Zalatix the Angry Liberal
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#Uniteblue #CTL #P2 Annual income of richest 100 people enough to end global poverty four times over | Oxfam International An explosion in extreme wealth and income is exacerbating inequality and hindering the world’s ability to tackle poverty, Oxfam warned today in a briefing published ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos next week.
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I need feminism because boys think it’s okay to touch my ass and boobs even when I’ve clearly said NO.
Even when I don’t say anything, it doesn’t give ANYONE a right to touch me wherever they desire. Yes means yes, and if they don’t say yes then don’t try it.
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#Uniteblue #CTL #P2 Petrol price 'rigged for a decade' - Telegraph Motorists may have paid thousands of pounds too much for their petrol over the last decade, after two of Britain’s biggest companies were raided on suspicion of manipulating oil prices.
Reblog or retweet if you feel the problem is not the price of gasoline / petrol, but rather the inability to fund clean, alternative renewable fuel sources, and the inability to fund the development of more fuel-efficient vehicles.
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Thousands of University of California employees ON STRIKE on Tuesday.
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From liberalsarecool:
The GOP hates students, loves their debt payments.
I don’t think this is just the GOP’s fault, so I’m not going to jump on that bandwagon (but, yes, the recent incarnation of the GOP is particularly prone to the sin I’m about to point out). The real underlying problem is that we’ve all bought into a poorly made analogy about how government budget is “like a family budget” (a terrible analogy trotted out by everyone).
Many economists will point out that governments enjoy many privileges that families (or even businesses) don’t enjoy: Governments can print money, set interest rates, and otherwise affect the basic economy under which we all operate. Once you “get” the concept that all wealth is really just a fiction—that the concept of money and all its associated subconcepts—are mere inventions (and inventions only made possible by governments, or more precisely states, btw) then it all makes sense. States (what most of us call “governments”) are sovereign. That word derives from a European theological notion. States are the ultimate authority on earth—they are a secular replacement for The Lord God Almighty. Once you fully internalize this, you realize that the “rules” of a household budget simply can’t apply to governments. After all, governments make the law and they also make the money.
Anyhow. All this short sightedness has made both parties blind to the sheer fact that states were created originally to make life better. If you believe in a Hobbesian state of nature, then the state emerged because we desperately needed it for security—to protect us from a real world in which life was “nasty, brutish, and short.” If you believe in a Rousseauian state of nature, then states emerged because we willingly exchanged our unlimited freedom (the kind that wild animals have) in order to build civilization (we became slaves to market forces, to consumerism, to fashion, etc). For Rousseau, the “slavery” of civilization could be tamed by democracy, of course—and it was the hope of our Founding Fathers (peace be upon them) that they had devised a formula to both have freedom and civilization.
But what that means is that it was only states that made life not only safer, but also better for humanity. Keep in mind that the estimated median income for a person in sub-Saharan Africa and a person in Europe was about the same for most of human history (until about the 1600s or so). It was the rise of states in late medieval Europe which facilitated a tremendous expansion of human wealth. It’s also no coincidence that capitalism emerged first and then thrived in the very countries known for having strong states (Britain, Germany). To this day there’s a strong correlation between the strength of the state and the vitality of the economy. How else do you think South Korea went from having the same standard of living as Angola in 1960 to being one of the wealthiest countries in the world.
So where am I going with this? Easy. Those early states rose to prominence not by spending little, but by spending a lot. It was Germans who invented the publicly funded education system and universal health care. And not democratic Germany, mind you, but Bismarkian Germany of the late 1800s. The reason was simple: Investments in health, education, and general welfare would ensure a strong military and workforce, and give German industry a decisive edge. Between 1800 and 1900 Germany went from a backwater farmland to a major world power (heck, Germany didn’t even exist prior to 1860!).
Today, our government has decided that investments in health, education, infrastructure, etc. are too expensive. It’s more important to give easy access to credit to business or tax breaks to the wealthy. But what are the long term consequences? Where will America’s workforce be in 20-30 years?
