Poll: What is wrong with America?

[Riff Moonraker]

I find it ironic that the people that FOX would call "heroes" after 9/11 (firemen, police officers, etc.) are the same people they're antagonizing right now.

It's like FOX bases every one of its stories on emotional reactions and personal opinions instead of evidence and facts, and we know that's not the case. They're a news company after all. Herpa derp, derp, durrrr. FOX IS DA BESTEST COZ THEY SUPPORT JEEZUS AN' I LIKES JEEZUS! Durr.

Are you serious? So, you mean to tell me you buy all the garbage that the OTHER media outlets spoon feed you? The problem that fox has, and that so many other people have with the union strikes is what it is costing the states. I'm sorry, but the media can blitz you all day long and tell you that the recession is over, but they are talking out of their backsides. It hasnt gone anywhere, and its still cranking down on all of us. We are in trouble here. BIG trouble. If our country, and furthermore each state, doesnt do something soon to try to get this debt straightened out, we might not be able to bounce back from the damage it will cause. Unions lately have been demanding pensions and wages that can break states budgets or choke them to death. Right now, in this economy, ALL of us are going to have to sacrifice a little to get our economy back on track. The unions, specifically the govt. unions, arent budging at all. Thats part of the problem with what happened in Greece.

And before anyone even mentions Bush, Obama has done more damage to our debt and budget already than Bush did during his entire presidency, so dont try to go there.

 

[MagicMouse]

Care to explain the actual story? What's happening with the Teacher's Union? What's the governor doing? Not everyone gets the same amount of news from the States, we across the pond are currently paying more attention to Libia. Those bastards captured some of our soldiers!

I don't like unions, myself.

But how else can employees organise and come up for their rights?

You might want to find a second opinion on this, because I am hardly a reputed source, and my source material is flimsy at best, but I will do my best.

Essentially the Governor of Wisconsin is trying to pass a bill that would make it illegal for unionized teachers to strike as well as demand better wages, not to mention hack/slash their benefits. To me that seems insane because teachers have a tough job and are hardly earning that much cash as is, without the ability to bargain or strike there is no point in a union, and furthermore the deserve those benefits, god knows their salary doesn't cover dental.

It is already illegal for teachers to strike.
The bill doesn't cut wage.
Yes the bill cuts the benefits that they have that are much higher than non union workers.
Teacher salary is not that bad considering they get 3 months off a year.

I am for and against this bill for several reasons, the poll options are stupid. Just because someone is for the bill doesn't mean they are against teachers specifically, or for the Governor specifically.

 

[Zechnophobe]

I used to watch "The Daily Show, With John Stewart" and have a righteous laugh, but now, for what feels like a year now, it only manages to piss me off what some Americans can get away with. The most recent debate, of the Wisconsin Teachers union set off a new level of ire for me. I felt my blood boiling, and the thought crossed my mind that if bombs fell tomorrow and leveled the entire country, they might actually be better off starting at square one than continuing like they have.

Being a Canadian I have an special view of our big brother down south, being that I get both sides of the argument up here, and it baffles me when I see that one side has so little merit compared to the other and yet in America this seems to amount to nothing because that is the side that is winning. What the hell? On top of that, 9 times out of 10, the people perpetrating the merit-less argument are none other than Fox News and CBC News. They seem to portray the teachers unions as fat-cats who are taking advantage of the system and handouts, which is absolutely nothing like the fat-cats on wall street taking advantage of the system and handouts.

I really need some feed back on this, because I am honestly not sure what to believe anymore, and it is hard for me to accept that nuking the whole god awful mess would actually be for the best.

Workers agreed to a paycut (8%!) to help the state. But that isn't good enough apparently, so instead they are going to try to remove their ability to bargain effectively. And now they are going to lay off a bunch of people to make the money they need. And I rather suspect that after doing that, the bill will STILL be on the table to remove group bargaining options, and so too may the paycut. Because these people are insincere crazies.

 

[manaman]

Care to explain the actual story? What's happening with the Teacher's Union? What's the governor doing? Not everyone gets the same amount of news from the States, we across the pond are currently paying more attention to Libia. Those bastards captured some of our soldiers!

I don't like unions, myself.

But how else can employees organise and come up for their rights?

There is collective bargaining, and then there is the nationwide, care more about pulling in dues, bullshit that is several unions here in the US.

Collective bargining should be a right of the workers but these days many unions walk all over the government.

 

[Slaanax]

I don't like the teachers unions, but the people agreed to all the guys demands excluding the whole giving up their rights to representation. I don't agree with that at all. The Charr do look pretty cool though.

