President George Bush and the Gilded Age (Bush said peope are poor

[acmavm]

because they are lazy!!)

http://www.glocom.org/opinions/essays/20040301_tsurumi_president/

Yoshi Tsurumi (Professor of International Business, Baruch College, the City University of New York )

<snip>

Something really strange has happened to the U.S. under the Bush Administration. With her ever bulging budget deficits and foreign debts, America's skewed income distribution is rapidly making the U.S. resemble Argentina or Mexico. The "Jobless Recovery" is not a political mirage, but a serious problem. America's GDP is increasing at an annual rate of about 4.0% this year. But, only those Wall Street "money gamers" and self-dealing "management aristocrats" of Corporate America are dizzy with their huge bonuses, padded salaries, and self-dealt stock options. The remaining hard working Americans cannot eat "GDP." The U.S. has widening income gap between a few "haves" and many "have-nots."

During the last economic recovery period of March 1991 to April 1993, a 10% increase in GDP increased manufacturing jobs and service jobs 3% and 5.9% respectively. However, for the present economic recovery since November 2001, a 10% increase in GDP is increasing manufacturing and service jobs only 0.7% and 0.9% respectively. Just to keep up with her population growth, the U.S. needs to create about 230,000 jobs a month. If the U.S. wants to employ the 3 million unemployed workers thrown out of work under the Bush Administration, the U.S. would have to create a lot more jobs monthly. Last month, however, the U.S. only created 115,000 jobs. President Bush has now abandoned his earlier declared promise of "creating 2.6 million jobs by the fall of 2004."

<snip>

At Harvard Business School, thirty years ago, George Bush was a student of mine. I still vividly remember him. In my class, he declared that "people are poor because they are lazy." He was opposed to labor unions, social security, environmental protection, Medicare, and public schools. To him, the antitrust watch dog, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Securities Exchange Commission were unnecessary hindrances to "free market competition." To him, Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal was "socialism." Recently, President Bush's Federal Appeals Court Nominee, California's Supreme Court Justice Janice Brown, repeated the same broadside at her Senate hearing. She knew that her pronouncement would please President Bush and Karl Rove and their Senators. President Bush and his brain, Karl Rove, are leading a radical revolution of destroying all the democratic political, social, judiciary, and economic institutions that both Democrats and moderate Republicans had built together since Roosevelt's New Deal.

-MORE-

Read on to see what an idiot this guy is.

[LSparkle]

1. It's going to take people getting into the streets

To undo all the damage these clowns have caused in the past 3 years. This administration has practically broken my heart and caused me to seriously consider emigrating, but other countries no longer necessarily welcome ex-patriate Americans. I can only pray this sadness turns to downright (productive?) anger ...

[ODBPROS]

2. I think he meant crazy...

"People are poor because their crazy" is what he meant to say. And he's got a good point. It's hard to work a nine to five when the voices in your head keep telling you to wash invisible blood off your hands.

[fabius]

3. And Bush is rich because HE is lazy.

symmetrical argument?

What a master of logic.

This is basically the same BS line perpetrated by the rich since the beginning of this republic. They don't have much imagination do they? How about a new rationale?

[donhakman]

4. it depends on the definition of lazy - I think he is right

If:

Lazy: the moral, ethical and personal value of not murdering, stealing from, lieing to and cheating your fellow man to obtain a fortune of dollars withoout measure.

[Miss Authoritiva]

5. Pure Puritanism.

Bush's New England roots are showing here. Puritans viewed poverty and wealth as signs from Heaven regarding one's relative status with God (and their God was not siding with the downtrodden). This streak of Puritanism and his born-again God-speaks-directly-to-me beliefs are a particularly nasty combination.

[Lisa]

7. Welcome to DU!

Well put, Miss Authoritiva. I also suspect that Bush has convinced himself that illness is a punishment from God ... which is why he doesn't worry much about the folks who can't afford their health care or medication. He has never admitted having any problems himself, although there is ample evidence that he has some form of learning disability (like his brother Neil) and was/is an alcoholic. Admitting it would mean saying that he is imperfect and therefore not favored by the Almighty! Of course he has no scruples about dropping enough hints to get "pity votes".

[zonmoy]

9. Have you looked at the religious right recently

All they are are the most extreme aspects of the puritans without any redeeming qualities.

[rfkrocks]

6. Thanks for the post!

He hates the New Deal-calls it socialism-we are fighting the 1932 election all over again. This is so scary-he is giving americans the middle finger-vote him out please-our country can't take another 4 years of him-He couldn't shine FDR's shoes

[Jack Rabbit]

8. If people are poor because they are lazy . . .

. . . why is Bush rich?

[zonmoy]

10. because he is evil enough to be worse than the antichrist.