In a vote of 40-5, Chicago aldermen have approved a plan by Major Daley to raise $1.2 billion for the City of Chicago in a parking meter lease scheme!
Under the 75 year lease, a private company will raise meter rates everywhere in the city from downtown to local areas! Rates in the loop will increase from $3.00 an hour to $6.50 an hour by 2013, and from $1.00 an hour to $3.50 an hour for neighborhood meters.
With the economy in the dumps, unemployment at record highs, consumer spending also at historic lows, and many home owners still unsure how they will pay their mortgages, it is simply the wrong time to raise parking meter rates!
Yes the city will generate $1.2 billion from the lease, but, the more money you throw at the city the more the city needs to continue, and before we know it, the $1.2 Billion dollars will have been spent and we will be facing yet another budget crisis! So, the $1.2 Billion ends up being a mere band-aid!
Another side affect of raising meter prices is that daily and hourly parking lots will also raise their fees! And don't be surprised when hourly parking meters start sprouting up in the most unusual places, as the city and private company start reaping the additional profits that come from the increase in the meter rates and tickets generated when the meters are faulty or we don't have enough quarters!
Like red light cameras, parking meters will pop up everywhere! The hike in the meter fees will be phased in gradually to lessen the shock of the whole thing! One way to possibly defeat the parking meter increase is for consumers to collectively boycott the meters.
If we take a bus or train, or park as close as possible to our destination and then take a bus or train, and if done for several months, the private company would be forced to eat a $1.2 billion dollar loss and sell the lease back to the City.
Privatization is such a republican strategy that I'm surprised the mayor continues to embrace it, especially given the fact that we are in the economic turmoil that we are in, partly, because of mass and unregulated privatization of infrastructures and systems that should be under the control of the local and national government.
Then the city could keep the meters and the $1.2 billion dollars. LOL But, then again, maybe the mayor would try to re lease them again?
The five aldermen who voted no to the deal are Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th), Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th), Ald. Billy Ocasio(26th), Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd), and Ald. Rey Colon (35th).
One of the Reasons that the Republicans lost so much ground, and why McCain lost the election, is because they Bailed out Wall-street, but not main-streat - everyday American homeowners! People are tired of the wealthy getting a pass, and we basically pulled off the revolution we've been talking about, and that I wrote about, at the polls!Orderly, nonviolent, powerful!
McCain wanted to bailout banks, wanted homeowners to pay the full amount of their loans, and wanted to change bankruptcy laws so that homeowners couldn't discharge the balance leftover on short sales. IE, if you owe $300,000.00 on your foreclosed home and the bank sells it for $100,000.00 you would still be required to pay the $200,000.00 difference! And incredibly, McCain thought that enough people were going to be either racist or stupid enough to vote for him instead of President (elect) Obama!
And the Republicans are already gearing up for 2012!
I just voted. I voted for the next president of the United States Barack Obama! It may seem presumptuous, but there really is no way, short of them stealing the election, for John McCain and the Republicans to win!
The economy can be rescued, and one of the first things that must be done is to stop the bleeding. Once this war in Iraq is stopped, the troups are returned home, and Bush/Cheney - Halliburton - and the Republican Party are sent packing we will realize an instant 12 Billion dollar a month savings!
Obama wants to bring all the troups home within 16 months, and McCain wants to stay indefinitely, while Halliburton continues to profit, at the expense of the American public and our American troups!
Don't let anyone tell you that it doesn't matter who you vote for, because it does more now than ever! The more that I learn about Barack Obama, the more I like him! If you haven't voted for Barack Obama yet, GET OUT AND VOTE for Obama!
If you are tired of the current Republican Party rule, but are a Republican and can't bring yourself to do the right thing - Vote for Obama - then do the next best thing........... stay at home and don't vote! LOL
Seriously though, at least if you're republican and don't vote you will be showing your disapproval of the Bush administration and their destroying the economy!
Gob Bless President Barack and First Lady Michele Obama and their Family
With the current housing, economic, and energy crisises, the deficit standing at over 10 Trillion dollars, and the fact that the Republicans have been in charge and ran the country into the ground for 16 of the last 24 years, Should a Lipstick wearing Pig replace the GOP Elephant as Mascot?
And as far as McCain/Palin goes, McCain appears to have had the growth that was on the side of his face removed -was it cancerous- and he is so old that, and I have nothing aginst old people but, he may not last four years!
Do the republicans really want Palin as President! For any number of reasons I know that I don’t (and that goes double for McCain).For one thing, Palin voted to have rape victims in Alaska pay for their own DNA testing!And, surprise, Alaska leads the nation in rapes!
The whole idea of having rape victims foot the bill for their DNA testing is just wrong and is but one more example -in a long list of examples - of poor judgment on Palin’s part!
Also, and I know this is a touchy subject, but, how does a teenage girl who has two well off parents (including her birth father) at home, get pregnant out of wedlock?What did the parents do wrong and what makes them think they or Palin should lead the country given their inability to correctly supervise, raise, and lead their own teenaged daughter in the right direction?
