Rand Paul to the Poor: "Cheer Up, It's Not So Bad!"

[dajoki]

Rand Paul to the Poor: "Cheer Up, It's Not So Bad!"
by Derrick Braziel July 14, 2010 07:55 AM (PT)
http://uspoverty.change.org/blog/view/rand_paul_to_the_poor_cheer_up_its_not_so_bad

Tea Party darling and Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul is at it again.

This time he's under fire for some seriously insensitive remarks that he made last week in response to Democratic opponent Jack Conway. In defending the "engine of capitalism," Paul began to address the issues of poverty by telling an audience that, "the poor in our country are enormously better off than the rest of the world." Paul said that it "doesn't mean we can't do better, but we have to acknowledge and be proud of our system of capitalism, be proud of our American way."

Want to know the basis for his subjective claim? A Soviet Cold War-era film that was designed to criticize the free-market system.

"They filmed a building in the poorer section of New York with some broken windows and they said, 'Oh, this is how the poor in America lives.' But it backfired on them because the Soviet citizens looked at that video closely and they saw flickering color television sets in all those windows."

Seriously, who voted for this guy?

While there are undoubtedly certain benefits that the poor receive from living in the richest country in the world, it is disgusting to say that they are "better off." This pernicious falsehood forgets that there are people throughout America — especially in parts of Kentucky — that are poor, starving, homeless and sick.

How many countries around the world would be appalled to hear that 49 million Americans lived last year in households lacking regular access to food, or that hundreds of thousands do not have the means to adequate shelter?

In fact, I bet other countries laugh at American capitalism. Many European nations have at least figured out ways to efficiently empower their governments to take care of social needs like poverty, unemployment, education and health care. All American capitalism has really done is create the highest income disparity in history, allowing corporate fat cats to profit while offering menial employment opportunities to others.

This article is not in any way meant to be an indictment on capitalism. Rand Paul simply needs to understand the ignorance behind his opinions, especially the belief that owning a TV makes one economically stable. He needs to see that we do not live in a meritocracy, and that the "prosperity for all" fairy tale of American capitalism is a hallucination.

[driver8]

1. I am pretty easy going, but I would love to smack Rand Paul right in the mouth.

What a dickhead.

[era veteran]

7. We are going to loudly question ol' Rand's beliefs @ Fancy

Farm. If your in KY check this out. The village is the site of the annual Fancy Farm Picnic, famous as a traditional political gathering attracting statewide and occasionally national candidates. .. Eric Cantor will be speaking earlier at a Reub breakfast and Mitchie McConnell will speak at the picnic. Jack Conway will speak against Rand. Hopefully we will get some good democratic speakers. ... http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=154x2285

[dajoki]

8. Good luck!! n/t

[gratuitous]

2. "It's not so bad" is always said by someone without skin in the game

Alberto Gonzales figured torture wasn't so bad, either, as long as the pain inflicted was less than the pain of major organ failure (whatever the hell that means). Rand Paul, who's never missed a meal in his life or spent a lonely night on the street, is all for telling poor folks just how enormously well off they are. Why, some of them have color televisions! Isn't that lovely?

[dajoki]

6. Straight from...

the heritage foundation's playbook.

[JoeyT]

3. Poor here just don't realize how good they have it.

Here they can see how awesome it is to be rich while starving to death or dying from an untreated illness.
And be told on a constant basis that it's their fault for being poor instead of rich.
Really, isn't it better to suffer knowing that someone has it far better than you at your expense?

This is an indictment on capitalism. At least one on the way we practice it now.

[w8liftinglady]

4. well,Rand took his beliefs from another Rand

Ayn Rand on the Virtue of Selfishness


http://stairs.umd.edu/140/rand.html

Brook views poverty with philosophy
http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/university-news/2008/03/07/brook-views-poverty-with-philosophy/

Ayn Rand Lexicon-charity
http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/charity.html

Ayn Rand Lexicon-poverty
http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/poverty.html

Ayn rand lexicon-altruism
http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/altruism.html


And,yes,this is a glimpse at my college years-<<<shudder>>>

[Stevenmarc]

5. Rand's potential campaign video to the poor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHPOzQzk9Qo