I'm screwed, so I want you to get screwed too.

I've heard radio caller say almost that very thing to people like Ed Schultz on the radio. One caller today said, "I'm middle class and my taxes went up two percent. Why shouldn't the state workers in Wisconsin have to pay half their insurance?"

They seem to forget that state workers typically work for less for those benefits, and they want to spread their personal to other middle class citizens.

They seem oblivious to the idea that the very rich and companies need to pay more, their fair share, because they still believe trickle down economics works.

Meanwhile, thousands are protesting to keep theirs and help others keep theirs, too.

It's a choice to put public employees benefits before your own ability to provide for your future.

The public unions in Wisconsin and elsewhere have made it clear that they are willing to negotiate about dollars and cents. That's not what this is about. It's about destroying the union movement, once and for all.

Righties don't get it. And they don't realize how they've benefitted from unions even if they don't belong to one.

because they're powerful since they control jobs that CAN'T be off-shored, SEIU.

...the politicians play on people's envy of those who have it better than they do, or appear to have it better. The best part is, they direct it towards those who only have it marginally better, because they are easy targets and more accessible, thus it is easier to gin up outrage if you think it's the guy down the street who is lolling around on easy street (remember the rant by the financier on TV who spoke out against help for homeowners, saying "Do you really want to pay for your next door neighbor's extra bathroom?"). This deflects attention away from the real looters, who are the rich and the super rich, because we don't really see much of them (most of us don't live that near to the mansions, and even if they are fairly nearby, we don't see them because they are safely ensconced in gated communities where the hoi polloi are not welcome). And of course, so many have bought into the idea that those rich folk "worked" for their fancy homes and yachts etc., so it would be unseemly to begrudge them much less attack them for it.

It is all working according to plan. Except that a couple of chinks are starting to show. I have some hope, a little.

It's subtle stuff that doesn't get pointed out NEARLY enough.

They're pitting the middle class against itself.

people express how cognizant they are of the methodical, divide and conquer strategies utilized to influence and control the masses.

It is probably one of the most significant and relevant issues that we face. Perhaps, over time, if we continue to focus on the deliberate attempts to segregate us into groups that fight against and distrust each other, an appreciable number of people will effort to underscore and reveal this in a broader way.

I would say that most of us have been influenced by this to some degree and it doesn't hurt to explore and shed some light on whatever bias or prejudice we may have. A sober and brave introspection might have a notable impact, not only on our values and behaviors, but on our identities, even if only to a small degree.

A knee-jerk reaction I might expect would be, "Yeah, we should unite but those _______ over at ______ are _____ and will never get that!!! <expletive> them!" Well, yeah, you can indulge in that and it might even feel good or seem to make your own views stronger and more valid. However, it is not just about disagreeing, (which is essential to debate sometimes) with other people's maps of reality, (and maybe considering how they formed it, who influence and have influenced it, etc.) as much as it is about lump-summing people based on those views and then demonizing them with generalizations and Universals.

Anyway, unity is not a pipe-dream and it does not imply conformity. It does not have to be some huge effort that requires us to completely change or dishevel our world-view. When you can see the powerful value of it and why it is essential to redistributing the very power that has been taken from us, (which is where the powerful get it from) then it may just be desirable enough to slip-on like a comfortable pair of shoes so that we can walk, together, were we really have to go.

Look at these two graphs, one from 1986 and one from 2006 http://www.koch2congress.com/5.html

There's 1986, the bottom 50% get 16.7% and the top 1% get 11.3% and 12.8% for the next 4%. Note as well that the cut-off for the top 5% is $153,542, but many DUers will join Obama and howl if somebody suggests that taxes should go up for people making $170,000 a year.

But my main point, is to note how much of the pie goes to the middle 40% (actually 50th-90th percentile, with 50% below them and only 10% above them, they are not really in the middle.) They got 48.2% of the income, much more than the top 1% or even the top 5% got.

It's simply a fact that the upper middle class was getting most of the pie.

Of course, that was pre-Reagan/Bush. By 2006, the share of the top 5% had grown to 36.7% with most of the growth coming from the top 1% whose share rose to 22.1%.

The bottom 50% got squeezed down to 12.5% and the middle 40% got squeezed down to 40.1%. The middle 40% is still getting a huge slice of pie. Are those people fighting for the bottom 50% or are they fighting for themselves and wagging their fingers at the bottom 50% for not supporting US.

It often seems that there is a proposal for people making $70,000 a year to take a wage cut and they will shake their finger at people making $18,000 a year for not being upset that the $70,000 is facing a cut. "Don't be divisive, stand up for ME" is the message. We are seemingly supposed to fight to the death to keep their slice of pie fairly large. All for them is supposedly good for all.

I don't make that so therefore no one should and they should get hosed with more taxes, pay freezes, etc.

Forget that you might want to get one of those good union jobs or maybe your kid, brother, sister, cousin etc might want to one day. No, if *I* don't have it then everyone should get screwed, but the CEO getting bonuses is okay, we shouldn't tax them or their heirs when they pass on that wealth to make another generation detached from regular people not born into wealth.

This is product of our 'me first' society, too many people think we need/should all rise or fall on our own, no help, no aid, unless of course you are rich, but poor and regular people have to do it on their own.

Don't begrudge your neighbors that they're NOT living in abject poverty!

Even Democrats won't fight for that from Obama in the White House to half of the Senate Democrats and a slew of House Democrats and Governor Nixon of Missouri, Governor Sebelius and Governor Parkinson (although at least THAT former Republican fought for a small sales tax increase instead of cuts to education) of Kansas and Governor Hickenlooper of Colorado and so on.

Democrats seem quite willing to keep tax increases for the rich off the table. As such, many in the lower middle class prefer cuts to the upper middle class ahead of tax increases on themselves.

I don't think Obama et al realize how little we are willing to do for them in 2012 because of how poorly they've represented us on some critical issues.

Scott walker inherited a 130 million dollar surplus.... He spent it in that short time period... He legislated in one month 147 million dollar tax break to his contributors some out of staters... Now he wants the govt. workers to pay for his big spending spree. This needs to be repeated until Walker is removed....

People's money on business interests. Giveaways to the rich and powerful are the reason for the shortfall.

And yet they spend most of the time whining about everyone else.

Why not fight to have normal jobs have the benefits of state jobs?

The elite have successfully destroyed most private employment benefits, and now people who are caught up in anger, fear, and resentment seem to be satisfied with pulling everybody down to their own level of misery.

The problem lies in the fact that once we're all screwed, there is NO way that these same people will be satisfied. Wonder who they'll blame then? Probably the gays and immigrants I guess.

Crab mentality, sometimes referred to as crabs in the bucket, describes a way of thinking best described by the phrase "if I can't have it, neither should you." The metaphor refers to a pot of crabs. Individually, the crabs could easily escape from the pot, but instead, they grab at each other in a useless "king of the hill" competition (or sabotage) which prevents any from escaping and ensures their collective demise. The analogy in human behavior is that of a group that will attempt to "pull down" (negate or diminish the importance of) any member who achieves success beyond the others, out of jealousy, conspiracy or competitive feelings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_mentality

That's how most repubs I know view the world. It's all about comparing who has what. The only people they leave out of this comparison are the wealthy. They NEVER suggest taking anything away from them. They deify them. They feel that the rich are better than the rest of us and deserve everything they have..and more! Oh, and the poor...they deserve it. They must be lazy good-for-nothings sucking on the government teat!

I'm so tired of people with this mindset.