What Happened To The Good Ol' American Pie (Chart)?

What country do you live in? America is a REPUBLIC not a democracy. Its clear you have no idea what America is and how it was founded. Go read a history book or maybe try the US Constitution!

We are a democratic Republic. The key word there is “democratic.” Also, Mr Language Nazi, I would suggest re-reading the caption – it CLEARLY states “This is not what Democracy looks like” and NOT “This is not what A Democracy looks like.” Being as we live in a DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC we do have DEMOCRACY here and this is NOT what DEMOCRACY looks like. Reading may serve you better than the captioner of this picture. Perhaps even reading some of the Founding Fathers’ opinions on the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of too few – and how the abhorred the idea. It’s clear YOU are the one who lacks historical knowledge – the Founders wanted no part in being beholden to the rich who ruled through money. They wanted the PEOPLE to have a say in how they were governed and they wanted the people to be able to choose their government WITHOUT the undue influence of the ultra-wealthy.

lol…….your ignorant arrogance is apparent. Mr Language Nazi? That’s a new one. Which Founding Father are you speaking of that would stand for wealth distribution?nnAmerica was built on ingenuity not wealth distribution you moron. Go look up the definition of Democracy big mouth instead of spouting your insecurities by shouting.nnI’ll bet you’re on the government teet aren’t you? nnOur Founding Father’s never believe in wealth distribution. You are just another pathetic liberal looking for more entitlements you don’t deserve. nnHow long have you been on welfare?

I am wondering how you got this information from the Founding Fathers? Skype? Texting? I don’t think manipulation of resources and truth is what they had in mind either. They left a monarchy.

Classy!

I’m sorry you are unable to read a history book.nn

That’s better.

This was all part of the plan of neoliberal economics. The market is GOD. There is no questioning it. The problem is, we haven’t been able to see the man behind the curtain until Scott Walker exposed the Koch brothers. For a chilling article, written in 1999, see Noam Chomsky and the Struggle Against Neoliberalism. Twilight Zone. Do do do do, do do do do.

So where do you stand?

It appears that neoliberal economics has been a policy failure, at least as far as the American middle class goes. Poverty up, wages down. People are struggling everywhere. 100,000 homeless veterans and the Rs want to cut 10,000 vouchers for housing for them. Cutting food for pregnant women and children but cutting birth control funding. Cutting NPR so people don’t know what’s going on. The beast is starving. Neoliberalism is here. The Rs are not going to give everyone jobs once they obliterate the safety net and get their tax cuts because that’s not in the plan. They’re not even saying they’re going to do that. The message is “do with less”. I see the US going the way of Chile. We have not been subjected to a brutal government yet, but the writing is on the wall. When we torture other people-even our own soldiers-and kill throughout the world, why would the American people be exempt? We are just ants to the elites. An alternative would be sustainability, but that would require an educated populace.

I believe we have some similarities but I’m conservative by nature. I believe in free markets but the free markets are heavily manipulated by the central bankers at this time in history.nnI do not agree about the NPR since they are publicly funded which is government controlled, so I really don’t think people will ever know what’s going on based off what the NPR broadcasts. The Internet is a greater source of objective news which Obama and his cohorts want to control so you know less.nnTax cuts frees up capital to invest in business growth. Its been long proven that tax cuts create more tax revenue and tax increases decrease tax revenues. Government does not and has never created anything. Bigger government means less freedoms…period.

I don’t like spending 715,000 billion for defense, mostly to defense contractors-not soldiers? As a result of the wars, we all pay high amounts of tribute to the oil companies. Do you approve of companies like Walmart getting tax breaks for their buildings (corporate welfare) (small businesses can’t compete with this and are driven out of business) Plus they pay poorly and are being sued for sex discrimination. 38,000 farms out of business under NAFTA. I think that free trade should be fair trade. The way it is now, the dice are loaded in favor of the big corporations, and the multilaterals who don’t account to anybody. On top of that, our infant mortality rate is very high-48 countries are ahead of us by some studies-even Cuba and Hungary. Despite that, the Rs are cutting food for pregnant women and children. In terms of government spending, I’d rather pay a social worker or a teacher and give food to a child than a defense contractor. It’s been said by many that if Wall St didn’t have 26 year olds playing monopoly with our money, this “crisis” would not have occurred. Jobs would not have been lost, and revenues would be better for the states. I believe that we need to change our priorities. I truly see chaos in the country the way we are going, mostly because the electorate is so misinformed and neither party represents the interests of the people.

I agree- it’s like certain groups are so amped up on energy drinks they can’t think clearly anymore….it’s pathetic to watch, listen to, and read.

To those trolling this site and knocking the article I am glad you are here. I am truly amazed by people like you. Your not bothered that less than 1% of our nation will determine not only how you live and die but also how your children will live. Are you proud that you keep these people in power? Do you believe you will someday join them? What is it that makes someone like being used? I mean I see injustice and I want to stop it. So having trolls here who sneer at the message and snarl at the messenger is an opportunity to learn. To learn why some people kiss the hand that keeps them down.

