What is considered a win in Afghanistan?... why are we attacking teachers unions?

[SunnySong]

Why are we cutting taxes on Wall Street? Why are we raising the retirement age on working class America? Why is BP in charge in the gulf? Why don't we have a public option for health care? Why are tax cuts for the rich being matched with spending cuts for the poor? Why are we still in Iraq? Why are we still holding people without charge? Why are we assassinating foreign citizens? Why are we assassinating American citizens? Why are we bailing out Wall Street? Why are we cutting off unemployment?


Why am I asking these questions with a Democratic Congress and a Democratic President?

[msongs]

1. maybe because that's what a dem congress and president are doing? nt

[fascisthunter]

3. why though?

[sea four]

9. Because they have to...

Otherwise they will have trouble getting reelected. They depend on corporate contributions to pay for campaign expenses. They can't get those if they don't give those corporations a reason to donate to them.

[Imajika]

16. Didn't Obama collect like 100 million in small contributions?

"They depend on corporate contributions to pay for campaign expenses. They can't get those if they don't give those corporations a reason to donate to them."

I increasingly no longer believe this.

I think they are just not the progressives many people hoped/think they are.

They either start that way and get into power and realize there is no hope of implementing real progressive ideas in our current system, or they are all liars. It is probably some combination of both.

[obxhead]

2. That's a lot of questions. I'll tackle the first,

"What is considered a win in Afghanistan?"

I would imagine a successful oil pipeline and a profitable environment for global corporations to mine every mineral they can get to.

[fascisthunter]

4. indeed

[Nite Owl]

14. Excellent answer

wish we could rec posts too.

[stray cat]

5. Are we helping students? Why have we propped up the economy and jobs?

[SunnySong]

13. You forgot the sarcasm tag on your second point...

As for the first allowing students to rack up more debt while encouraging colleges to raise tuition doesn't strike me a a pro-student policy esp with a non-existent job market...

How about forcing colleges to use 10% of their endowment for scholarships or lose their non-profit status...


Can't wait to hear the crickets on a progressive proposal that doesn't help the rich.

[fascisthunter]

6. All good Questions

1. a win in Afghanistan: a secure pipeline and mineral mining operation
2. cutting taxes on Wall Street due to the asinine belief that Wall Street needs it to keep stock numbers up
3. Raising retirement age because american poor and middle class citizens are more profitable while struggling for less, essentially
4. tax cuts are being matched to the poor under the illusion that it is an unfair burden to people who have more than 85 percent of US population
too apathetic to continue answering the rest, but from the first four answers, you can imagine what those may be...

[sea four]

7. Because corporations own the government and media.

[femmocrat]

8. Teachers Unions.... the mini-version:

have become the favorite scapegoat of the right wing and the antipathy has spread to some of the more conservative public.

People have to support schools through their taxes, so they resent that their teachers are making a living wage with benefits while the average taxpayer is having a hard time making ends meet. They think that the teachers unions are "powerful" (a fallacy) and that teachers with tenure can never be fired (a fantasy).

Unfortunately, Obama isn't doing anything to overturn 8 years of bush policy (No Child Left Behind) which demands more "accountability" from teachers, i.e., they should be paid according to their students' test scores.

Basically, conservatives hate public education and want charter schools, vouchers, school choice, and cyber schools, so they can cash in on this huge enterprise without including those terrible, greedy teachers.

[SunnySong]

10. I agree with the conservatives hating public anything

but Arne Duncans plan strikes me as NCLB on steroids... please educate me if I am off base here.

[femmocrat]

11. Good description.

Have you visited the DU Education forum? Lots of good posts there about Duncan. We are dismayed that Obama is endorsing Duncan's "solution", Race to the Top, which basically undermines collective bargaining agreements.

[Imajika]

18. Sorry, but some of it truly is...

...that the private sector, which is the vast majority, are just being squeezed so much that they just don't feel they have the money to support as large of a public sector. The Federal Government just prints more money, the cities and states can't do that.

I have tried to point this out and people get angry, but I think that is all there is too it.

If someone in your family makes less, you have less to budget for the neighborhood kid trying to get by mowing lawns, or the professionals you once hired instead of grabbing someone off Craigslist, etc. That is, on a smaller scale, pretty much the same thing that is happening in communities and states when it comes to funding the public sector adequately.

Public sector workers have to accept that they derive most of their salary from private sector workers contributions to the system. If those private sector workers have less, they will start wanting to make cuts to the budget. To the extent people get angry with teachers, teachers unions, etc, is simply that a large percentage of local and state money generated through taxation goes to pay for that stuff. If the private sector has less, they fully expect the public sector to make due with less. People will go to Walmart to save a few bucks even if it destroys small businesses and good paying manufacturing jobs, don't think for a minute they won't want to pay less for teachers, civil servents, etc.

It is important to make the argument more effectively for a more progressive tax system that taxes the highest income earners at a much higher rate. Just bemoaning cuts is a useless and downright counter productive.

[SunnySong]

20. I do not become richer by making my nieghbor poorer,

i do not improve my workplace by breaking another mans union.

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. Amen

[Chulanowa]

15. I'll give you my answers

"What is considered a win in Afghanistan?"

The removal of the Taliban's military capability; or the elevation of the Afghan government's capability to a point where they don't need us to fight the Taliban, whichever comes first.

"why are we attacking teachers unions?"

Because Democrats aren't any better at education policy than Republicans.

"Why are we cutting taxes on Wall Street?"

Because thanks to the republicans, Wall Street is "tpo big to fail" and can exert economic blackmail against the United States, just as corporations have been doing to the "free market" third world for a generation now.

"Why are we raising the retirement age on working class America?"

Because the Most Useless Generation is still striving for immortality and, as usual, are doing so at the expense of their children and grandchildren.

"Why is BP in charge in the gulf?"

Because unless the law is changed (which given oil influence in the Legislature, is unlikely) the government is obligated to let a company handle its own toxic holocausts. Thank the Republicans for this one, it's their idea of "environmentalism."

"Why don't we have a public option for health care?"

Health care and insurance lobby. it owns too many in congress to let public option, much less single-payer, ever tome to a public vote.

"Why are tax cuts for the rich being matched with spending cuts for the poor?"

Because of capitalism.

"Why are we still in Iraq?"

Because, contrary to wishful thinking, disentangling from a nation where we were the only authority for three years, and then provided the only support for the government for another three years... just isn't as easy as "well, guess we should go now, bye!" - We're still in Germany, Korea, and Japan, too.

"Why are we still holding people without charge?"

Remember what I said about education policy up top? yeah, same story when it comes to handling stuff like this.

"Why are we assassinating foreign citizens?"

Because the contras are out of business, so it's hard to sub-contract.

"Why are we assassinating American citizens?"

I assume this is because Barack Obama has a mercury-caused dead spot on whatever portion of his brain would govern this particular decision. I like the guy, but this is an insane fuckup.

"Why are we bailing out Wall Street?"

Economic sabotage, like I explained.

"Why are we cutting off unemployment?"

Because unemployment has a legal limit, and it's either we stick with the current limit, or remove limits indefinitely. It's arbitrary, but thanks to our Corporate persons, and immense "defense" budget, we can't afford that.

"Why am I asking these questions with a Democratic Congress and a Democratic President?"

because despite nearly thirty years of Republicans telling you otherwise, the Democrats aren't actually socialists.

[SunnySong]

19. While I don't agree with every single point I love yopur answers.

Thank You for taking the time to answer it was quite educational and entertaining.

[leftstreet]

17. Excellent questions! n/t