Stark Raving Liberal

Katrina housing funds diverted for port and casino development

This right here is a PERFECT example of what's wrong with Republican philosophy.

They claim that diverting this money is important to rebuild the business community to create jobs (the same claim they use to excuse cutting taxes for the rich.) But when the people don't even have HOUSES, having a shittastic job sweeping floors in a casino isn't exactly important.

How anyone can in good conscience vote for Republicans when they pull this shit as a matter of their core platform is beyond me.

I see all these arguments about how "handouts" are creating people who are dependent on the government (which is bullshit, but...) So if that's true, why are we giving handouts to businesses?

If the bootstrapping individualists in the GOP think that a man ought to sink or swim based on his own effort and ability, why do they not think the same of businesses? Why is a business owner more entitled to government handouts (in the form of direct money or tax cuts or cutting the minimum wage or regulations, etc.) than an individual worker?

What makes business owners so much more special that they deserve to have their failing businesses propped up with government money?

Why does social Darwinism apply only to individuals and not to businesses?

If a business owner has to pay slave wages and cut benefits, cut workplace and product safety measures and buy from third-world child labor manufacturers to make a profit, he or she is a crappy entrepreneur. We shouldn't be rewarding people who are too stupid to make a profit without fucking over workers and consumers.

Trickle-down economics doesn't work. It NEVER has. Ever. Because the rich bastards to whom you give more money don't immediately put it back into circulation the way the working and middle class does. They hoard it instead, or send it out of the country to build factories where they can pay little kids a quarter a day to make toxic plastic toys. Ultimately, this supply-side top loading benefits no one except the rich bastards who get the money.