 

[Riff Moonraker]

Yes, the middle class is the heart and soul of this country, and we are getting squished right now.... but over taxing the rich isnt the answer. You mean we should penalize people because they have done what it takes to put themselves in a position to make more money than you or me? Thats socialism, in a nutshell, and its wrong. If I pay 8% tax on my yearly wages, and a guy making 1.2 million pays 8% on HIS wages, we are both being taxed the same percentage, but he is shelling out ALOT more than me. Taxing him more is ridiculous, and in my opinion, criminal. Lets make everyone content with being ordinary, and give them no incentive whatsoever to succeed! At least, thats how socialists see it. That kind of attitude is not the answer, and will lead us to ruin.

 

[Space Spoons]

The GOP hates unions, public education, and generally anything that provides even a modicum of happiness for the middle-class. This is old news, and thus, the actions transpiring in Wisconsin don't come as a surprise to me.

If it's any consolation, the only people who seem to really be against the teacher's unions are union-busting politicians. Real, everyday American people aren't having it. There are protests happening all over the country. Heck, there were walkouts in Idaho a few days ago. Idaho, of all places, the reddest state in the union. Kinda gives me hope.

The GOP does not hate anything that provides a "modicum of happiness for the middle-class". Republicans believe that people who get off their butts and try to earn their livings should be rewarded for it. That people that become independently wealthy should get to KEEP the money they made, not be forced to give it out to the poor. I cannot believe some of the garbage floating around this country these days, such as people thinking the rich should be taxed to death to give their extra wealth to the poor. Thats wrong.

I'll concede that I may have overstepped my bounds a bit by saying all Republicans behave a certain way, but I don't think it can be argued, at this point, that GOP is out for anyone other than the rich. They fought to keep the Bush tax cuts in play, which honestly, I can sort of see your point on. What this country needs more than anything, though, is improvement to the infrastructure, and for that to happen, taxes need to go up, but hey, if that .01% of the population is so concerned with keeping every last dollar of their money for themselves, so be it.

The policies I'm referring to are the ones that actively harm everyone but the super-rich elite, like the current budget proposal to slash $61 billion from the federal budget and thus trigger the loss of somewhere in the neighborhood of 700,000 jobs.

I have nothing against the concept of "a day's work for a day's pay" and all that, but these are policies the economy will not withstand.

 

[sir.rutthed]

First of all, I think teachers in this country get fucked over harder than anyone else given all the bullshit they have to put up with. That said, I think it's important to remember that labor unions can be very harmful if they get too powerful. Just look at the American auto industry in the last few years. Unions weren't entirely to blame for the collapse, but because they were so strong the companies weren't able to do what they had to do in order to stay afloat. It's important to keep unions in check to avoid something like this from happening in the future, but in the case of teachers it's just disgusting all the vitriol that's being thrown at them. Of all the things Uncle Sam pays for, I think we can all agree that teachers salaries is one of the best things, so why can't we just agree on it? We're already one of the worst developed countries in the world for public education, so why the Hell would we want to make it worse?!

 

[MagicMouse]

The most recent debate, of the Wisconsin Teachers union set off a new level of ire for me. I felt my blood boiling, and the thought crossed my mind that if bombs fell tomorrow and leveled the entire country, they might actually be better off starting at square one than continuing like they have.

You should add a fourth option to the poll: It's Wisconsin. Who cares?

Sorry if I come off like an east-coast elitist snob (which is exactly what I am, BTW), but pretty much the entire country west of Chicago are a bunch of morons, with the possible exception of the extreme west coast (California, Washington state, Oregon, and Nevada). Sorry to anyone who lives there - if you're on this website, you're probably the exception to my blanket statement, not the rule - but really, I couldn't care less about this very stupid argument.

I mean, it's Wisconsin. Seriously, who cares, other than the people who actually live in Wisconsin and will experience the results of this debate? I don't honestly know how this got to be a national story (other than it's kinda funny). I'm not even sure why you, a Canadian, care. National issues are one thing, but this is a state issue, and really, Wisconsin might as well be another country.

For the record, I'm a teacher, so teacher issues do matter to me. In my home state, where my paycheck is written and issued.

Must resist urge to rage......!

I agree other states need not be involved, but this is a big deal.

Oh and yeah, Wisconsinites are some of the most well educated people in the country. What class do you teach, "Ignorance and Condescension 101"?

 

[ShakyFiend]

What's wrong with America?

