The demise of the middle class, coming to a neighborhood near year.

[maddogesq]

From today's Free Press:

http://freep.com/article/20091112/NEWS06/911120445/1318/Study-Michigans-lost-jobs-wont-be-back-for-15-years?GID=z1nSbdeiUFWCP1osJeb/zh2NoVUONDvA2kCZFEA8LtI%3D


"Michigan suffers because of chronic deficits fed in part by generous tax exemptions to businesses and retirees and no tax on services, the report says. People 65 and older are the only segment of Michigan's population that's growing."

The retarded local media blames our current governor. Jenny constantly does too much rope-a-dope, so she becomes an easy target. The biggest hurt leadership wise came under 12 years of complete Gooper control spearheaded by Gov. Big Turd (Engler) and his band of thugs. Their answer to everything was giving tax breaks to businesses and the wealthy cats that hang with the DeVoss crowd.

It is a sad state when the place that helped create the middle class in this country is now becoming poorer than Mississippi in its worse days. It makes one want to cry.

[PassingFair]

1. We are going to lose the next Gov. election if we run Cherry....

It does NOT look good.

[MichiganVote]

4. Yup. And then we can kiss our ass good bye.

[blue_onyx]

8. I disagree

Cherry may not be the best candidate to ever run for governor but he's not that bad. Plus, he's really the only candidate the Democrats have. Cherry is certainly stronger than the GOP candidates. I think Bouchard will be the Republican nominee and he lost by 16% to Sen Stabenow (including by 8% in his home county). I don't see him doing any better in 2010.

[Festivito]

2. And that junk is from the so-classified left-wing media rag.

But, the middle class is not what they are after, democracy is what they want destroyed.

[Denninmi]

3. Certainly true.

It never ceases to amaze me how easily the bulk of the population can be made to go against its own best interests in any number of issues just by whipping up fervor over "values issues". Truly sad that people can't see how they are being manipulated into giving up their basic rights. Probably the prime example of this are the vocal pleas for "tort reform" by those who generally have little concept of the law in the first place, and no real understanding of exactly what damages in med-mal and personal injury lawsuits entail. I often wonder how many of them would have been willing to spend several months in a burn unit and undergo multiple reconstructive surgeries in exchange for the several hundred thousand dollars ultimately awarded to the victim in the McDonalds coffee scalding lawsuit that became so infamous?

And yes, Cherry is, unfortunately, a recipe for disaster in what looks to be a tough year anyway. The man has the charisma of a boiled rutabaga.

[Festivito]

5. The truth we hold is fleeting and a lie well told is immortal.

Truth is often boring, whereas the lie has the advantage of having imaginatively exciting imagery.

Go figure.

[maddogesq]

6. Just read a great book by Thom Hartmann.

It is called "Screwed: The Undeclared War Against The Middle Class."

In it, he suggests that to have a strong democracy, you need a strong middle class. He often cites the works of folks like Thomas Paine.

When I talk about this concept to people, I remind them that in the '60's, when all the changes came such as the civil rights movement, etc., we had a very strong middle class. Now, as that group declines, the people that vote against their own best interests are too often people that have a lot less financial power than they did 20 years ago.

Of course, media consolidation--something you all know I have bitched about for ions--doesn't help the situation.

I suggest that you and are are saying the same things.

[Festivito]

7. Yup, we'd bore each other in constant agreement.

Then we'd find some difference and fight like mad dogs.

:fistbump:

[blue_onyx]

9. The article is a little too "doom and gloom"

We need to enact some tax reforms to address our "chronic deficits." The problem is we have a congress that has no desire to do its job. We need ballot proposals in 2010 because that's the only way we'll save our state. I would like to see these ideas on the ballot:

-A progressive income tax.

-Expand the sales tax to services (possibly decreased to 5%)

-Legalize recreational marijuana. Tax it and use the money to provide a college education to all MI students who have a 2.50 GPA and have been here for 5 years. An educated workforce is key to improving our economy.


MI may rank among the poorest states now but I believe it can and will be temporary. We just need to make the correct choices in the coming year. If we elect one of the anti-tax Republicans for governor, we are doomed. We need to passed reforms similar to the ones I posted and elect John Cherry as governor.