Saturday, May 14, 2011

Strange tale...or not.

I'm so tired of hearing the same illogical arguments about our budget; cobbled together with Republican talking points, augmented by phony figures which defy common sense. When repeated enough times by people who really should know better, this crap takes on a life of its own. I used to work for a guy who loved to use 'the family budget' as an analogy for balancing our national budget and never missed the opportunity to give us his POV about living within our means. This same kind of  folksy mindset is alive and well in the brains of a whole lot of people who can't possibly be as disconnected as they sound.  They defend welfare for corporations while gutting medicare and social security to protect some sacrosanct ideology that they really don't fully understand. That's something I don't understand.
It makes as much sense as this...
Let's just say (just like the United States) you and partner are trying to stay afloat. You work, you pay bills, you cope with the rising cost of living. Your house needs repairs, sometimes you can pay cash, sometimes you charge it. Things wear out, you have to replace them. Kids need stuff, like food. Like shoes. Like coats. You cut back where you can, and hope you don't get sick. Prices keep going up, and it gets harder and harder to make ends meet. It's tough all over. You have a couple of brothers who've lost their jobs & homes, and, because it's family, you let them move into one of your spare rooms. They find temporary minimum wage work, and chip in what they can. They help around the house. They make a contribution. Then, out of the blue, you get a call from your two wealthy uncles, David and  Charles, who are bazillionaires; they tell you they're coming for an extended stay. Good deal, you think. We're all working really hard, and earning as much as we can. We're cutting waste. WE DON'T HAVE A SPENDING PROBLEM, WE HAVE A REVENUE PROBLEM. It will help when Chuck and Dave move in. We'll help each other.
 They own lots of big companies, and have a ton of cash, but for some strange reason, they want to hang out at your house. You know that they may be in a position to offer your brothers a job. They are 'job creators', so you pretty much lay down the welcome mat. They move into your home, but instead of being polite, they are ingrates. At the dinner table, they take all the food for themselves, and leave nothing for anyone else. They make messes, polluting your environment, and refuse to clean up after themselves. They do not respect your home, and leave unsafe situations for your children to stumble upon. They use all your hot water, run up your phone bill, leave all the lights on, leave piles of dirty dishes on the counter, filthy socks under the bed and refuse to take out the trash. When you ask them about a job for your brothers, they stall. Later, you find that  some of those long distance calls they've been making are for the purpose of hiring cheap labor offshore instead of helping the family and creating a job opportunity at home, even though it would help tremendously. When you ask them to pitch in, they are insulted that you would even ask, and demand to be given all the benefits of your hospitality, without making a contribution. Occasionally Charles or David will bring home the NY ballet to perform, host a tea party, or park a huge vinyl-wrapped diesel bus in your driveway, but that doesn't exactly help with the job situation, and it doesn't change the fact that they're living off your your hard work, using your resources to get richer, and not paying their share of the upkeep. They are absolutely taking way too many liberties with your hard earned money. They are certainly in a position to help out, but refuse, because they don't think they should have to. You realize that they are selfish, greedy, irresponsible and messy. What keeps you from shoving their self-serving asses out the door? Is it the thought that they might someday create jobs? Maybe? Not good enough. When you total up all the resources Charles and David burn through, vs. what they contribute- it's way out of balance. When you compare what they cost to the small amount of help you've extended to your brothers- there's no contest. Besides, you can make your bros pitch in and do the dishes. And you realize that with your bros, the more they work, the more they'll put money back in the household kitty. That is never going to happen with Uncle Charles and Uncle David unless you lay down some ground rules. But Chuck and Dave are so wealthy that they don't like ground rules. In fact, when you do try and lay down the law, you find out that they've  hired a couple of lobbyists, paid off some Congressmen, and brought in some pricey lawyers, so before you know it, it's not your home anymore, its theirs. You're out on your ass with your brothers, and guess what...no jobs for anyone. You've all been outsourced, and now your neighborhood is so toxic that no one can live there. Chuck and Dave are already off to drop in on the next unsuspecting relative. Does this sound remotely familiar?  If it isn't already too late, we really should kick those rotten Uncles to the curb, and make sure we take back our house. Then protect our Senate. Oh, yeah, and no more tea parties!

1 comment:

  1. This is incredible! It should be required reading for everyone.

    ReplyDelete