Quickly now, who wrote this:

According to AP, congressional leaders have reached a deal on those economic stimulus checks. And rather than being geared towards helping the economy, they’re apparently geared towards redistributing wealth (that would be our wealth) to the poor. What a surprise. Folks in the middle (i.e, those who are not rich or poor) are screwed by the Democrats (and Republicans) yet again.

Okay, I know I kind of gave it away with my clever title and all, but damn. What kind of entitled, ignorant, overreacting shit is that? Try to keep in mind, he’s burning down the house over a $300 to $600 check. In order to miss out on it, you have to gross $300 every working day**.

Here’s some more from John A.:

That means that if you make $75,000 or more a year, no check for you. Forget that fact that you live in NYC or DC or San Francisco, where prices from property to food are outrageous. No, forget that. Some guy living in a mansion in Topeka making $74,999 a year will get his little gift from the US Treasury and you, living in NYC making $75,001 out of a 300 sq ft studio apartment will get nothing. How about my friend who bought an entire house in Baltimore for $275,000 when that would get you a very small studio in DC.

I’m not saying I’d love to commute from Baltimore to DC, but you can fucking do it. Or from Arlington. Or Brentwood. Or Capitol Hill, if you’re willing to lower yourself to a rowhouse. And I’m definitely not one to micromanage the sacrifices people make in their personal economics, but I’ll happily refrain from shedding a tear over someone who’s going to get upset over the difficulty of affording life in Midtown rather than Jackson Heights, or Noe Valley rather than…well, he may have a point about San Francisco, actually.

That’s because far too often the Democrats don’t give a damn about anybody who isn’t a minority or starving to death (both valid causes to be sure, but are they the ONLY causes out there?).

Look, I don’t care if you live in a co-op made of gold brick smack dab in the geographical center of Highrent Island , there is no circumstance under which an American making $75,000 a year is worthy of the bullshit sentence above. Don’t get me wrong, people at all salary levels can struggle - bankruptcy bill, anyone? Universal health care? - but for fuck’s sake, John. “Both valid causes to be sure”? Don’t break your arm throwing that bone, okay?

The thing is, maybe there’s a discussion to be had.

And don’t think this is only about a stupid $300. It’s about health care. It’s about education. It’s about every single issue you care about. The powers that be simply aren’t in this to help people in the middle. The Republicans want to help the big pharmaceuticals and the big business hospitals, while the Democrats want to help uninsured poor people and kids. And while all of that’s nice, what are the rest of us supposed to do when our premiums hit $2000 a month and, God forbid, something catastrophic hits us?

And you know what? He might be right, but it’s really hard to tell, what with his being covered with the remains of the people he disemboweled on the way to the point. The Democrats definitely don’t give a shit about the middle class, but $600 seems like an awfully strange rock on which to make that point. As one of his commenters mentioned, you have to draw the line somewhere, and nearly 350% of the national median income*** seems like a passable place for it.

Plus, I’m not sure John “Treo” Aravosis has a shit-ton of personal economic credibility.

———————

** Assuming a five day work week, etc. etc.
*** Household income, based on the $150,000 two-person income limit for the proposed tax rebate.

full article | source | | | | | 86 reads