1) How bad will the economy have to get?

[midlife_mo_Jo]

and

2) How quickly will that have to happen?

for the average voter to realize what the Republicans have done to this country?

When will people finally realize that their own households, their own children, their own friends and family are more at risk in this economy than they are from terrorists? That we are going broke paying for an unjust war? That the middle class is shrinking rapidly as Bush gives more tax breaks to the wealthy?

What is it going to take? I'm dreading the opening of the stock market tomorrow.

The sinking economy should scare the crap out of people.

(Not to mention the environment, civil rights, healthcare....)

[mdmc]

1. It will have to get so bad that the sheeple see corporations own all

No one will give the working class a real deal. It will have to get mad bad before the sheeple AWAKE.

[mdmc]

66. kick

[maddiejoan]

2. one word

catfood

[Xipe Totec]

6. Cat

because gas is too expensive to go to the store for catfood.

[maddiejoan]

11. I live in Brooklyn

no need for gas money to buy MY catfood.


mmMMMMmmMMMMM

Tender Vittles.

[Xipe Totec]

40. That's fine, if your on the Atkins diet

But if you want veggies, Purina Dog Chow is the better bet.

:9

[girl gone mad]

43. Except for the trucks that deliver to the stores.

I'm pretty sure they pass those high fuel costs on to consumers.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

15. And then rats - when the cats run out

[earth mom]

13. Let them shop at Goodwill, Let them eat cat food...

this was posted on another thread the other day.

The powers that be don't give a damn how bad it could get for the majority of us.

Good thing many of us already shop Goodwill and know how to stretch a dollar till it screams.

But the cat food....I hope I will NEVER EVER have to sink that low. :(

[maddiejoan]

17. I'm already at Spam and Ramen Noodles

it's not a huge jump.

[femrap]

28. Shop at Aldi....

and get yourself some good recipes for the po'. Three words.....BEANS AND RICE.

nutritious and tasty! Spam??? That is some expensive cow eyelids!

[TalkingDog]

48. Eyelids? You keep telling yourself that if it helps keep it down.

Lips and Assholes is what we always figured.

Spam Man sez: YES!




My Favorite Master Artist: Karen Parker GhostWoman Studios

[femrap]

58. and all of the mouse droppings

that is swept up from the floor. Yummy. I remember as a child eating spam sandwiches that were packed for my school lunch...with mustard!

I guess we were the first generation that had experienced highly processed foods....the next generations are really getting that experience.

[earth mom]

62. Sorry to hear that...hope things get better for you soon. We're all in this together.

:grouphug:

[Jed Dilligan]

36. Dogfood is cheaper and closer to palatable for humans. nt

[femrap]

27. What my cat demands is more expensive than

my food....so I mix chicken or tuna or hamburger with his food. And his coat looks great. He won't eat anything but Fancy Feast which I only buy when on sale....

[lonestarnot]

50. You need a Costco membership.

[femrap]

57. I had one.

But the amounts were so big...and mine didn't carry Fancy Feast. And there is no way I can carry a 50 lb. bag of dry food....or have the space to store it.

[Xipe Totec]

3. Don't you mean how bad did the economy have to get?

'cause I'm thinking people get it now...

[tekisui]

5. They do. They get it with each passing paycheck buying less for them.

[midlife_mo_Jo]

9. There are still plenty of people with jobs

The prices of fuel and food are going up, but I really don't think a lot of folks "get it," yet.

My area of the country is doing pretty well, for instance. What is it going to take? When will these folks realize the cumulative effect of the debt this country owes is going to cripple their children's futures?

[femrap]

31. They're gonna see it very, very soon...

This may in fact be the one thing that will wake up the Sheeple and realize they have been fucked. Soon their pensions will be gone.

There is $450 TRILLION worth of Default Derivatives out there yet.

Many of the Wealthy Elite have been wanting their taxes to go UP...why? Because they know that a large population of poor, with very little middle, results in great INSTABILITY. But some of the assholes had to push their Greed to the ultimate limits.

[Xipe Totec]

42. I have a job...

Not the same job I had a year ago, but a job none the less.

Less money, less benefits, longer commute, but it's better than staying at home waiting for the perfect job.

Costs are still rising, so less money has to stretch further.

Point is, just because people have jobs doesn't mean they aren't pissed.

I know I am.

