something the ultra-rich always seem to forget:

[unblock]

poor people (these days, to the ultra-rich, that seems to mean anyone on the lower 99.5%) are not, as a class, lazy and unproductive. it takes a lot of work just to survive.

but more important to their own, myopic, self-serving interests, is that these poor people FEED YOU.

that's right, ultra-rich people, listen up, you koch-heads and scions of wal-mart --

your money ultimately comes from poor people shopping at wal-mart, and consuming the many goods koch industries and so on push on the public.

ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of the salaries, bonuses, capital gains, and profits of these busineses ultimately come from consumers, and the vast majority of those consumers are right here in america.



if you want to produce delicious grains, fruits and vegetables, you must tend to it. you must provide life-sustaining nutrients and protection from disease. treat it well and in return you will reap many rewards. neglect it and it will wither and die and leave you with nothing.



so when it comes to kick starting the economy, or government programs to help the poor, remember who actually butters your bread. even a small investment in the poor would be the best investment you can possibly make at this time. not because it's some bleeding-heart liberal cause, don't worry your selfish dark soul about that. but simply because the economy, and YOUR OWN PROFITS depend on a large population of poor people who have enough money to spend on YOUR PRODUCTS.

so go ahead and remain as selfish as always. you can still come to the right conclusion, even if for the wrong reasons -- helping the poor ultimately helps you. remember, a rising tide lifts all boats -- even yachts.

[el_bryanto]

1. Well i suspect that many of them, particularly the Kochs, think that they are working to help

the working class, along with all Americans. They think that if the tide is going to rise, we need deregulation, lower taxes, an end to government services, and the like. Getting Government out of the way. Now it's kind of idiotic that they think this; the history of deregulation shows again and again that businesses given a free head will do terribly destructive things. But they do think it.

Bryant

[aquart]

2. The free market regulates by death.

There is no occasion on which that is a good thing.

[Johonny]

8. I agree

They believe only the lazy and stupid will fail in their world. The hard working and smart will rise and create new jobs and new wealth. They see themselves as a living example of why their theory works. They simply don't get that in the world they are creating most of the hard working and smart will fail and when the whole system fails their won't be anyone on the bottom to drive the economy anymore.

[valerief]

3. They know that. They don't care that we're human. nt

[unblock]

5. my point is that they don't need to care about the humanity of it. it's still in their interests.

their profits will be greater if poor people can afford to buy more of their wares.



where it gets to be a challenge is when they come back and say there are enough consumers in india and china to keep them insanely wealthy, so what do they care about the potential consumers here? but the first step is to get them to see that THEY need consumers able to survive enough to be able to continue to -- consume.

[valerief]

10. I've known people who throw money away in video slot machines.

It's in their best interest to invest that money differently. But they want a big win now. Same with the elite. They want it NOW.

[immoderate]

4. But if we slaughter the golden goose, we can have ALL the eggs now.

:(

--imm

[unblock]

6. yeah, that's pretty much sums up their thinking.

[lsewpershad]

7. Well said

[theaocp]

9. Tyler Durden had a few choice words about this:

"Look, the people you are after are the people you depend on. We cook your meals, we haul your trash, we connect your calls, we drive your ambulances. We guard you while you sleep. Do not... fuck with us."

'Nuff said.

[valerief]

11. Doesn't seem to be hurting them one bit. People still sacrifice their lives

in their wars. People still do their bidding and with every kick thank them louder.

[unblock]

13. well THAT's a different question -- eventually the poor become desparate and violent.

but long before it gets to the point of storming the castle, the poor are still of greater value to the rich when kept healthy and able to consume.

[wiggs]

12. We should be making decisions based on what's best for the 7th generation down from

us....per the wisdom of some Native American groups, IIRC. What a difference that would make!

[unblock]

14. yeah, contrast that with reports on quarterly profits.

[Rex]

15. They make sure everyone know how little of a shit they give.

The uber-rich are a cancer in America. They might have been beneficial to society at one time - but today they are parasitic in nature and need to be removed from wealth.

[Cleita]

16. They never seem to get that.

If people as a whole are doing well, they also will do better because business will be better with people buying stuff.

[alfredo]

17. The Oak and the Reed, By Jean de La Fontaine Transla

The oak one day says to the reed:
—You have a good right to blame the nature of things:
A wren for you is a heavy thing to bear.
The slightest wind which is likely
To wrinkle the face of the water
Compels you to bow your head—
While my brow, like Mount Caucasus,
Not satisfied with catching the rays of the sun,
Resists the effort of the tempest.
All for you is north wind, all seems to me soft breeze.
Still, if you had been born in the protection of the foliage
The surrounding of which I cover,
I would defend you from the storm.
But you come to be most often
On the wet edges of the kingdoms of the wind.
Nature seems to me quite unjust to you.
—Your compassion, answered the shrub,
Arises from a kind nature; but leave off this care.
The winds are less fearful to me than to you.
I bend and do not break. You have until now
Against their frightening blows
Stood up without bending your back;
But look out for what can be. —As the reed said these words,
From the edge of the horizon furiously comes to them
The most terrible of the progeny
Which the North has till then contained within it.
The tree holds up well; the reed bends.
The wind doubles its trying;
And does so well that it uproots
That, the head of which was neighbor to the sky,
And the feet of which touched the empire of the dead.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


To the landed gentry:

Bend or break.

There are many more of us and we are armed to the teeth. Those you pay to protect you come from our ranks. Sleep soundly mother fuckers.

[elias7]

18. I don't think they forget this at all

They know we're not really going to do anything about it Give the masses just enough so there is no revolt. Take the fight out of them with a hard life. Utilize their labor and make them buy your stuff. They don't forget who butters their bread. They set conditions so that the cycle perpetuates itself, as it has throughout history.

As long as we are all temporarily embarrassed millionaires (Steinbeck)' the mythical American dream is alive in the form of lottery tickets, the NBA draft and American Idol. I think they're playing us pretty good. "What happened to Kansas" should be retitled "What happened to the US".