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Friday, January 2, 2009

Republicans Blame Middle Class for "Over Extending Themselves" for Current Economic Crisis

If you have the chance, check out PBS's "Too the Contrary," a news show centered around womens issues and with commentary from the left and right. I know I get a little nuanced sometimes, typically liberal, but it's the unintentional slips in conversation that sometimes reveals more than the guest will ever know. This is such a time.

Genevieve Wood from the Heritage Foundation uses the same conservative reason for our current economic crisis and jobless numbers; she blames the hard working middle class family.



Wood: "...Our life styles. Are we going to be okay with maybe having smaller houses and maybe having 2 cars instead of 3? Many Americans, including those in the middle class, have way over extended themselves. That's why when they go out of work, they have no savings and they've got credit card bills...we have not as a society been saving...?

Gee, tell that to the majority of families living pay check to paycheck, worried sick they might lose their jobs in this suffocating economy. Is it unusual to have a mortgage, car loan or credit cards establishing a credit history and rating so we can live a normal life and raise a family? According to Wood, it just might be. I especially like D.C. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton's response:

Norton: "1 in 10 Americans are on food stamps. End of debate."

True to form, the Republicans on the show deny they had anything to do with the current crisis, but Ilana Goldman, Pres. of the Women's Campaign Forum had to step in and remind them about the Republican response early on when it started to effect homeowners first:

Goldman: "Let's not help the individual, that's not how we play here in America...unwillingness of conservatives to dip into the pocketbook to help the average American...(instead) we're doing it on the corporate level instead of saving American families."

We again, rest our case.

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