[Skittles]

46. you know it, Xipe

I've had to tell several friends to stop trying to get what they had before because right now it ain't happening and it may NEVER happen. Also, those of us still hanging on to good jobs - well, there's no security anymore - I have no illusions that "it can't happen to me".

[Xipe Totec]

65. I worry about my children

When all is said and done, I'm still better off than my father was.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=384475&mesg_id=384523

But I worry that my children won't be better of than I am. God knows I haven't given them much of a bar, but there it is.

[tblue37]

22. Then why are there still people, even Democrats here on this board,

who would rather let another Republican win than give a vote to Hillary? I prefer Edwards, and I think Hillary is too corporate friendly and also too dragged down by her negatives, to win in the general election. I also think Obama is too corporate friendly, and the polls suggest McCain can beat him (but that McCain would not beat Edwards). Nevertheless, if Hillary or Obama is the candidate, I will vote for either one in a heartbeat.

The fact that some people can't see the importance of a Dem victory means it hasn't gotten bad enough yet. Even DLC Dems are better than Republicans, and we can work hard to clean our party up from the inside once we have a significant Dem majority in both houses of Congress and a Dem president to protect the Supreme Court and federal bench. Once we are relatively "safe" from the Republicans, we can start offering true progressives in primary races to challenge corporatist Democrats.

[MadHound]

37. Then why are there still people

Who continue to buy into this two party sock puppet play that is US politics? Why are there many, many people, a lot of them quite intelligent, who don't see this game for what it is, a diversion that is played out for the people in order to keep their attention on the bright shiny object while corporations bipartisanly steal our country blind?

What sort of Democrat eviscerates our manufacturing sector, shreds our social safety net, and smashes the Glas-Steagle act, thus setting our country up for this fall? What kind of Democrat or Republican push not one, not two, but three economic bubbles through the heart of our economy, which is now on the verge of collapsing entirely because of those actions? That would be corporately controlled people, and if you don't think that corporations control both parties in this country, and the candidates we elect, then really, all you have to do is look at the donor rolls and the corresponding roll call votes.

Your quaint notion that there's going to be a Dem on a white horse that will save us from the madness is nothing but fantasy. The only Dem in the race who would actually take on Corporate America, Dennis Kucinich, has been shunted to the sidelines both by the corporate media, and the corporate controlled leaders of the Democratic party.

People around here wonder why 'Pugs vote against their best interest time and again, well one has to wonder the same about Dems. Time and again we've voted for corporately controlled candidates, only to wonder why our standard of living continues to plummet, our economy goes in the toilet, and we're left in the middle of a war zone, wondering why.

It is because we are operating under the two party/same corporate master system of government, and the sooner America wakes up and realizes that, and then does something about it, the better off we'll be. But sadly it looks like most Dems will continue to play the same political games as the 'Pugs, more intent on bashing the shit out each other than the cliff edge that is quickly yawning before us. Meanwhile, as Dems and 'Pugs beat each other, the corporate masters continue to make the big bucks stealing this country blind and laughing all the way at how effective their little political mummer's play is.

So if you want to continue to be part of the problem, keep playing that political game. Otherwise I suggest that you wake the fuck up and look around you. Put aside the divide and conquer politics that we're now playing and work instead on taking back our country from the corporations. Publicly financed elections would go a long way to helping that cause, as would many other things. All you have to do is stop playing the game and start engaging in reality.

[jus_the_facts]

61. Why inDEED....

....VERY well put! :applause:

[Xipe Totec]

41. Don't judge by what you read on DU

During the primary season there's a lot of overheated rhetoric about candidate x, y, or z.

Most of the people who will vote on the November election, and I mean an overwhelming majority, have never even heard of DU.

But they are tired, pissed, and worried about the future.


And they want real change.


:hi:

[ProudDad]

64. How bad will the "economy" have to get

before you realize that under the current system the Dems and pukes are THE SAME when it comes to supporting, aiding and abetting the corporate capitalist masters who are fucking you over!!!???

[tekisui]

4. 1) It is already there. Average voter is realizing it as they budget their groceries.

2)It happened just in time.

If any good can come of this mess, it is that it caught up to the Repukes before they were able to pass it of to another administration. They will try, but it will be obvious what their policies have reaped before November.

[fascisthunter]

7. Funny... It's all that Matters

personal wealth. Until that is changed nothing gets done. The not so funny truth is that the majority already know it, yet a small greedy minority are the ones holding us all back.

[Hydra]

25. The majority may know it

but they can't make that crucial step and ignite the torches.

