And the two are very very different.  In the NY Times this morning there is an article about the loss of 80,000 jobs in March.  With a recession so obviously hanging out at the end of the bar, just finishing his drink waiting to let everyone see that he certainly is indeed in our midst, everyone is trying to create more consumer confidence.  Maybe if things we bought were made in America without lead paint or magnets that are so small they fall off and our kids can die from swallowing them, we might have more consumer confidence–but this certainly isn’t what this post is about. 

It is in these situations of crisis that are polar differences are never more clearly seen.  At times like this, I am often reminded why I am a Democrat.  With more jobs being lost and the cost of goods skyrocketing–because the cost of gas is so high–and just so you know the execs at the big 5 oil companies aren’t to blame for the high prices–its the high price of crude that is to blame.  They’d like us to ignore the 100+ billion dollars in profits they made last year.  Really, I am pretty sure they don’t know how that happened.  As they try to preserve the 10 million dollars in tax breaks that they still need to ensure the stability of the industry.  Are you fucking kidding me?  I know where that 10 million could be spent to actually benefit the American people, because right now the only one benefiting is an industry that certainly isn’t passing along any of it profits to those who struggle to keep their gas stations open (the average gas station only profits one penny per gallon of gas) while lining the pockets of those who sit at the top trying to figure out how they are making so much money.  Maybe their making all that money–selling it at really high prices?  Just a guess. 

Back to what originally got me going on this topic.  There was a call from Pelosi to act immediately with an additional stimulus package to help Americans.  The Dems (Clinton and Obama) want to increase the length of time someone can collect unemployment–seems fair in this type of job market.  The GOP (McCain) will support tax breaks and less regulation for companies (i.e. oil companies and others that are lots of money already)–he believes (as does the GOP on the whole) that if companies have more money they will create more jobs.  Really?  I pretty sure they only care about profit margin and if creating more jobs weakens that margin?  They aren’t creating more jobs.  I am certainly not an economist, but I don’t understand the idea of giving tax breaks to companies and hoping they will employ more people–while at the same time Congress won’t increase minimum wages because that would hurt the same companies. It just doesn’t make sense that we can trust companies in our frenzy of Capitalistic greed to be fair.  How could we reallly expect fairness when the average CEO makes in one day what an average employee makes in one year?  But let’s give them tax breaks and less regulation. 

So, who deserves the help of the government?  The people who they swear to represent (that is us those who elect or don’t elect (in some cases) them) or the companies (read as lobbyists) who line their pockets?  I have learned a long time ago that money buys access and as we Americans have less money and companies have more and more money–the companies have the access and those with the access determine what happens.  Just think back to Cheney’s response to the idea that 2/3 of the American people thought we should pull out of Iraq “SO WHAT.”  It angers me and saddens me and scares me that as days and years pass–the American people seem to be less and less important to the government we are suppose to trust to take care of us. 

Is a revolution coming????