If you really want to use the family analogy, then you have to consider that when a family tightens its belt, it also looks to the future. The father and mother give up new clothes or amenities in order to pay for their children’s education and food. The father may sacrifice a meal before he takes food or clothes from his infant child. After all, the only shot at escaping poverty in the long term is for that child to grow up smart, healthy, and strong and help lift the family out of poverty.
Today, we hear about the government as a family analogy all the time from politicians on the left and the right. It’s a terrible analogy. But, when you hear it, ask yourself one simple question: Is the person making the analogy suggesting that the family cut spending on its children’s food, medicine, and education to ensure that the father and mother have more disposable income? Or are they suggesting that the father and mother sacrifice a little bit (perhaps they don’t go out to dinner as often or stop buying expensive lattes on their way to work) in order to ensure that the kids have their basic needs met. In other words, are we investing in our future? Are we working to expand the market and our citizens’ productive abilities?
(via oldenough2burmom)
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Hey girl - had a great time on Meet the Press this morning. Don’t forget - Social Security may not add to the deficit but… realistically its what is killing our country.
(via oldenough2burmom)
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Lesbian & Gay Immigrant Families Abandoned During Judiciary Committee Immigration Mark-up WASHINGTON, DC – Following months of threats and pressure by some Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) announced today he is withholding amendments to the immigration bill that would end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) immigrant families. In recent weeks, GOP Senators Lindsey Graham, Jeff Flake, Marco Rubio, and John McCain have sought to scapegoat LGBT families, promising to abandon immigration reform entirely if it was amended to include LGBT protections.
“Despite the leadership of Chairman Leahy, Judiciary Committee Democrats have caved to bullying by their Republican colleagues,” said Rachel B. Tiven, executive director of Immigration Equality Action Fund. “There should be shame on both sides of the political aisle today for lawmakers who worked to deny LGBT immigrant families a vote. Despite widespread support from business, labor, faith, Latino and Asian-American advocates, Senators abandoned LGBT families without a vote.”
Senator Chuck Schumer, an architect of the immigration bill, had long promised LGBT constituents that the package would include their families. “From the beginning we told Senator Schumer that it would only get harder to add LGBT families to the bill,” said Tiven. “We are disappointed that Senator Schumer and his ‘Gang of 8’ colleagues accepted a false choice between LGBT families and immigration reform, when the truth is that including LGBT families from the outset would have strengthened the bill.”
Republican senators looking for a reason to walk away from the bill scapegoated LGBT families. “Republicans came after LGBT families, and Democrats didn’t stand up,” Tiven said. “Who will be in the GOP’s sights next?”
“Senators have lined up in recent months to proclaim their support for marriage equality and LGBT rights,” Tiven added. “Yet, given the first opportunity to put their vote where their talking point is, they failed. Our families need deeds, not words.”
An estimated 36,000 couples who are raising more than 25,000 children within the United States (and countless others already living in exile) are impacted by the inability to sponsor their spouse or partner for residency under current immigration law. Senator Leahy’s proposed amendments would have allowed all of those families an opportunity to remain permanently together in the United States.
As former Republican Congressman Jim Kolbe of Arizona noted in his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, “Including this provision would place virtually no additional burden on our immigration system. For those families and their children, however, UAFA’s inclusion in the…bill would make all the difference in the world.”
For more information, visit ImmigrationEquality.org and ImEqActionFund.org
(via justinspoliticalcorner)
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Coburn puts the “n” in cut.
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BREAKING: Gov't probe faults poor quality construction materials for deadly Bangladesh building collapse DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A government investigation says poor quality construction materials and building code violations contributed to the collapse of building housing garment factories last month in Bangladesh.Committee head Khandker Mainuddin Ahmed told The Associated Press on Thursday a series of irregularities occurred in the construction of Rana Plaza. Its collapse killed more than 1,100 workers and was one of the world’s deadliest industrial disasters.Ahmed says the building owner used “extremely poor quality of iron rods and cement.” The report says the owner had permission for a six-story structure and added two floors illegally. Past information said the owner had permission for a five-story structure and added three.The report sent to the government Wednesday also recommends life prison terms for those found guilty of violating building codes in the case.
