Phrases from bumper stickers are hardly reasoned discourse. You seem to throw out bombs…Romney’s previous position on abortion…capitalism causes poverty…but when people respond with facts, figures and logic you either ignore the evidence against your premise or toss out a slogan as the final answer.
What I see among the Obama apologists is a futile attempt to claim the high road…hiding behind a phrase from the Holy Father that isn’t even on point …but they never address the evil, the corruption, the dishonesty and the failed promises of Obama. As if Romney’s change of heart makes him a less viable candidate for a believing Catholic than Obama’s consistent and frankly horrifying position supporting abortion at any time for any reason, with the Convention clearly throwing out the new demand of taxpayer funding. If anything Obama has become MORE pro-abortion and with his support of infanticide the bar was pretty high. I’ve always wondered why people set more stock in what MIGHT happen than in a long and consistent record of the opposing candidate. Nice try though!
Lisa
Another one in four is or should be worried about joining them soon. *Long-lasting and high unemployment now drains away income from families and friends of the unemployed who have used up savings as well as unemployment insurance. *As city, state, and local governments cut services and supports, people will have to divert money to offset part of those cuts. *When Medicare and if Social Security benefits are cut, millions will be spending more to help elderly parents. *Finally, poverty looms for those with jobs as (1) wages are cut or fail to keep up with rising prices, and (2) benefits – especially pensions and medical insurance – are reduced.
Deepening poverty has multiple causes, but the capitalist economic system is major among them. *First, capitalism’s periodic crises always increase poverty, and the current crisis is no exception. *More precisely, how capitalist corporations operate, in or out of crisis, regularly reproduces poverty. *At the top of every corporation, its major shareholders (15-20 or fewer) own controlling blocs of shares.
They select a board of directors – usually 15-20 individuals – who run the corporation. These two tiny groups make all the key decisions: what, how, and where to produce and what to do with the profits.
Poverty is one result of this capitalist type of enterprise organization. *For example, corporate decisions generally aim to lower the number of workers or their wages or both. *They automate, export (outsource) jobs, and replace higher-paid workers by recruiting domestic and foreign substitutes willing to work for less. *These normal corporate actions generate rising poverty as the other side of rising profits. *When poverty and its miseries “remain always with us,” workers tend to accept what employers dish out to avoid losing jobs and falling into poverty.
Another major corporate goal is to control politics. *Wherever all citizens can vote, workers’ interests might prevail over those of directors and shareholders in elections. *To prevent that, corporations devote portions of their revenues to finance politicians, parties, mass media, and “think tanks.”
Their goal is to “shape public opinion” and control what government does. They do not want Washington’s crisis-driven budget deficits and national debts to be overcome by big tax increases on corporations and the rich. *Instead public discussion and politicians’ actions are kept focused chiefly on cutting social programs for the majority.
Corporate goals include providing high and rising salaries, stock options, and bonuses to top executives and rising dividends and share prices to shareholders. *The less paid to the workers who actually produce what corporations sell, the more corporate revenue goes to satisfy directors, top managers, and major shareholders.
Corporations also raise profits regularly by increasing prices and/or cutting production costs (often by compromising output quality). *Higher priced and poorer-quality goods are sold mostly to working people. *This too pushes them toward poverty just like lower wages and benefits and government service cuts.
Over the years, government interventions like Social Security, Medicare, minimum wage laws, regulations, etc. never sufficed to eradicate poverty. *They often helped the poor, but they never ended poverty. *The same applies to charities aiding the poor. *Poverty always remained. *Now capitalism’s crisis worsens it again. *Something more than government interventions or charity is required to end poverty.
