Reality Therapy for Dummies

     This, today, in response to a poster on the MSNBC website excoriating Democrats for supporting minimum wage increase , immigration amnesty, Wall Street regulation, etc. His post was as follows: "But according to the Obama Administration, the economy is on FIRE! Then why is the cost-of-living so high? Why is the demand for a minimum wage hike? Why the millions of US Citizens still unemployed? When Obama's Amnesty Immigrants flood the anemic job market, unemployed US Citizens are truly screwed!"   

       You, sir, are not malicious, simply ignorant. Starting with the last: The immigrants you hate so much are already here, already working and nothing the President has done will increase that number, but it will get them "on the books" tax wise. You apparently don't realize that being "legal" also means paying taxes. The jobs many immigrants do are jobs other Americans won't, can't or don't.  

       Case in point  - I live in Florida and I don't see many Caucasian or black skilled tilers or roofers working here. Immigrants, on the other hand, want to work and view any work as honorable. If more native borns felt that way, we'd all be better off. As for economic recovery, the dirty little secret no one wants to acknowledge is that the world  around us has changed. We no longer have the raw materials to fuel industry as we did in 1850-1950. We must change the nature of what we do to make money, to reflect that change. Americans who want to make a living via manual labor will continue to be disappointed as good jobs become more and more technical. Unfortunately, we are still burdened with young people 18-30 who never got that message in high school, and for whatever reason, are not just unemployed, but in many cases unemployable. Blame that on the President if you wish, but that doesn't make it his fault.

       The recent recession was the fault of an under-regulated financial sector who placed corporate earnings above good judgment (can you say "sub-prime mortgages are really just like cash?") and we all paid the price. I wouldn't blame that on either Bush or Obama, but the recent stated Republican goal of removing recent regulatory restrictions on Wall Street is squarely in the lap of Boehner and his gang. You don't have to like it, but cast your blame where it belongs rather than the current Far Right mantra of "Blame the black guy."

        In like manner, Congress will seriously try to undermine the Affordable Care Act (or as you hate mongers call it "Obamacare") although by any standard you can apply it has been successful, actually reducing the rate of health care cost increase while insuring tens of millions of tax paying workers who couldn't afford insurance otherwise. 

      The real problem, in my opinion, is the extremely wealthy in this country who seem to cling to the fact that with enough retrograde legislation, the economy can once again be as it was in 1950, when we led the world in tech and heavy industry  (steel, auto production, etc) and produced sufficient basic raw materials domestically to sustain that. Those days are gone forever, but the Kochs, etc live in denial, and why not? They are rich and invested internationally to stay that way. In like fashion, the Walton wastrels, whose patriarch, Sam, based his business on "Made in America" products, have forced US manufacturers too numerous to mention, to shift offshore for cheaper labor, offering "cheap and Chinese" to keep market share. We hear far rightists slaving themselves to big businesses who trumpet their patriotism, while undercutting working families. The sad thing is that ignoramuses like you believe them.

      Finally, as regards your statement whining about the cost of living, also, apparently in your estimation higher under the current administration, let's just let the facts (you know data - real stuff?)  speak for themselves:  

      Under the Bush administration, the CPI (the measure of the increase in cost of living) rose by a factor of 1.27 (27%) . During the Obama years to this November, the increase has been 1.11 (11%) half that figure. Again, you sir, are simply ignorant. Meanwhile, due almost exclusively to Republican resistance in the House, the minimum wage, adjusted for inflation (the only real way to view it) has increased  by only 1/2 of 1% since 1993. So - Cost of living up by 34% over 14 years, real value of minimum wage up just .5%  - do the math (if you can). 

     In point of fact, adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage in 1968 was equivalent to $10.34 in 2013 dollars. This means that, relative to the cost of living, the minimum wage has  decreased about 30% in buying power compared to 1968!  Just to keep pace with the cost of living, federal minimum wage should be $10.60 per hour. Why is the cost of living so high? It isn't really; our inflation rate is the envy of the world, but the amount people can earn working a full forty hour week at a minimum wage job, is almost stagnant. 

     Does anyone believe that any of the fortune 500 CEOs has seen any decrease in their buying power? Didn't think so. Thanks Republicans!