This is what the fascists are watching- has the "meak and weak" training they developed for us really work, or do we have a spark still buried under all that sludge they piled on us?

That is the ultimate question- are the people more afraid to act or are they more afraid to starve to death?

[fascisthunter]

26. Empower Each Other

with knowledge and with the goal for real change. Sounds radical doesn't it? :evilgrin:

[Hydra]

33. It's what I practice

but it's also why I know we're in big trouble. My words only take root in a select few, and they were already wondering how they were getting screwed so badly.

Most people would rather live in the illusion that we are living in a free society, ruled by people we elected and who have our best interests at heart.

Thomas Jefferson said that the tree of liberty had to be watered with the blood of the free and the blood of oppressors. That tree is looking pretty thirsty, if you ask me.

[Virginia Dare]

8. 1)When they realize they can no longer afford

to stop and pick up their Starbucks every morning, or go to the movies or to Outback a couple of times a month.

2) Then they realize they have to cut back on their grocery budget, cancel the cable service and turn the thermostat back just to make ends meet, that's about the time they'll realize it.

I read recently that really the only thing that has sustained us for the last 15 years or so is that the number of dual income families has risen steadily, as have real estate values.

Now, there isn't anybody to send out to the job market anymore, and the jobs aren't there for them anyway. As we all know, the real estate values are sinking like a rock at a time when a large number of people have pulled all the equity out of their homes. This on top of the staggering amount of consumer debt, is a very toxic economic environment.

[morningglory]

10. I work with 3 people: one 40-ish, one 35, one age 27. I am 61.

They were all on Blood pressure,cholesterol, and diabetes meds. dBig scene checking their blood sugar several times a day and calling out the numbers between discussions of American Idol. One morning I was eating my whole grain cereal at my desk after running late getting to work. They wanted to know what I was eating with the "ewwww" expression on their faces. I said whole grain cereal with yogurt. "Supposed to lower your Cholesterol, and blood pressure" I said. One of them said "Isn't that just like putting a bandaid on the problem?" TV has made Americans dumb as hell. Of course I live in a red area.

[Glenda]

12. don't they realize they're the ones

with the bandaids?

27 is pretty young for that

[MissB]

23. That is hilarious.

Sad, but funny. You'll outlive them by decades.

[femrap]

32. I worked with a young mother in her mid-twenties....

she said that she and her husband were totally flipping out because their child was old enough to eat real food and they had absolutely no idea what or how to cook for him. They live on frozen pizzas. She was severely overweight with horrible acne. I was flabbergasted. I told her to go to the library and get a book or two.

Maybe there should be a license to become a parent?

[TalkingDog]

49. Been advocating for that for 30 years or so.

Liscenses...that is.


My Favorite Master Artist: Karen Parker GhostWoman Studios

[femrap]

59. 'they' don't offer licensing

because many would decide parenthood is not for them...

[dbt]

14. It will have to show up on Terrorvision first.

Most of Murka believes "If it's important, it will be on the news."

:argh:

[lumberjack_jeff]

16. It won't happen.

Before it gets to that point, another terror attack will occur.

It is important that we stay afraid of the things that are out of our control so that the powers that be can continue misadministering the things that pose a bigger risk and are within our control.

[midlife_mo_Jo]

19. UGH I think you have the answer.

DING DING DING.


Shit!

[Hydra]

35. You said it

I'm going to watch with no little sardonic amusement as the sheep are left terrified of the "foreign enemy" they are told to fear after the next 9/11, as they never guess that they are the biggest dupes ever.

[Johonny]

18. Boy you'd think

That 8 years under Clinton compared to the first 4 under Bush would have done it. But far too many seemed willing to convince themselves what the GOP were telling them were true instead of what they were seeing with their own lies.

[Hydra]

38. Stolen election

5 million+ votes.

Still I know a few of the idiots you speak of. I take pleasure knowing that when Bushco doesn't need them anymore, they will be the first people on the chopping block.

[Zynx]

20. When they can't pay the interest payments on their 48" HDTV and they

can't watch their football. That's when they'll get pissed.

[sarcasmo]

24. Don't forget their Nascar.

[alterfurz]

29. exactly right

like a friend of mine always says: as long as there's still cheap crap at Wal-Mart, cheeseburgers at McDonald's, beer in the bars, and sports on TV, most of the American public won't really care what their government does. Too bad it's taking an economic collapse to finally get everyone's attention!

