The Rich Get Richer

*'s America is becoming increasingly plutocratic; merit is seen in having money, and conspicuous consumption is actually required as part of the "war on terror".

Not once has * mentioned the idea of sacrifice in "wartime". That's because among * and his friends sacrifice is treated as a dirty job. And like all dirty jobs it's done by the poor:

"The Senate on Wednesday defeated a proposal that would have given some of the lowest-paid hourly workers a boost in their wages for the first time in nearly a decade. A majority of the Senate, 52 senators, voted in favor of incrementally raising the federal minimum wage -- unchanged since 1997 -- 40 percent from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 by January 1, 2009. But the measure needed 60 votes to win under a procedural agreement worked out earlier."

This, on top of *'s lukewarm (and failed) effort to reform pensions, his mad spending orgies, his dumping of money into war and the "missile defence" farce...

$5.15 US per hour.

In Canada, the lowest minimum wage is about $16k a year. The poverty line starts at $18k, using Government of Ontario figures. At the minimum wage, a Canadian might get to keep $14,000 or so after tax.

The US Census suggests that a family of two adults lives in poverty at US $13,000. No idea what the taxes are like. That minimum wage is $13,000.

No benefits. No holidays. No sick days. Just six days a monotonous, backbreaking week. All this and poverty too!

But wait, there's more. In Canada, your basic health needs are taken care of by the government, more or less. In the US, around 40 million people go without health insurance.

I could go on.

"Men who think in lifetimes are of little use to statesmanship."

--H.G. Wells