Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss

I haven’t been posting here regularly, mostly because it seems like an exercise in futility. Obama has proven himself to be a Bush-lite clone whose administration has bent over backwards to line the pockets of the bankers and corporations. I see little evidence that the man has done anything but continue the Republicans’ agenda of screwing the American people by presiding over the biggest wealth transfer in the history of the republic. When I think of all of that taxpayer money going to Wall Street and then hear that Obama is planning to tax employer provided health benefits, do away with the mortgage exemption and continue the war in Afghanistan without an end strategy, I have to draw the conclusion that Ralph Nader came to years ago: there is no fundamental difference between the Republican and Democratic parties.

The situation with the government’s bail-out of General Motors is a great example. I can’t say it better than some letter-writers to the Times today whose thoughts are excerpted below:


"I simply don't understand why our government chose to back G.M. Wasn't the rationale behind the handouts to save millions of jobs and local economies? Taxpayers have invested 50 billion dollars into this company only to watch hundreds of thousands of jobs being slashed with the transition to the "new G.M." Left behind are the little guys.”

“Most offensive was GM's chief attorney's claim that the Union members left behind opposed the sale because they were "envious" of the UAW workers, and that such workers had naively and delusionally imagined a "conspiracy" between GM and the government. As someone from a working-class background who belongs to a union, and whose family members have benefited from union membership, I find it appalling that President Obama would and his administration would sanction such contemptuous, class-ridden, smears against working Americans. These people lost their health benefits because of you, Barack. They were not a jealous, disgruntled paranoid mob, but rather workers who now face retirement without their union benefits. Shame.”

“Odd that corporate socialism is desirable(GM, AIG, Chrysler, Citi) but public socialism such as health care for all causes our president and congress to have second thoughts.
I guess they're just dancing with the ones that brought 'em.”

Not odd my friend, just business as usual in Washington.