some parts of the USA have not built a power plant in the last 20 years.

Here in the states, the environment is a factor,,, but, that should not stop us from being able to fix our bridges, ports, and highways.

HWY 96 north of Jasper is the same as it was 30+ years ago. The highway is slowing expanding and improved, but its taking decades.

The I-10 split in Beaumont should have been fixed 20 years ago, but nothing is going on. The I-10 split is where HWY 69&96 and I-10 cross each other. A major flow of traffic is forced to merge into 1 lane. During hurricane evacuations and even te 5 pm rush hour that area is a major source of congestion.

How long was the San Jacinto at I-10 bridge been under construction?

This section of southeast Texas gets its power from 1 power plant - the Entergy plant in Bridge City. We have the lake rayburn dam, and the Toledo Bend dam, but they do not produce a lot of power.

As parts of the USA increase their population, the government and states are doing very little to improve power generation or even the highways.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

As for the power plants, take that up with the tree huggers and NIMBYs.

I've seen plenty of improvements in the Houston area in the past 5 years.

 

[K1052]

Some parts of the USA have not built a power plant in the last 20 years.

Here in the states, the environment is a factor,,, but, that should not stop us from being able to fix our bridges, ports, and highways.

HWY 96 north of Jasper is the same as it was 30+ years ago. The highway is slowing expanding and improved, but its taking decades.

The I-10 split in Beaumont should have been fixed 20 years ago, but nothing is going on. The I-10 split is where HWY 69&96 and I-10 cross each other. A major flow of traffic is forced to merge into 1 lane. During hurricane evacuations and even te 5 pm rush hour that area is a major source of congestion.

How long was the San Jacinto at I-10 bridge been under construction?

This section of southeast Texas gets its power from 1 power plant - the Entergy plant in Bridge City. We have the lake rayburn dam, and the Toledo Bend dam, but they do not produce a lot of power.

As parts of the USA increase their population, the government and states are doing very little to improve power generation or even the highways.

The Highway Trust Fund has been limping along for the last decade and only that with regular injections from the general fund. The short of it is that fuel taxes haven't kept up with our infrastructure needs. Large parts of the highway system are at or past useful life (particularly bridges) and there is little money to replace them. With the prospect of loosing another 30% in the next transportation bill we are simply not going to be able to maintain the existing road network and difficult choices are going to be made.

We have largely sat on our ass for the last 25 years and allowed infrastructure built in the 50s and 60s to slowly deteriorate while increasing usage.

 

[Texashiker]

The Highway Trust Fund has been limping along for the last decade and only that with regular injections from the general fund.

Last I heard, we paid something like 30 - 34 cents tax on every gallon of gasoline.

With 30 - 34 cents tax on very gallon, we should have some of the best roads in the world.

As for the power plants, take that up with the tree huggers and NIMBYs.

I've seen plenty of improvements in the Houston area in the past 5 years.

I am a tree hugger, and there are forms of clean energy out there. The only form of energy I am opposed to is coal.

 

[xBiffx]

Last I heard, we paid something like 30 - 34 cents tax on every gallon of gasoline.

With 30 - 34 cents tax on very gallon, we should have all of the best roads in the world.

FTFY. We do have some. Just not all.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Thank goodness I live in the city and don't have to deal with all of that suburban ghetto trash!

 

[K1052]

Last I heard, we paid something like 30 - 34 cents tax on every gallon of gasoline.

With 30 - 34 cents tax on very gallon, we should have some of the best roads in the world.

Combined local and federal that's in the neighborhood, depending on your state.

Though since these taxes are at a certain cents per gallon level instead of percentage based the real effect has been that the funding power of the taxes has decreased against rising prices on everything else over the years while our road system expanded (often with capital programs outside the fuel tax but that must be maintained out of the same pool of funds indefinitely).

 

[IceBergSLiM]

That is their(uber rich) plan. Everyone else can live in third world conditions but at the same time they(uber rich) can still enjoy their first world amenities, the best of both worlds.

 

[fskimospy]

Last I heard, we paid something like 30 - 34 cents tax on every gallon of gasoline.

With 30 - 34 cents tax on very gallon, we should have some of the best roads in the world.

It varies widely by state. The US has the largest and most complex road networks in the world and we spend considerably less per mile on maintaining them than most other developed countries do. This is why America has a reputation for having terrible roads.

The other big problem is that our gasoline taxes are a fixed amount instead of indexed to inflation somehow, so each year the actual amount of maintenance money available decreases, even as we add miles of road.

 

[shira]

My personal opinion, I think most Americans have forgotten what its like to be "really" poor.

My dad, born in 1948, did not get electricity until he was around 6 years old. He was raised in a house where the only heat was from a fireplace and the toilet was an outhouse in the chicken yard. My aunt told me they used to have to take a bath in a washtub full of creek water. If you did not raise your own food, hunt or fish, you went hungry.

Today, the poor can rely on public housing and food stamps.

The difference is that your father lived in a country where there were plenty of opportunities and the economic trajectory for the middle class was upward. People knew that times were getting better. That's not the America we live in today.

 

[dmcowen674]

Welcome to the new American ghetto

Poverty rates are not climbing, they are soaring.


Is there even a middle class any more? It seems to me that the rich are getting super rich, and the middle class and the poor are getting poorer.

Where do you see the middle class in 10, 15 or even 20 years? If china becomes a world super power, maybe china will start exporting its jobs back to the USA? Somehow I doubt it.

As more people are living in poverty, this means more people can apply for social benefits. Someone has to pay the bills for those benefits.

Not to worry, the Internets is making sure Americans know how to adapt to this Republican Utopia:

9-27-2011

http://news.yahoo.com/eat-7-less-da...BzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25zBHRlc3QD;_ylv=3

How to Eat for $7 or Less a Day


Here's how, along with more strategies anyone can use:

Buy in bulk. Stockpile supplies. Cans of beans and tomatoes are cheap, store easily, and make quick, filling meals.
Compare prices.

Cook big. Make lots of soup, chili, and other big dishes that can turn into leftovers or even go into the freezer for a future meal. To spruce up the dishes and make them even bigger, often adds pasta or rice.
Plan ahead. By loosely deciding in advance which meals to cook on which nights.
Shop discount. A survey from Washington Consumers' Checkbook shows that families that would spend $150 a week if they shopped at average-priced chains, such as Safeway, could save $1,326 by shopping at the discount store Bottom Dollar Food
Build your meals around rice, noodles, or other grains, advises the Agriculture Department's recipe book. A casserole, for example, should be heavy on rice and vegetables. The feds offer a beef-noodle casserole along with stir-fried pork and vegetables with rice that demonstrate this technique. The University of Wyoming's cookbook suggests heavy use of oatmeal, and includes an oatmeal cookie recipe that incorporates applesauce. Kansas State University describes "mom's breaded tomatoes," which mixes bread and flour into cooked tomatoes to make the vegetable dish more filling.