Who stole Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness?

Discussion in 'Political Opinions & Beliefs' started by Derideo_Te, Jul 22, 2019.

  1. Derideo_Te

    Derideo_Te Well-Known Member

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    The majority of Americans are living lives of DESPERATION largely driven by the FACT that they are overwhelmed by DEBT!

    https://www.fool.com/retirement/2018/02/15/its-official-most-americans-are-currently-in-debt.aspx

    https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/23/nea...-into-debt-trying-to-pay-for-necessities.html

    https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/08/ali...icans-are-struggling-in-a-strong-economy.html

    If you cannot afford an additional emergency expense of $400 you are living a life of DESPERATION and that means that you are NOT in control of your own life.

    Being in DEBT means a LOSS of LIBERTY when you think about it. Someone ELSE controls your life to the extent that you are working to pay off that debt and when it is only growing instead of declining then your freedom of choices DIMINISHES as your debt burden increases.

    Being DESPERATE and in DEBT hampers the PURSUIT of HAPPINESS. Your dream of owning your own home where you can raise a family recedes and you are not alone. Two thirds of workers can no longer afford the American Dream.

    So who stole Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness from hardworking Americans?

    The answer comes back to the GREED OBSESSED Wall Street Casino Bosses and their lickspittle Republican/Libertarian lackeys in Congress.

    Essentially they have transformed the majority of the nation into wage slaves for their own enrichment. Anyone who is indebted now works for them. Their lives are locked in a cycle of debt that they will struggle to escape because the means to escape has been cut off by paying workers far LESS than their labor is actually worth.

    This modern version of wage slavery steals Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness from We the People.

    Yes, not everyone is enslaved in this manner but enough Americans are that they are effectively being denied those three essential freedoms that were promised in our Declaration of Independence. Many of us are now just vassals and peasants of the Lords and Masters of the Wall Street Casino. The modern day version of Feudalism is NOT what was intended for our nation by the Founding Fathers but it is REALITY for the majority of our fellow Americans.

    Fortunately we still have our right to vote which is how we can reset the current IMBALANCE of power that rightfully belongs to We the People.

    No one should be DENIED the VALUE of their hard work!

    Time to take back America from those who are denying We the People our Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness.

    Your comments?
     
  2. Derideo_Te

    Derideo_Te Well-Known Member

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    Curious that no one has come to the defense of the Wall Street Casino Bosses or the Republican/Libertarian fiscal malfeasance policies.

    Does this mean that there is no disagreement on this topic?

    If so that would be a first!

    ;)
     
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  3. Pants

    Pants Well-Known Member

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    I think it comes down to the harshness of truth and the need to deny it for one's own sanity and happiness.
     
  4. Derideo_Te

    Derideo_Te Well-Known Member

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    Good point but the first step towards fixing any problem is recognizing that it exists. Remaining in denial means that the problem persists and/or exacerbates.
     
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  5. Pants

    Pants Well-Known Member

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    Unfortunately, this kind of problem doesn't get recognition until it becomes personal - a little like God found in foxholes. Sadly, those who are discussing the issue are shouted down as 'socialists'. Perhaps, recognition will be found in economic foxholes?
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2019
  6. garyd

    garyd Well-Known Member

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    Mostly it was stolen by bad government policy that has pushed the cost of everything into the stratosphere.
     
  7. Derideo_Te

    Derideo_Te Well-Known Member

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    That is an interesting suggestion. I am going to mull it over and see if there is another way to address this problem. Thanks :)
     
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  8. garyd

    garyd Well-Known Member

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    Another thought, how many of those who are borrowing money to buy food are spending 600 a month on the latest and greatest smartphone and and every AP that strikes there fancy?
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2019
  9. Pants

    Pants Well-Known Member

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    Indeed - many. But in 2019, should people be having to choose between food and a smartphone, which is more and more becoming a necessity? I wouldn't have thought it as such not long ago, but I'm seeing more day to day experiences requiring a smartphone. It is now assumed, by businesses, that their customers have them.

    Having the debate you proposed is still just ignoring the problem.
     
  10. Yakamaru

    Yakamaru Well-Known Member

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    Taking on a debt is a choice. The consequences of that choice is having to pay it back at some point.

