Our society makes it incrementally harder to “get along” the poorer you are. Can’t afford a car? Take the bus. But the bus takes TIME (and a bit of money). Can’t spend the time or money to get to the suburbs grocery store? Pay a premium for lower quality food. Have to take the first job you find because you can’t afford to wait? Now you don’t have time to study… don’t have money to get better quality clothing (dress for success). And let’s not even START on affording birth control…
Oh, AND, you probably grew up in a place where there weren’t many good models of how to be successful. Or good models of how to dress to fit in at the next level up. Same for speech patterns.
You just thought this was an equal opportunity nation. Yes, it’s possible to get ahead. It only takes twice as much effort and twice as much time for a poor person as it takes for a well off one. I’m quite sure that I wouldn’t have been willing to work that hard for that long… but I didn’t have to!
To GreggW: It’s UNREGULATED CAPITALSM that sucks. Both sides have their extremes, but it is the republicans who embrace that Harvard-born dogma that the INVESTOR class is all that matters, and the working middle-class has been under assault ever since.
I was thinking of the book “The Tyranny of Oil” by Antonia Juhasz. We live under the tyranny of capitalism driven by oil and the promise of constant growth. We also live under the tyranny of a government that no longer “derives their just powers from the consent of the governed”, as if it ever did, but even less so now that the Supreme’s have dropped any pretense of impartiality. As a male, neutering the EPA, (and possibly killing our last hope that humans act responsibly in time) was more important than the death of Roe (or destroying the separation of church and state while bestowing the right of conceal carry). I’m as angry as the rich woman and as resigned to our fate as the poor woman. Their ain’t no justice.
A new “bump stock”-type device is being sold out of China and made locally on 3D printers too, but for handguns, though they might work on longer guns as well. Colloquially they’re known as “Glock switches” although the Glock company has nothing to do with them, and they work with any semi-auto pistol. The technical name is “auto-sear”; they cost ~$20 and allow a pistol to empty its magazine with one pull of the trigger.
Talk about something that nobody should own? This is a superb, clear-eyed example. Found on an innocent? Take it away, demonstrate the lunacy involved in using it —it would be like trying to aim a maddened cat!— and rely on the kid’s good sense. Found on a criminal? Prison time.
You’d think the neo-socialist opinionators who loudly declared they wouldn’t vote for Clinton in 2016 would have some sense of remorse or guilt, but this is who they are. Two women being used to further the agenda.
Proof positive that Ted has no idea what constitutes an actual pro-choice rally and the attendees and their actual beliefs. Dear Ted: one of the main reasons we have always fought so hard for the right to abortion is that we are WELL AWARE that the primary populations affected by the loss of Roe v Wade are those who are poor, especially POC. I knew all along that if I was ever affected by an unwanted pregnancy I’d have the resources to obtain a safe abortion even if I had to do it outside the US. You totally missed the mark with this one, Teddy. And I speak from experience, as a former Ob/GYN who performed and participated in abortion procedures in some of the poorest neighborhoods in my area.
Has anyone given any serious thought to what we must do if SCROTUS decides simply to allow all pro-GOP gerrymandering while disallowing all other layouts? It would almost look reasonable, given all the other shite they get up to without anything more than moaning from us.
Concretionist almost 2 years ago
Our society makes it incrementally harder to “get along” the poorer you are. Can’t afford a car? Take the bus. But the bus takes TIME (and a bit of money). Can’t spend the time or money to get to the suburbs grocery store? Pay a premium for lower quality food. Have to take the first job you find because you can’t afford to wait? Now you don’t have time to study… don’t have money to get better quality clothing (dress for success). And let’s not even START on affording birth control…
Oh, AND, you probably grew up in a place where there weren’t many good models of how to be successful. Or good models of how to dress to fit in at the next level up. Same for speech patterns.
You just thought this was an equal opportunity nation. Yes, it’s possible to get ahead. It only takes twice as much effort and twice as much time for a poor person as it takes for a well off one. I’m quite sure that I wouldn’t have been willing to work that hard for that long… but I didn’t have to!
knutdl almost 2 years ago
https://corporate-rebels.com/capitalism-sucks/
GreggW Premium Member almost 2 years ago
Nailed it. Neoliberalism sucks.
moosemin almost 2 years ago
To GreggW: It’s UNREGULATED CAPITALSM that sucks. Both sides have their extremes, but it is the republicans who embrace that Harvard-born dogma that the INVESTOR class is all that matters, and the working middle-class has been under assault ever since.
tbemont Premium Member almost 2 years ago
I often find Mr. Rall’s ideas a bit too extreme. In this case he has a valid point.
s49nav almost 2 years ago
Yes, it’s the Supreme Court’s fault that you’re poor. Now, whose fault is it that you’re stupid?
Stephen Runnels Premium Member almost 2 years ago
Either Ted is being facetious, or he doesn’t understand how the supreme court works. I’ll go with facetious.
wildthing almost 2 years ago
I was thinking of the book “The Tyranny of Oil” by Antonia Juhasz. We live under the tyranny of capitalism driven by oil and the promise of constant growth. We also live under the tyranny of a government that no longer “derives their just powers from the consent of the governed”, as if it ever did, but even less so now that the Supreme’s have dropped any pretense of impartiality. As a male, neutering the EPA, (and possibly killing our last hope that humans act responsibly in time) was more important than the death of Roe (or destroying the separation of church and state while bestowing the right of conceal carry). I’m as angry as the rich woman and as resigned to our fate as the poor woman. Their ain’t no justice.
Màiri almost 2 years ago
SOMEWHAT OT
A new “bump stock”-type device is being sold out of China and made locally on 3D printers too, but for handguns, though they might work on longer guns as well. Colloquially they’re known as “Glock switches” although the Glock company has nothing to do with them, and they work with any semi-auto pistol. The technical name is “auto-sear”; they cost ~$20 and allow a pistol to empty its magazine with one pull of the trigger.
Talk about something that nobody should own? This is a superb, clear-eyed example. Found on an innocent? Take it away, demonstrate the lunacy involved in using it —it would be like trying to aim a maddened cat!— and rely on the kid’s good sense. Found on a criminal? Prison time.
braindead Premium Member almost 2 years ago
Protests are easy. (relatively speaking)
Getting the vote out is hard!
Protests have an effect, but it is small. Getting the vote out has an enormous effect — but it’s hard.
Treedodger almost 2 years ago
“But”
Uncle Joe Premium Member almost 2 years ago
You’d think the neo-socialist opinionators who loudly declared they wouldn’t vote for Clinton in 2016 would have some sense of remorse or guilt, but this is who they are. Two women being used to further the agenda.
drbeth almost 2 years ago
Proof positive that Ted has no idea what constitutes an actual pro-choice rally and the attendees and their actual beliefs. Dear Ted: one of the main reasons we have always fought so hard for the right to abortion is that we are WELL AWARE that the primary populations affected by the loss of Roe v Wade are those who are poor, especially POC. I knew all along that if I was ever affected by an unwanted pregnancy I’d have the resources to obtain a safe abortion even if I had to do it outside the US. You totally missed the mark with this one, Teddy. And I speak from experience, as a former Ob/GYN who performed and participated in abortion procedures in some of the poorest neighborhoods in my area.
Màiri almost 2 years ago
Has anyone given any serious thought to what we must do if SCROTUS decides simply to allow all pro-GOP gerrymandering while disallowing all other layouts? It would almost look reasonable, given all the other shite they get up to without anything more than moaning from us.
jqmcd almost 2 years ago
There are times when I just can’t figure out what Ted Rall would have anyone do to fix stuff, but that’s also not his responsibility