Some thoughts about politics and poverty

Years ago I had a long discussion about poverty and unemployment with United States Congressman Guy Vander Jagt of Michigan; I asked him if he wasn’t concerned about how the unemployed people and the poor would vote.

This right-wing conservative Christian Reformed Congressman replied, very callously, “I won’t get overly concerned with unemployment and the poor until they outnumber the people who are working. Until that time I’m not going to worry about you bringing these people out to vote against me.”

That was in the early 1970′s as Wall Street investors were just beginning their shift to high-tech automation while already beginning to move our industrial base to cheap labor markets.

Now, however, Wall Street has just about completed its destruction of our basic industries in mining, steel and auto.

And with this shift Congressman Guy Vander Jagt’s worst nightmare has begun to come true— in states like Congressman Guy Vander Jagt’s Michigan, about half the people are now poor with well over 40% either long-term unemployed, under-employed, working at poverty wage jobs or at jobs where unions have “negotiated” concessions as part of this “new” breed of labor leadership’s idea of “class struggle” which sees many of the auto workers still employed working at poverty wages— and if you are being paid poverty wages you are going to be poor.

It used to be fairly easy for these worthless politicians like Congressman Guy Vander Jagt to speak very callously towards the poor; now, when these bozos get elected by dumb people who think they are smart they, like Wisconsin Governor Walker and Michigan Governor Snyder are facing some major opposition… but, the problem is the Democrats are no better except they pander to the poor for votes by pretending to be concerned; but like with Obama and Minnesota Governor Dayton who pose and posture as liberals in public at election time as  they do their duty behind closed doors to help their billionaire 1% class by pushing the entire working class into deeper poverty with most of the real liberals, progressive and the left afraid to challenge these hypocrites by asking the American people:

How is Barack Obama’s Wall Street war economy working for you?

I don’t understand why there is this fear of asking this question? What better question is there to ask American voters as we approach Election Day?

I guess people are afraid to ask this question because they will be called “Communists;” just like they call people who insist the wealth be redistributed through the creation of universal social programs when these phony “liberals” are pandering to this crap that “the free market will solve our problems if we help the entrepreneurs and small businesses.” The problem with this is that these “entrepreneurs” and “small businesses” are paying the lowest of the poverty wages and paying poor people poverty wages sure doesn’t solve the problem of poverty no matter how many jobs are created.

Poor people will continue to be poor and more people are going to become poor until we break ourselves free from Wall Street’s “two-party trap” and we seek solutions to our problems outside of the capitalist “box.”

And it sure doesn’t help matters any to have the wealth of our nation squandered on militarism and wars— as if we are all so rich we can empty our pockets into the ocean.

We had better start to think in terms of massive universal government social programs as the way to rescue us all from poverty while solving our pressing problems.

One example of what we need to do, sooner rather than later, is solve our health care mess by creating a National National Public Health Care System which would create over ten-million jobs providing the American people with world-class health care.

I have never heard anyone except Democrats and Republicans complain about getting a pay-check signed by the government. The irony here is that those like the President and members of the House and Senate get the biggest government pay-checks— well, almost the biggest because those getting the biggest government handouts are the Wall Street coupon clippers pulling their strings.

Congressman Guy Vander Jagt is long dead and buried; capitalism is limping along. It is time to stop feeding this sick system and bury the beast before it kills us all with its militarism, wars, unemployment and poverty.

Come to think of it; these dirty imperialist Wall Street wars are going to make us all poor--- except the rich who get richer from the profits made from war.