Or, is teen girls getting pregnant and having children out of wedlock the role model that we want representing us as a nation, and shinning down on the rest of us from the White House?
If I had a 16 year old daughter who was pregnant out of wedlock I certainly wouldn't be smiling! Or, as the Palins seemed to have suggested, is it ok since the teen who got their daughter pregnant is the local high-school football jock!
[Of course I understand how poor people, with no father in the home can have teen girls getting pregnant out of wedlock, but the Palins' situation is totally different and much rarer given their income level, political party, and family circumstances!
The Palins have gotten a pass on their horrible parenting by feining outrage that anyone would talk about their daughter! I'm not 'talking about' their daughter, but questioning the leadership ability of the parents!]
In spite of her beauty, there is something ............... trashy about Sarah Palin that shines through no matter how they dress her up! And "You can put lipstick on a pig......."
Most of us remember that, with the help of the US Supreme court, the election was stolen from Al Gore eight years ago!
In an effort to prevent a repeat of that scenario, the Obama/Biden team is campaigning untill the last minute in order to push Obama’s lead even further than It already is, show that there is a mandate and also and again prevent the Republican Partisan-9 of the 12 sitting justices were appointed by republicans- US Supreme court from helping the Republicans to steal another election!
Following is a e-mail that I got from Al Gore and the Democratic Party today which I am including here for you!
Kelvin --
In 2000, the entire election came down to a small number of votes in one county in Florida.
Four years later, we came up short by an average of nine voters per precinct in Ohio.
A small change in voter turnout would have made all the difference. Take it from me, elections matter. And this time, supporters like you can make it happen.
I know this might not be possible for everyone, but I'm asking you to consider volunteering anytime between now and Election Day -- Tuesday, November 4th.
With so much at stake this year, we can't miss any opportunity to get more voters to the polls -- and make sure their votes are counted.
Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, www.democrats.org. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
Democratic National Committee, 430 S. Capitol St. SE, Washington, DC 20003
Contributions or gifts to the Democratic National Committee are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.
"The most ingenious thing that the Republican Party has ever done is to make lots of poor (and working class) people believe that cutting taxes on the rich somehow benefits them!"unknown"
The letter above was sent to me several days ago by the McCain camp.I have written of my disappointment with Obama for a while now, and it appears that someone from the McCain camp has been reading my blog, and has targeted me for their snail mail propaganda program.
With that said, let me make this perfectly clear..................................... I'd rather walk through hell doused in gasoline than vote for McCain and Palin!
The problem with that, as Obama pointed out, is that with McCain's 30 years in Washington he is not an outsider and is part of the problem.10 Trillion in debt, tax breaks for companies that offshore,and a history of working for big business against the people instead of for the people!
For one thing, John McCain (and the Republican Party) claims to believe in trickle down economics!They keep claiming that "a rising tide lifts all boats."The problem with that analogy is that tides are made up of many gazillions of water molecules and more accurately describe the middle class population than a few business elites or a few large businesses.
Allowing big business to overly influence Washington and politics is always bad for the masses and the middle class, and outsourcing and off-shoring, and the fact that it has - till recently - been good for big business but bad for the American worker, and has contributed to the current depression that Washington is still largely downplaying as just another recession!
Another example of McCain and the GOP being overly influenced by, and too chummy with big business is illustrated by McCain's role in pardoning Charles Keating; CEO of the failed Lincoln Savings and Loan Association during the savings and loan scandal of the 90s.We should, and can never afford to, forget McCain's role!
Also, McCain said that Obama is running as the ‘wealth’ redistribution president, while he is running as Commander and Chief!McCain went on to misquote Obama saying that Obama disappointed that the civil rights movement didn’t redistribute wealth, and insinuated that Obama meant taking money from white voters and giving it to blacks!
That’s just plain racist pandering!Obama said he wanted to give the middle class a tax break and tax big business (businesses earning over 250,000.00 per year) more.
[We have to understand that when big business gets tax cuts and breaks while off-shoring businesses to other countries, working class Americans end up out of work!
‘Don’t get it twisted’ and don’t let McCain fool you!
Yes, yes, yes, despite my earlier thoughts on Obama, I have gained new insights and reasons to support him as president of the United states! http://www.barackobama.com/index.php
Most unions, including the Chicago Teachers Union and the AFL-CIO, among many others are also supporting Obama for president! You may ask, rightly so, how I can support him, after all that I've written to date. Well, if Hillary Clinton can support Obama for president of the United States, after all that she's said initially while running against him, I can certainly support him! http://cbrkelvinrealestate.typepad.com/the_ins_and_outs_of_real_/2008/04/hillary-clinton.html
Also, former Secretary of State and Republican, General Colin Powell has endorsed Barrack Obama for president of the United states, which speaks volumes about Obama's appeal!
Additionally, the Chicago Sun-Times (of course) and surprisingly the Chicago Tribune - traditionally thought a republican newspaper - for the first time in it's history is endorsing Barack Obama!
