Why Can't the Poor be Like Us?
 

The conservative lack of empathy explained. "Pull yourself up by your bootstraps, lowlife scum!"

https://decentralize.today/the-conse...r-33d99b0ef18b

Rich conservatives should practice what they preach and give boots with bootstraps to the poor. :rolleyes:

Excellent article.

Even those with bootstraps are finding it harder to pull themselves up. A lot of disillusionment in a "Gig Economy".

Nice point.

Interesting day that you chose to post the article in your OP, what with unemployment falling to below 3.8% last month..

https://www.wsj.com/articles/unemplo...may-1527856298

“It’s pretty hard to argue that the labor market is anything but right in the sweet spot,” said Dan North, chief economist at Euler Hermes North America. “There is tremendous demand for labor right now.”

U.S. employers have added to payrolls for 92 straight months, extending the longest continuous jobs expansion on record. And those gains are extending to all corners of the labor market.

The unemployment rate for women, 3.6% last month, was the lowest since 1953, when far smaller share of women sought jobs. The jobless rates for blacks, Latinos and those without high-school diplomas are trending near record lows.

Thanks for validating Obama’s great economic recovery! 92 straight months! The current president* is riding Obama’s coattails on this for now, but his idiotic policies, especially on trade, and loosening direly necessary banking oversight, will very likely result in another Repube economic meltdown.

Although DQ's article is not about the unemployment rate and the labor market.

I actually sat in on a discussion with a local Baptist Minister who's also Conservative and quite political. This guy told me that it's "actually a mistake" to do anything for the poor or the homeless because, "We are told that 'Ye shall reap as ye have sown.' Therefore, if you are poor it is because you have sown the seeds that yield poverty, which is as God meant it to be. To engage in charity is to thwart the will of God. If you wish to avoid such hardship, then sow the seeds of prosperity."...….

Sounds like a fairly evil justification for selfishness and apathy to me.

Here is a blatant example of what is cited in the article on Post #1.

‘How can they walk away with millions and leave workers with zero?’: Toys R Us workers say they deserve severance
And yet,
Millions in bonuses to ensure that there is nothing left over for severance.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.320659b2baea

Of course it will, Chicklet. :rolleyes:

In the meantime, some adults weigh in on the US economy's prognosis:

The US economy suddenly looks like it's unstoppable

In the face of persistent fears that the world could be facing a trade war and a synchronized slowdown, the U.S. economy enters June with a good deal of momentum.

Friday's data provided convincing evidence that domestic growth remains intact even if other developed economies are slowing. A better-than-expected nonfarm payrolls report coupled with a convincing uptick in manufacturing and construction activity showed that the second half approaches with a tail wind blowing.

"The fundamentals all look very solid right now," said Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC. "You've got job growth and wage gains that are supporting consumer spending, and tax cuts as well. There's a little bit of a drag from higher energy prices, but the positives far outweigh that. Business incentives are in good shape."

Oh, but the "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps" comment clearly is. What a better time to start "pulling" when many employers are having trouble filling jobs of all types. From the posted CNBC article:

Andrew Hunter, U.S. economist at Capital Economics, said the ISM number alone is consistent with GDP growth of better than 4 percent, though he thinks the second quarter will be in the 3 percent to 3.5 percent range.

Chicks was referring to the long term......6-8 years. I understand that you, being a corporate goon, naturally lack that much foresight. What you see in the front of you at the moment is proof that we're on the right path. It's okay, we love you anyways. You're very special to us.:)

Quite the opposite, at least as it relates to the highlighted text above. If everyone did their best every day to sew the seeds of prosperity, there would still be hardship but there would be far less of it.

However, your baptist minister also missed a pretty key element of the New Testament, which is:

But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?

Also:

If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?

This is why so churches have so many ministries dedicated to helping those in need. I wouldn't put much stock into what this particular minster is saying. The Baptists have some pretty active charitable organizations. Here's one example.

Ah, I see.

Well, we corporate goons understand that economies are cyclical, and the likelihood of a future recession is always there. So, yeah, six to eight years from now its quite possible (and if history is any guide, quite probable) that there will be a recession. And just like a million monkeys banging away at typewriters creating the possibility that one of them might produce War and Peace, Chick's prognostication of economic doom and gloom six to eight years from now has a similar chance of being correct.

So, since this particular corporate goon will likely be retired by then, I'll have little control over what might happen at that time. However, I've squirreled away all of my ill-gotten gains in questionable investments and tax sheltered accounts enabled by tax loopholes, so I should be just fine.