Sexual tension. Every problem can essentially be boiled down to it and you'll be hard pressed to find a more repressed country.

Have you BEEN to England?!?

 

[Wolfram23]

snip

Oh good a thread about something I know nothing about with absolutely no refrences either!

*votes anyway*

 

[acosn]

I don't know much about this specific situation but the teachers unions in the US are nuts. Hell, the whole public school system is nuts.

Stop being in defense of that bent moron. Way to balance the stupid fucking budget - tax the rich. Don't do it in the expense of the middle class.

Lets talk to France about how well taxing the rich goes.

As is, they already pay their dues in the US. Taxing them more is actually Un-American.

 

[The Great JT]

On a global scale, I think it's because we have sort of an inflated opinion of self-worth, and that any time one of our foreign interests is involved in something we feel the need to step in and assist. Honestly, I'm surprised we haven't intervened in Libya yet due to them being an oil-refining country.

On a national scale, however, I think it's just that the higher-ups are more concerned with keeping themselves well to-do while the common man is left hanging in the wind. The politicians in Congress are the only people I can think of that can give themselves bonuses and raises whenever they feel like.

 

[Riff Moonraker]

The GOP hates unions, public education, and generally anything that provides even a modicum of happiness for the middle-class. This is old news, and thus, the actions transpiring in Wisconsin don't come as a surprise to me.

If it's any consolation, the only people who seem to really be against the teacher's unions are union-busting politicians. Real, everyday American people aren't having it. There are protests happening all over the country. Heck, there were walkouts in Idaho a few days ago. Idaho, of all places, the reddest state in the union. Kinda gives me hope.

The GOP does not hate anything that provides a "modicum of happiness for the middle-class". Republicans believe that people who get off their butts and try to earn their livings should be rewarded for it. That people that become independently wealthy should get to KEEP the money they made, not be forced to give it out to the poor. I cannot believe some of the garbage floating around this country these days, such as people thinking the rich should be taxed to death to give their extra wealth to the poor. Thats wrong.

I'll concede that I may have overstepped my bounds a bit by saying all Republicans behave a certain way, but I don't think it can be argued, at this point, that GOP is out for anyone other than the rich. They fought to keep the Bush tax cuts in play, which honestly, I can sort of see your point on. What this country needs more than anything, though, is improvement to the infrastructure, and for that to happen, taxes need to go up, but hey, if that .01% of the population is so concerned with keeping every last dollar of their money for themselves, so be it.

The policies I'm referring to are the ones that actively harm everyone but the super-rich elite, like the current budget proposal to slash $61 billion from the federal budget and thus trigger the loss of somewhere in the neighborhood of 700,000 jobs.

I have nothing against the concept of "a day's work for a day's pay" and all that, but these are policies the economy will not withstand.

Well, right now, I think their biggest concern is trying to reduce the deficit, and trying to hit the brakes on all the insane spending the govt has been doing, and I dont have a problem with that. I think its critical that they do just that, actually. But I certainly wont sit here and say that everything the Republicans do is perfect, sane, and right, either. Both parties have made some major foul-ups, obviously.

I think our government, as a whole, needs to get back to doing whats right by the people, and not their wallets. I sincerely hope thats what our new House is trying to do.

 

[BoredDragon]

Can someone link the article or something? I don't have cable so can't watch the daily show :,(

 

[DSQ]

I don't like unions, myself.

But how else can employees organise and come up for their rights?

Here here!!

My mum is a shop steward for her union and my dad bf is a higher up at unison. Trust me 90% of the people how work at these places just want all workers to be empowered and have the right to fight back if hey get screwed about.

 

[Drops a Sweet Katana]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9tf0-BIyU0
Shit like this really pisses me off. What the fuck gives them the right to fucking insult a country that has actually done more good in this fucking world than them. Fuck them. Fuck all of them (I mean jackasses like that, not all Americans because that would be dumb and ignorant). It's no wonder so many countries in the world hate them right now.

 

[BoredDragon]

Stuff like this:


Sure, the media only focuses on the negative. But, damn there seems to be a lot of material over there.

Why is it always the TEA party and Republicans that seem to represent all of the dumbasses of our society?

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

I agree other states need not be involved, but this is a big deal.

Oh and yeah, Wisconsinites are some of the most well educated people in the country. What class do you teach, "Ignorance and Condescension 101"?

I didn't say people in Wisconsin weren't well educated. I said that, unless you live in Wisconsin, while the issue is certainly insulting it isn't particularly relevant.

So more like Apathy 101.