The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few... (page 4)

Euphemism

If we have to have a smaller economy to have fairness....fine. So be it.

Sorry, Bradley, but that's very myopic. Would you rather have two pieces of an 8-inch pie, or one piece of a 16-inch pie?

logansrun

Teenyuck,

Rich is anyone who makes more than me.

hehe...j/k, of course.

My mother works for a major US corporation -- one of the big two soft-drink companies. She has three bosses -- all millionaires. Her company recently has laid off many workers and an announcement from the CEO stated that "we have to cut back."

And cut back they did -- for lower to mid-level workers.

Meanwhile...back in their crystal palaces....the company pays for their golf outings....for them and their wives to stay at 5 hotels and go to theme parks...first class tickets on the airlines....yadda yadda yadda. THE COMPAY PAYS FOR ALL OF THIS...plus, the board of directors all voted to GIVE THEMSELVES bonuses while the rest of the company got zilch. (Interestingly when these silver-spooners have to pay for things themselves, ie, airline tickets, they tell my mom, "get the cheapest seats you can find...whatever")

Ostentatiousness. Greed. I hear it all the time.

Bradley

logansrun

Euph,

No, it's not myopic at all. Lets take your "pipe" illustration:

You've got a 16" pipe and three people. Does it make sense to give one guy 11" of it, one guy 4" and the other one only 1"?

But the economy is more complicated than pipes.

Oh, and the "cash for votes" thing MUST BE STOPPED.

Bradley

teenyuck

You still have not defined rich.

A CEO does not become the CEO because he/she is stupid. Nor does someone on a board of a company. They usually have experience. And education. They *usually* worked their way up. Whether you or I like it.

When you hear the stories of the guy at your mother's company getting something for *free*, it starts to piss you off. Go get on the board, vote them off and get a new CEO.

Or become rich.

Is rich $100,000 a year? $200,000 a year? Or more?

What if the CEO, who was earning $150,000 for the last 5 years just got the dream job and got the CEO job? He now earns $500,000 plus bonus. Is he *rich*? Should he suddenly owe you and every other *poor* person, including your mother more? Why?

joannadandy

Chomsky RAWKS!

I just got Understanding Power, which is like an anthology of his speeches, and essays. SO GOOD! But I have to paw through it slowly or I get all worked up.

I am as idealistic as anyone, I dunno--the problems just seem TOO big with corruption and greed at a corporate/government level. And after just reading Animal Farm to my class, I can't help but feel a bit Benjiminish saying "Nothing ever changes".

However, doesn't mean I don't care and support those who push forward my ideals in politics. It's just hard to cut through the crap and find the LEAST corrupt canidate. If you ask me we need more than a two party system and I don't know why everyone is so afraid of that in this country...probably because it would be too hard to play the good old boys game...

As for the whole contractors in Iraq thing, thanks for the infor SS. I think people forget that before 1991 and US sanctions, Iraq was an emerging 1st world country. (Amazing what ten years of bombing and sanctions will do to a place). They had houses and cars just like us, they went to movies, they had lots of white collar jobs, in fact a lot of them come to America to go to school...so if they are crappy contractors, it would be because our educational system failed. This idea that everyone in the Middle East wears a turban, and cases donkeys with sticks for income really infuriates me.

logansrun

Tina,

Because ostentatiousness in the sight of despair is immoral. That's why.

It's really all very simple.

B.

teenyuck

I have to disagree that Iraq was becoming a 1st world country 10 years ago. My stepfather was from Iraq....he came here in 1980....because of the regime of Saddam.....the conditions were horrific back then. He fled for his life. He carried over his hateful way towards women, but that is another story.

The country was not a Chicagoesqe place to live. I have first hand knowledge of that.

Phantom Stranger

Buddy, you need to take small hits off of Chomsky. Otherwise you start thinking that everything is a vast conspiracy, when humans really aren't organized enough to pull that off.

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few...

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