Henny Penny Christianity.
Now, which part of the sermon on on the mount covered that?

Me too. I'm up to a half million now because I had the brains to ignore Republican scare mongers in 2009. Imagine if everyone had ignored those assholes, how much more quickly the economy might have recovered.....?:D

The only problem I have is in the way politicians play it. One steps into an economy that has already grown out of a deep recession, stocks risen from say ~6500 to almost 19,000, unemployment fallen substantially from about 10% nationally to less than 5%...……. And the man he follows gets zero credit while he actively grabs all the credit, having done absolutely nothing to earn it. That's a lying prick, right there. I'm sure you've watched that sort of thing happen from time to time in your career. After all, businessmen can be lying, backstabbing pricks just like any politician. Now, fast forward to the next transition of power and who ever follows the current fat, golf course dwelling, credit grabbing showman and this recession you say is inevitable. A repeat of 2008, wherein the economy is collapsing and it's the man who hasn't even won the election yet who is to blame for it? Just something I was wondering about as I cut the grass, today.

Indeed. Apparently you haven't read the article. :rolleyes:

I've read it. I've also read many, many others like it. No real new ideas in it and its filled with the same class warfare exaggerations, half truths and outright lies that I've seen 100 times before (but sadly many here and elsewhere subscribe to).

So you did read it, but didn't see the bootstraps connection. This makes sense given how often you reference an article that doesn't support your point.

Put in your earplugs, put on your eyeshades and you know where to put the cork... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqmC1T9rukk

Poverty is like inertia, continues in its state unless changed by an external force. One can exaggerate the size of force needed but still requires an external force.

Yes, an external force like a declining unemployment rate. Or an increasing economic growth rate. Those two forces are present now.

An expanding economy leads to declining unemployment rate, so they are not two forces. There are other factors to consider. How does one to get to a newfound job? How about childcare for a family that needs two incomes? Or lack of qualification or education? All these are contributing factors to perpetuating poverty (inertia). One can make a pile out of the proverbial bootstraps and burn them for the good they can do. :rolleyes:

The SF Bay area is going through an economic boom but how does that help the poor? On the contrary, they are being driven out due to escalating rents. Then there is our own Catch-22. People are moving out in droves due to the high cost of living (mostly due to real estate) and finding qualified people is getting very difficult.

...and for the past 92 months, something you seem loath to admit, for some reason. The current disgraceful administration is benefiting greatly from the Obama administration’s expert handling of the economy, guiding it back to health after Bush’s economic disaster.

Exactly. They're very adept at riding coattails and grabbing credit...…….but not much else, really.

Indeed. Until the very instant Trump was elected, both he and his lemmings insisted that the ever-improving unemployment rate under Obama was a lie and meant nothing.

Has the Fright wing ever challenged Obama’s highly successful presidency ratings?

They're just a popularity measure. :D

A Kenyan Mooselimb more popular than a rich TV star white guy? :confused: :)

LOL! :rolleyes:

So you're saying that any reasonable person would just stand still and do nothing because they "lack qualification or education"? Well, in that case, I'm glad this particular mom doesn't approach life with your excuse -making as her guiding force:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...elf/508296002/

San Francisco's issues are primarily self-inflicted.

http://www.businessinsider.com/why-h...ancisco-2014-4

The city has a choice to make. Either it will be a picturesque tourist destination, or it will be a tech hub that will draw more folks to live there while also giving folks a place to live. The current regulatory environment supports the former. The citizens will need to decide if it wants to be the latter. Given the folks who are able to afford to move into the city, I suspect there will be resistance to changing the regulatory environment that helps keep the city picturesque.

An exception makes the rule? :rolleyes:

You are confusing between SF and SF Bay Area which is what I referred to.
SF (The City) happens to be just one city (and county) in the vast Bay area.

Indeed. Richmond or Pleasanton ain't quite Nob Hill.

Didn't say that, did I? You must enjoy arguing with yourself. :rolleyes:

Then why are you responding? :rolleyes:

And yes, you implied it but if you want to squirm and look foolish, be my guest.
So tell me, can Trump pardon himself as he has claimed today?

You should know by now that Whell is a know-nothing, who talks trash just because. It’s obvious he knows absolutely nothing about the Bay Area, but what do you expect from someone who defends living in a shithole like Detroit? ;)

Actually, whell won that round which Rajoo tacitly acknowledged with his deflecting closing question. :)

Hey, at least we've got plenty of affordable housing available.

https://i.huffpost.com/gen/1792596/original.jpg

One word answer, avatar. :)