Listen Up! The founding fathers designed the government with 3 separate branches to avoid tyranny: Judicial, legislative, and executive. They saw this “Separation of Powers” as critical to democracy. Now, what we have is corporate control over all 3 branches. No, they didn’t want to re-distribute wealth, but they did not want any one group to have control over the whole country, which is what we have now. (Elites in charge=tyranny) The people, led by the unions, are the only hope of saving us from the most terrible fate imaginable-the end of democracy. That’s why ordinary people are taking the the streets for the first time in 40 years. The writing is on the wall for a brutal government to take hold.

Is this any different than the last fifty years. Show me. Many of these 1% made their own fortunes and did not inherit it like an aristocracy, nor did they steal with power as in many Third World Countries. Many also did so before they were 30 – such are the possibilities in America.

I do agree.

Keep it up Moveon, one of these days you’ll have a Democrat in the White House and control of Congress and all your dreams will come true. Oh wait….why are you still around?

I’d love to see a video illustrating this. A mom announces to a party of 100 people, “Okay, everybody! I baked an apple pie!” The first person takes 43% of it, the next 4 carve slices of about 7% apiece, et cetera, until in the end the lady’s trying to use increasingly sophisticated equipment to cut molecule-thin slices for the other 80.

Glen Beck, you said? Oh, dear. Now I see the problem.

Your greed & ignorance is astonishing. You think the roads build and fix themselves huh? I bet if you hoard enough money you can hire your own private road builder to maintain just the infrastructure you travel…..

Glen Beck is a dickhead

I agree, and America will end up just like Mexico. The rich pigs will be kidnapped by the desperate criminals and end up with their head in a bag. Cool huh?

Well I guess they were lucky to get that molecule-thin slice since they did nothing to make the pie in the first place.

And you are an ignorant moron that cannot think for himself.

And lazy arses like you will be the first in line to get “your share” huh?

And I’m with you brother!

I agree with you V100. The separation of powers was designed to do just that: No one of the three branches would have complete power. Unfortunately, the unscrupulous supreme court justices (you know the 5) and the RWNJs are trying to destroy that. We are a democratic republic. We have also been a mixed economy, never a true capitalistic economy/society. To alan levy, if the best you can do is cite wikipedia, you have my condolences

How much poorer will we be after Mr. Obama starts a war in Libya?

Who is keeping you down from achieving your goal in life-rich people? Give me an example of what has happened to keep you from this. There are many types of unions out there. What I always hear about are the wages for teachers and police officer . What the American people don’t hear about are the construction unions and their wages. An operator in my state makes $45.00 per hour and $16.50 more for fringe. Not bad for a person with a GED. The owner of the construction company that hires this guy pays the $16.50-not the worker. These high wages are putting union construction companies out of work. The union workers-not everyone-care more for the union then their employer. The problem with this mind set, is without the union construction companies-there are no jobs. Did you know your so called peaceful union people in construction, harass, destroy equipment and intimidate non-union people. They have inflatable rats and stand outside job sites screaming at non-union people-calling them rats for being non-union. They have a rat mobile they park outside job sites. If these are the people you want to “save us”, were in real trouble. The American people would be shocked that this goes on with the unions. You left wingers think that these are the ordinary people. There thugs with left wing money. Don’t preach to us about the hard working union worker. Every owner of a company that I know, works double the amount of hours his employees do. The union workers think their entitled to every job so they can feed their familys and pay their bills-but the non-union people can starve. Hypocrites. I would love to hear from a union construction worker.

How much poorer will we be when Mr. Obama starts a war in Libya?

Large inflatable rats? Where can I get one? Just kidding. That’s awful. Nothing against rich people. I just don’t want the deck rigged against me by corporations that are accountable to no one. The government is supposed to be run by people. Interesting you brought up construction unions. My husband was a union mason once. There hasn’t been any work for years in the union, and the pay is not good when you do get the work. $25 an hour to risk your life. He then went into business for himself for 15 years until NAFTA and then the recession. Now he drives a bus for half what he used to make, and I never see him.

Since 20 percent of the people in an organization are usually doing 80-90 percent of the work- I’d say this pie chart has it about right.

Alan, you’re hopeless. Please go away.

Here’s another idea- since everyone is eating pie, I take it no one is starving. The guy with 43% takes his pie- cuts it up into smaller pieces and then sells them on the street for a price someone is willing to pay (maybe Michael ‘give me’ Moore wants to buy the pie). He then takes this money- goes to the grocery store and buys enough ingredients to bake more pies. He returns home to feed the mouths of liberals who were busy complaining about how small “their” slice of the pie was.nOur nation’s only hope is for mom to find the 1 capitalist in 100 at the party.

And don’t forget Chairman Mao’s Great Leap Forward from 1958-1962 that killed 45 million people…this line of thinking has such a great track record!

“It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages. Nobody but a beggar chooses to depend chiefly upon the benevolence of his fellow- citizens.”nAny idea when this was written?

I’m listening! Wait….what? Our founding fathers did not want any one group to have control over the whole country…..but as long as that one group is the union…..hmmmm.nYou might want to rethink that bit of logic my friend.

