Bush/GOP Ownership Society

The last day to file for bankruptcy under the old rules is upon us -- come Monday, should you need the protection of the courts, you will find very little shelter there. Be prepared to give your pound of flesh.

Welcome to the Bush/GOP Ownership Society.

In the Ownership Society, the guys who ran Enron met with the Vice President to set energy policy for America; people with cars and money survive floods, and the rest of us are on our own.

In the Ownership Society, 1 in 7 Americans (40 million) do not have medical benefits.

In the Ownership Society, Social Security benefits are no longer secure, and the President casts doubt on the willingness of the US government to pay the federal debt to the Social Security Trust fund (other creditors, including foreign creditors and fat-cat investors didn't panic since they knew he was only planning to stiff retirees).

In the Ownership Society, we fight unwise wars, repeal estate taxes and cut the tax bills of the wealthiest Americans -- and then rebuild New Orleans by cutting medicare, food stamps and welfare.

In the Ownership Society, big corporations (and their fat-cat shareholders) rely on government bailouts and bankruptcy laws to avoid pension obligations and to cut employee salaries and benefits, to break union contracts, and to escape the consequences of wrongful acts (asbestos, hazardous wastes, unsafe products), but individuals struggling with debts are to be squeezed till they bleed.

This is the Bush Ownership Society -- where you are either Owner or Owned, and we all know our place, don't we?

Wealth and income are increasingly concentrated at the top, among a few. The gap between the richest and the poorest is wider than in years, and grows wider every day. More people are counted as poor; fewer people have access to basic health care. The gap in education between affluent Americans and poor Americans is creating a permanent underclass. Even among the so-called middle class, the off-shoring of good jobs and the outsourcing and cutting back have reduced our savings, cut our incomes, and exposed us all to an undeniable sense of true economic risk.

In the Bush Ownership Society, the rewards go to the Owner, and the risk gets pushed down to the Owned. Do you even remember when Wal-Mart and Halliburton didn't own your ass?

This new bankruptcy law is the crowning achievement of the Bush/GOP Ownership Society:

After today, you can't even go broke in America without the Bush Ownership Society insisting on its pound of flesh. Compassionate Conservatism is at last defined for you -- it is a knife at your breast, a hand in your pocket, and some asshole waving a flag as he sends your kid to Iraq.

Neil

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