All of them have been in one way or another adversely affected by the changes that have damaged the middle class over the past thirty years.
Their pensions have declined, their children's employment has suffered, their standard of living has declined. Many are still working, long after I, a public employee, retired. They resent that by the way.
They are having to work because they have little or no pensions, their health care is a mess, they aren't old enough for Medicare; etc.
The bottom line is that many of my peers are either working to provide for themselves with no end in sight, or working to support their uneployed children.
Shasta County has over 20% unemployed right now and things seem to be getting worse.
Regardless, they support the cons, they rant about welfare, they call the President a socialist, they vote hard Republican for the very people who are cutting their throats socially, economically and politically.
We have a thirty year Congressman, who has done nothing for the county, but has become a multi-millionaire during his tenure. How he did this over thirty years, on a Representative's income is beyond me. But, at last check, he has admitted to a net worth or seven million (it has been reported in other circles as thirty million).
You can almost see the standard of living decline. And my buddies rant about Obama, criticize the Democrats at every turn.
Interestingly, Shasta County is a small minority in a California that is becoming more democratic all the time. This has meant no political clout in Sacramento to deal with our economic nightmare.
Demographic studies show this will not change, as the state becomes more diverse racially, more progressive politically, while Shasta County goes more conservative.
All around us are artifacts of the New Deal. Shasta Dam, one of America's largest, is a cornerstone of a host of federal and state water reclamation projects. Government is everywhere, federal forests, federal water reclamation;etc.
And the cons in Shasta County loath the government. They hate government in every form. The Tea Party is a mainstay around here. The City Council is hard right, whereas in the past it was non-partisan.
I cannot understand this. How can people be so conservative when the economic system is almost abusing them in its unfairness.
The only thing that makes any sense is race. Shasta County has hardly any racial minorities at all. Hispanics are a small group here, it seems the Latino Wave stops in Red Bluff (thirty miles south).
Of course when I bring race up to my friends, they go ballistic, claiming they are not racists. It is all economics they say. Then, they attack the poor, as welfare cheats who are lazy, shiftless and are "refusing to take Burger King jobs to stay on unemployment".
One friend angrily told me he knows of several people, all on welfare, that moved into a large custom house, combine their welfare, and "live like kings". The Democrats are to blame for this he says, they coddle the lazy.
So, in my buddies' world, the recession is all self made, there are jobs, people are refusing to work because of government hand outs. I am reminded of the passengers on the Titantic who chanted it will be ok, as the ship sunk.
Of course, statistics, evidence, reality all are opposite of these myths. But, no matter how many times it is shown that 5 to 10 people are pursuing every job, that well paying jobs with benefits are virtually non-existent, that their lives are spiralling down and down with no end in sight, they STILL hold to their position that by gawd......it is not the fault of an unfair economic system, people just are too lazy.
I don't get it....I just don't.
Of course, when I say that my buddies say...see...another liberal who is clueless.
And they are still struggling, and their children are losing hope....
And Fox News continues its propaganda...
I think all of us are clueless.....
No comments:
Post a Comment