Unions are not what got us into this mess. The “Livinginaworldfullofidiots” did. Unions only make up 7% of the work force. Neoliberal policies took care of that. The US motto is now:. Why bother debating? You and you ilk already got your way and now we have endless wars, a declining middle class, rising poverty, and a high infant death rate. This is what you are leaving to your kids: a non-thinking, non-caring, greedy “machine” with no conscience in charge of the government, the media, and the population. You don’t even have to waste your time going onto a MoveOn website. You can just sit and do whatever it is you do and feel good about yourself because you are clearly winning the battle. (You are not winning the argument for a sane, just and peaceful world, however, which is what most sane people want.)You are picking at the scab of a wounded civilian. I have no more time for you, LIWFI. A marine from my town had both his legs blown off in Afghanistan and I’m helping with the fundraiser. You go on and spew your venom. I’ll be busy caring for my fellow man.

I agree that this philosophy is the enemy of democracy in every way. That’s why I’m so very thankful that I live in a Constitutional REPUBLIC!!!!

The pie chart for socialism looks much, much worse.

Another blog that won’t change anyone’s mind.There is a saying in poker that when you sit down at a table take a look around and if you can’t see the sucker it is you. Well in this case the suckers are the ones that believe taxes should be lower for the rich because one day they will be rich too. Suckers. I am fairly comfortable so I don’t have to worry but I know a number of people who have next to nothing and believe the rich deserve to pay less taxes. Suckers. They believe the will be the next Zuckerberg too. You won’t because your political beliefs show you are not smart enough and if you spend all of your time on blogs pretending to know what you are talking about then you won’t have time to get rich. The only chance you have is to get a right wing talk show so you can spew hate and get a bunch of morons to worship you and do what you tell them, like Rush, Beck, etc. Good luck suckers, the rich who are paying lower taxes because of your support are laughing at you all the way to the bank. Suckers!

Sorry to hear about the company-many of my friends have lost their company. I don’t think people know what its like, until you have owned your own business. As you and your husband know, it takes hard work, long hours and a lot of guts. I feel for you. I wish people could experience running their own company and see how fun it is-that’s sarcasm. I am sure your husband knows what I am talking about when I was writing about the unions. I have many friends in the union who have no work. The union still wants their dues from the members, even when their is no work. They also lose their health insurance because, they have to keep so many hours of work a month. No work – no health insurance. The American people don’t hear stories like this. I am sure your husband has many stories to tell. The thing that gets me, is that they feel there entitled to work over all the other non-union American people. Its like the teamsters telling your husband he can’t drive the bus because he non-union. I am sure he can drive just as well as the teamsters drivers but that doesn’t matter. They get to feed their family-you don’t. I read on this site, how many people hate the large corporations. People that speak of them have no idea what their talking about. The big corporate fat cats. These people are rich but they have no impact on most of these peoples lives . People should do like you and your husband did-don’t like it, start your own company. The problem is, its easier to blame someone or resent someone, then start your own company. You know what I mean. I am sure if your husbands company grew in to a larger company, people would have resented you for your success. That is just wrong. Its the American dream to start your own company, some make, some don’t. Making money its not a bad thing. Treat the employees fair and make a profit. People fail to remember, without owners-we have no jobs. When is the last time, someone unemployed signed pay checks. Tell more on the NAFTA deal-just curious. One more thing-the comment “government is supposed to be run by the people”- I totally agree but, the people are getting way to dependent on the government. Google -Life cycle of a democracy- its an interesting read. Peace.

NAFTA and CAFTA were passed under the guise of free trade. After NAFTA and CAFTA, people in Mexico and Latin America lost farms because large corporations went in and put them out of business. The workers came here and became day laborers. We live by a train, so hundreds would come to my town for work. They would get $50 a day cash plus lunch. They lived in cramped apartments (landlords looked the other way) and would send the money home. Many did not assimilate into the culture. The contractors picked them up rather than have to pay insurance, taxes, and a legitimate wage. My husband stayed in business for years after that by working for very wealthy people who appreciated his craftsmanship and paid him what he was worth. Most companies would go for the low ball bid that did not factor in insurance, taxes, etc. Several large companies, (I won’t name them here) and many other businesses employed this type of labor, so in construction, there was a marked “race to the bottom”. Safety standards went down in this very dangerous profession. My husband would walk off jobs when the scaffolding wasn’t put up safely by the unskilled laborers. The companies wouldn’t even change the port-a-johns anymore, and feces was literally piled over the seat. My husband is the third generation of tradesmen, and it will end there. He and his family literally built the country, and my kids will not have the opportunity to pursue this trade. It simply does not exist. The bus company is a union company, but there are drivers who don’t belong. They live in “right to work” states. Some people call them “right to work for less states”. The company chooses to pay the drivers in those states the prevailing rate even those those workers don’t pay union dues, which is nice of them. In short, large corporations have; indeed, impacted my life.

C’mon then, genius, what you working on? Affordable flying cars? Teleporter? another version of Sham-Wow? Maybe you should focus on making all that moola instead of trolling.