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Lies (1114) Economy-Economics- US (811) Economy Recession (412) Economics (284) Housing Crisis (53)
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Blame everyone from the Congress to the media for our stinking, sinking economy except themselves is the name of their game. The results are always the same: White House 1; The Public 0. Congress’ unwillingness to make Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthiest among us permanent is Bush’s Johnny-One-Note mantra. Like those tax breaks have done anything to help us or the economy since they’ve been in effect. Gee. Could it be that Congress isn’t buying into Bush’s economic policies, because they’re only policies for the rich, not over-all polices, won’t do a damn thing to help an a critical ill economy and just plain ol’ bite the big one! His second mantra is allowing for the expansion of oil exploration in the United States for the benefit of his and Cheney’s investments and his greased up oil buddies, and to the detriment of us and the environment. It would bring the price of gasoline down 10 cents a gallon within ten years, not very good! But at a great cost to the ecology and great wealth to the oil drillers . White House consular Ed Gillespie had to have been flat out lying when he said W.’s advisers are forever looking at options for new economic stimuli. A lie in the face of Bush’s refusal to even consider extending unemployment benefits for a measly 13 weeks. Probably not very helpful to the top .01% of his Republican backers, either! To even hint that Bush understands the economy or gives a rat's ass about the dire straits a majority of Americans are finding themselves in, is a total insult to our intelligence and the national psyche. To add insult to economic injury, jobless stats say the unemployment rate is 5.5 percent. Ha! It’s more like 11 percent, as those who collected unemployment checks, had their benefits run out and remain out of work aren’t counted. The government’s unemployment figures have always been a lie, and never reveal the true picture. Nor are the 2.3 million who are behind bars that we pay double for included in the count. For one they’re in the lock-up to insure our safety from them , and two, we pay for their housing, food and medical care. Per capita, we have more people in jail than any other “civilized” country. Many who are in jail shouldn’t be there in the first place; they are petty criminals or drug users. The economy would be stronger and our tax dollars would go further if they were sentenced to home detention, wore ankle monitoring bracelets and could go to work every day. Something the powerful prison guards union wouldn’t be too fond of, and would battle mightily against. If Bush and his brains think the $168 billion stimulus package has done anything to stimulate the economy or energize shoppers as he told a group at HUD, he got another think coming, and he isn’t fooling anyone with the bull he’s slinging. I’m either lucky or smart, but unlike so many Americans I don’t have any credit card debt, just one humong-o mortgage. My stimulus check went directly into my checking account along with a few extra dollars I was fortunately and coincidently able to make at the time, and every bit of it got sucked down the money pit…never to be seen again. I didn’t buy one extra thing; not one goody; not one penny saved. Disappeared! Gone! And I can’t tell you where it went except to the supermarket, the gas station and to ever-increasing utility bills. If that’s my story, imagine what it must be like for millions of other Americans who are drowning in a sea of debt and rising prices. As far as the abysmal housing market goes, has it occurred to any of the ’brains’ to put a moratorium on foreclosures, and above all, for Bush to use his little fiat signing pen to mandate that mortgagers [if they can figure out exactly who owns some of those mortgages] must rent the foreclosed or soon to be foreclosed houses to the mortgagees with no non-payment penalties for at least two or three years until someone figures out this mess or refinancing can be arranged.
Sandy Sand began her writing career while raising three children and doing public relations work for Women's American ORT (Organization for Rehabilitation through Training). That led to a job as a reporter for the San Fernando Valley Chronicle, a weekly publication in Canoga Park, California. In conjunction with the Chronicle, she broadcast a tri-weekly, 10-minute newscast for KGOE AM. Following the closure of the Chronicle, Sand became the editor of the Tolucan Times and Canyon Crier newspapers in Burbank. She is currently a guest columnist for the Los Angeles Daily News and contributor to ronkayela.com
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