Tuesday, November 25, 2014

'Let them eat cake': The GOP and its attacks on the middle class

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/23/1345709/--Let-them-eat-cake-The-GOP-and-its-attacks-on-the-middle-class
"We have had our own "Let them eat cake" moments in America. During the gilded age Cornelius Vanderbilt stated, "What do I care about the law? Ain’t I got the power?" His son, William Vanderbilt, once said, "The public be damned!" when he heard of criticism of his railroad monopoly. This is the same man who was poorly treated by his father until he cheated the Army on the price of hay during the Civil War. What a fine family they were.
Jay Gould, another robber baron, once said about striking railroad workers, "I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half." Republicans of today are obvious disciples of Mr. Gould. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and his "divide and conquer" statements, Mitt Romney with his comments about the 47 percent being dependent on government, Rep. Paul Ryan blaming poverty on lazy inner city men, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie being tired of minimum wage talk, and Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson stating, "I think it’s unrealistic, for public-sector employees to believe that they are immune from modifications to their pay and benefit packages."
These men, doing the work of the robber barons of today—the Koch brothers being the most well know of them—are out of touch with the American middle class."