11.18.10
More Alms for the Rich
Alan Grayson, outgoing but still making points:
I’m appalled by our growing wealth gaps because in my travels I see what happens in dysfunctional countries where the rich just don’t care about those below the decks. The result is nations without a social fabric or sense of national unity. Huge concentrations of wealth corrode the soul of any nation.
And then I see members of Congress in my own country who argue that it would be financially reckless to extend unemployment benefits during a terrible recession, yet they insist on granting $370,000 tax breaks to the richest Americans. I don’t know if that makes us a banana republic or a hedge fund republic, but it’s not healthy in any republic.
Saw it during the taking of the census. In review, all here.
So the GOP, and the usual Blue Dog fake Republicans, stopped extension of unemployment benefits, just in time for the holiday season. Of course, it’s well known they detest the last two thirds of A Christmas Carol.
The Pennsylvania fake Republican heevahavas — Jason Altmire, Chris Carney, and Tim Holden (of DD’s Schuylkill County) voted against their middle class constituents. Unemployment remains high in their regions, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. For example, the districts of Holden and Carney are in purple, the second highest level on the map.