[kywildcat]

21. My stepmother is about to lose her retail job

-she has had the same position for over 25 years, with the same store. The company has filed bankruptcy and is due in court for the final time. Her pension is iffy/ They have my dad's SS. no other income. They are very worried. But she still doesn't make the connection. If I try to show her the connection between shrub and the economy-she counters with Clinton and blowjobs. She will not hear anything negative about this administration. Nothing. She has the unwavering belief that this is all because of a blow job.

-I try not to discuss politics with her-it's like 2 bald men fighting over a comb.

[mnhtnbb]

34. Condolences to your stepmom. Some people have to experience pain

before they understand the concept of how it happened.

[CANDO]

30. They won't know it's CONservative economics.

You think the Corporate MSM will let them in on that secret? The demand side economics message doesn't have a voice in the media beyond Thom Hartmann.

[fascisthunter]

45. We Will Remind Them It Is

Most people know it is, because the media sold as so for the last several years. It's gonna be really hard for them to spin this one away.

I also hear what you are saying, but I think conservative/bush/the war/and today's economy is etched into every American's head due to that 24-7 brainwashing from the MSM.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

39. When they start singing "Brother, Can you Spare a Dime".

[DIKB]

44. Sad to say, I'm looking forward to it.

I'm willing to go through some tough economic times. We lived in poverty my entire childhood, my grandfather raised chickens (Didn't have a chicken-house, raised for personal use)

If it takes the economy breaking it's spine for the public to realize how morally and intellectually bankrupt the repukes are (hopefully sounding their death-knell for a couple generations), Then it's WORTH IT!

[leftofthedial]

47. the average voter blames both parties

and the corporate media allows repukes to incessantly try to spread the blame

[OneBlueSky]

53. sorry, but both parties ARE responsible . . .

BushCo wouldn't be nearly as "successful" without the enabling Democratic Congress . . .

to cite just the most obvious example, they continue to give the administration hundreds of billions of dollars to fund an illegal war and occupation in Iraq . . . that's all money that could and should be devoted to rebuilding our infrastructure and our manufacturing base, to developing alternative energy, to restoring the environment, to ending poverty, and to a hundred other things far more important than killing people in order to control their oil . . .

there are no innocents in Washington, DC . . .

[leftofthedial]

56. bingo

and the congressional "democrats" (with a scant handful of exceptions) who t4rned their mandate for change into a festival of foot-dragging alibis and enabling RICHLY deserve their share of blame.

Still, taken over a generational time span, it is repuke policies that have us in the toilet, circling the drain.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

51. We'll have to live communally and grow our own food.

Don't know what it would take to get people on the streets.

[NuttyFluffers]

52. it would require spontaneous combustion of testicles and nipples to change sheeple

they'd have to be watching the TV and FWOOSH their gonads burst into flames with a loud booming 'Voice of God' from above screaming at them "Dumbass! Get up and do something! The Republicans can now light your ticklish bits on fire from afar! Act now before it's too late!"

beyond that, i cannot imagine what could wake up some of the most oblivious people in this country. besides, it's a rather pleasing visual image.

[KillCapitalism]

54. Probably not until extreme things happen.

Like seeing their neighbors having to relocate under an overpass, etc.

Seeing all the threads about the markets has me thinking the shit is gonna really hit the fan starting tomorrow. Somehow I'm not too worried b/c I don't have a whole lot to lose, and I know how to get by on very little.

[silvershadow]

55. I can't help but wonder if this is why Pelosi said

impeachment is off the table...Wondering if the dems knew this house of cards would fall and they wanted to make sure it didn't happen on their watch. Any thoughts?

[Fire Walk With Me]

60. Bush's devout 26% will still find a way to blame the Clenis.

[ProudDad]

63. Please don't believe that it's just the republicans

The USAmerikan capitalist economic travesty is the property of BOTH right-wings of the Big Business Party.

Cases in point; it was CLINTON who signed NAFTA, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and who shredded the safety net put in place to save capitalism in the 1930s.

It would be clinton II, Obama or Edwards who would preside over more of the same shit (different container).

The corrupt, cancerous, corporate-capitalist economic system is a myth -- it's based on the premise that the Earth holds infinite resources and that "growth" is limitless. It is based on the warped "ethic" that profit is always good and therefore the pursuit of profit is by definition a social good.

It has within it the seeds of its own destruction and we are witnessing the beginning of the end of that obscenity.

Thank goodness!