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G R E E D We're angry - we're frustrated, and yes, we're scared. How in the world did it come to this, when we have worked hard all our lives? We saved our money, did the "right thing" and now our nation is in crazy debt, we can't get jobs, we can't pay our mortgages, no one is buying our products or services. Well we have a right to be angry, but we must make sure we are angry at the root cause of the problems. Taking our anger out on the people who are trying to fix this inherited mess is just "shooting the messenger". …“The owners and directors of corporations must be made accountable in law for their actions. Owner-shareholders and top executives exercise immense power, both globally and locally, but are not responsible in law for their actions. This immunity is provided by the legal principle of limited liability. Society needs successful businesses, but today business is taking over society. It is as if an over-indulged child had taken more and more liberties until it is entirely out of control. Everyone wants the child to do well, no boundaries are set, and before you know it the family is under the thumb of a teenager gone wild. “… (emphasis added) Taken from an article by Stephanie Blankenburg and Dan Plesch, 9 May 2007 For over 20 years we have gradually become a country that supports the rich getting richer. Real income to average workers has not effectively increased since the 1970s. THIS IS THE ATTITUDE OF BIG BUSINESS IN AMERICA TODAY. BOUNDARIES MUST BE SET THAT BENEFIT THE MIDDLE CLASS, INSTEAD OF THE BUSINESS GIANTS. Our biggest corporations are now fat with cash because we bailed them out in good faith to stabilize the economy. • They took our money, saved themselves, got raises and bonuses, but did not create new jobs or even save their own employees. • Bankers did not modify their unfair mortgages; they did not make new loans. They took advantage of a trusting public and they have not been held accountable. • Both the Bush and the Obama administrations got snookered. We often say we want less government, but who then will regulate these corporations? Clearly they cannot self-regulate or we wouldn't be seeing foreclosures and job losses all over the country. Honest self-regulating would require executives to lower their own salaries before laying off the workers. Who will insist that GREED is not an acceptable American value? Who will fight for hard-working families who simply want a decent life for themselves and their children? These are not partisan political issues. Decent families of all religions, no religion, all political parties or no political party, want these things. |
| I need business; it organizes our economy making it efficient and effective. I own a business. But human beings make the economy possible. Individuals invent, produce, manufacture, buy and sell. Corporations have the rights of persons but not the responsibilities. It is the current law that the purpose of a corporation is simply to make money. They are for social responsibility and it is almost impossible to prove criminal negligence or wanton disregard. Those who run the huge corporations make the rules that fill their pockets, not ours. AND WE DON'T STOP THEM. - We continue to elect people who buy elections because we don’t control campaign finance in this country. In January 2010 the US Supreme Court voted that corporations (not human beings) could spend unlimited funds to support a political issue and thus specific candidates. Yet individuals are limited. This is just wrong. We, the voters, need to control big business by understanding what candidates are really for, before we elect them. |
| I want my food and health care safe. I want national defense. So yes, I want government run by That’s not possible because everyone is just human and I don’t want religious beliefs becoming laws anyway. But I do want elected officials who have ethics. I want them to care about others and have basic human decency. Yes, I want them to understand that we need business, that business is good. But I want them to also be strong enough to stand up against business when it’s all about greed. What kind of people are we anyway? None of us really knows who we can trust. So it seems we must do our own homework, use our intelligence to objectively educate ourselves before we vote and stop relying on the loud mouths and fear mongers. Don’t be tricked by confusing language in ads or on ballots. Check the facts yourself. Fortunately, there are now several excellent sources for fact-checking political statements: http://www.lwv-alachua.org/ http://www.factcheck.org/ http://www.politifact.com/ http://www.collinscenter.org http://www.snopes.com |
| got a long way to go as he wreaks havoc on our Great State of Florida. |