    No one else is responsible for your actions.
     
  11. Derideo_Te

    Derideo_Te Well-Known Member

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    I was anticipating that there would be the usual Blame-the-Victim response which never addresses the problem itself.

    Anyone who needs a smartphone can buy one these days for $30 and it would last at least 2 years and probably longer. I am using a $60 smartphone that I bought 3 years ago and it is still doing just fine.

    So while they are now necessities they are cheap enough not to break the budget at around $2 per month excluding service plans.
     
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  12. Derideo_Te

    Derideo_Te Well-Known Member

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    Another Blame-the-Victim response that does NOT address the problem.
     
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  13. Diablo

    Diablo Well-Known Member

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    The problem is globalisation, all those nice well-paid manufacturing jobs gone offshore. Welcome to competing with the third world.
     
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  14. Yakamaru

    Yakamaru Well-Known Member

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    How do you address people taking responsibility for their actions? You don't, from the looks of it.
     
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  15. garyd

    garyd Well-Known Member

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    Excuses excuses, you may need the cell phone but you don't need I phone extra bling and 300 hundred a month spent buying lollipop hammers.
     
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  16. Derideo_Te

    Derideo_Te Well-Known Member

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    Why don't you address the thread topic or is that too much responsibility?
     
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  17. Derideo_Te

    Derideo_Te Well-Known Member

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    While that has been used a LEVERAGE to UNDERPAY hardworking Americans it is a symptom of the problem that needs to be addressed.

    In essence the "social contract" has been destroyed by greed and avarice and We the People need to find a way to regain what was stolen from us.
     
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  18. kriman

    kriman Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    We are in debt beginning around the twentieth of each month until around the twentieth of the following month. We pay for most of our shopping with credit cards. We pay them off each month.

    In our life time, we have borrowed money for necessities. For example, we borrowed money to buy four houses in our nearly sixty years of marriage. We used our credit card to pay for one very expensive dental procedure for my wife. We pretty well fit the average. We have been in debt for necessities in excess of 25% of the time. We have been in debt for over 95% of our lives.

    I would say that "The majority of Americans are living lives of DESPERATION largely driven by the FACT that they are overwhelmed by DEBT!" is a gross exaggeration. I personally know of no one who is living a life of DESPERATION driven by debt. We have family members and friends who could be called poor. . None of them are living a life of DESPERATION. They are content with their lives. I know of people who are living a life of DESPERATION. It appears to be drug related.
     
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  19. Derideo_Te

    Derideo_Te Well-Known Member

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    Personal anecdotes are meaningless.

    Let's deal with the FACTS instead.
     
  20. kriman

    kriman Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    They aren't because personal anecdotes sometimes show why statistics can be misleading. And in this case, I believe they are.
     
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  21. Hotdogr

    Hotdogr Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Fake news is the art of deception, using only fact.

    I am in debt. I use four different credit cards to buy food, pay for utilities, pay for fuel, medications, etc... But, I pay each, in full, when the monthly bill arrives. I have an automobile loan (at 0% interest).

    I am amongst the majority of Americans who are in debt. I would venture to bet that those who are NOT in debt are the ones who's financial situations are the worst.

    Fake news.

    Besides, freedom and liberty are just illusions in our country. Are we truly free when we need the blessing of the state to legally drive the roadways, to marry, to bear arms, etc? Are we free when we need permission from the state before being allowed to legally leave the country and come back? Are we free when we cannot truly own land without paying rent to the state in the form of taxation?
     
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  22. Creasy Tvedt

    Creasy Tvedt Well-Known Member

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    Woe be unto these poor, starving obese Americans with their $600 iPhones and unlimited data plans.

    Under the crushing debt of their credit card bills, they've had to cancel their Netflix subscriptions.

    They're forced to live on Ammy Prime alone. Desperate times indeed!

    The horror. The horror!
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2019
  23. Texas Republican

    Texas Republican Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Live within your means.

    Problem solved.
     
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  24. Creasy Tvedt

    Creasy Tvedt Well-Known Member

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    Nazi! Racist!
     
  25. Well Bonded

    Well Bonded Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    That's the truth and when people live only to buy every trinket they can find to impress their so called friends, they shall wallow in debt until they drown.
     
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