And my supporting Obama for president doesn't invalidate my earlier disappointment at some of the things that he has said (namely the talking down to blacks during his personal responsibility speeches and the inappropriate references to blacks eating fried chicken for breakfast), but rather reflects the fact that I know that he is the only logical choice for president, Edwards, my first choice is no longer in the race (and it's time for me to get over it) and McCain/Palin is just not a viable option for a host of reasons!
To backtrack, earlier this year during the start of his 'personal responsibility' speeches to black fathers, Obama used some racial stereotypes in his speeches that I absolutely deplore (and was accused by The Rev. Jessie Jackson (who is also an Obama supporter) and rightly so, of talking down to black folks! http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/09/jesse.jackson.comment/
'Obama's fried chicken speach' was extremely offensive, in retrospect - I believe, even to Barack Obama! In a recent newsletter by a California Republican women's club in San Bernardino County a mock $10.00 food stamp was created with a photo of Barack Obama surrounded by a bucket of fried chicken, a slab of ribs, a pitcher of kool-aid and a slice of watermelon!
To add insult to injury, when the group's president, Diane Fedele said that she was merely poking fun at Obama because he had said no one on us currency ever looked like him.... so they put him on a food stamp!
While the mock $10.00 dollar bill pictured above is extremely crude and offensive, I'm glad that the Republican group did it and got lots of exposure for it. Because, despite John McCain's repudiation of the image(s), it proves that there is a mean spiritedness and overtly racist element that has always been a part of the Grand Old Party and remains so to date! Black republicans............... shame on you!
And if Obama is offended by racist stereotypes, why would he have used one in his 'Personal Responsibility' speeches to blacks. It's important to remember (and for me to remind myself) that, as with most high level politicians, and especially presidential hopefuls, Obama doesn't write most of his speeches, and may see some speeches just minutes before they are delivered and before he has a chance to have them changed or re-written!
The speech that Obama gave with the references to blacks feeding their children 'fried chicken for breakfast' was very likely written by his top speech writer; John Favreau who is white, and the insensitivity of what I have coined 'Obama's fried chicken speech', may more closely reflect Favreau's feelings than those of Obama. (Or as I mentioned in an earlier post, may have been purposely written to endear Obama to White Americans)
I am not a member of Obama's close circle, but one thing that I can tell you for sure, for sure, for sure, is that after the Inland Republican women's groups racist caricature of Obama on the mock $10.00 bill, Obama will NEVER again give any speeches denouncing blacks for feeding their children fried chicken for breakfast! I GUARANTEE IT!
Also, I stated earlier that Obama is so smart that he had to know that he couldn't win the presidential race, because of deep seated and often subtle American racism. Because Obama said "definitively" in a 2006 Chicago magazine article that he would not be running for president in 2008.
But in retrospect, since Obama is half white, was raised and nurtured by his white grandparents (unlike most half blacks whom are overwhelmingly disowned by their white relatives) and raised in Hawaii - mostly - where racism is shunned and considered bad mannered, Obama probably did believed that he could win the white house!
Most 'first blacks' in any field or profession are almost always either half white, or more white (genetically) than black, (Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglass, Halle Berry, Vanessa Williams and Susette Charles, Walter White, Lena Horne, Dorothy Dandridge, Adam Clayton Powell) so why should't Obama have felt that he had a chance to be the first 'black' president of the USA? http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jefferson/mixed/onedrop.html
Obama wants to raise taxes on the upper class and big business, while lower the taxes on the middle class! Other things that Obama will do is..............
1. Obama wants to reign in corporate America and more closely regulate private industry in order to safeguard the public and prevent the kind of economic turmoil caused by the last 8 years of republican 'Rule'!
2. If you have a son or daughter in Iraq, Obama wants to bring them home to you and allow the Iraqi people to resolve their own problems while we deal with more pressing economic problems here at home!
3. Obama wants to keep employee paid health insurance as is and not tax it as income, which would raise employees' (with employer paid health) taxes. [More on this in a future post.]
4. Obama wants to end tax breaks given to companies that off-shore, to encourage more companies to remain stateside or repatriate themselves. Off-shoring is partially responsible for the current housing crisis, as every job that is shipped overseas is onel less job here in America and one more home owner with a mortgage that will likely go into foreclosure!
After careful examination of Obama's plan, I have to say that it makes sense! We do need change in the White House, [and not laxed regulation and government hands off approach to regulating business while they wreck havoc on our economy and the economies of the entire world], same old trickle down economics; "Bushonomics" that have plagued our country for the last 8 years and that have driven our financial system right down the drain, along with the housing market!
The only way that Obama can loose now is if there is once again massive voter election fraud and disenfranchisement, and if the supreme court steps in again to block a recount, if the count is contested, as they did to ensure that George W III could keep the election win that he stole!
As i've written before, I don't think it's smart to vote for someone based on their Gender or Race. I initially supported John Edwards, not Obama, [partly because I believed that Edwards had the best chance of winning, and also because I felt that (and still believe that it was the case) the GOP felt Obama had the least chance of beating them, while Edwards could have beaten them easily, then Hillary could have also beaten him, but that because of his race, Obama had the least chance and that was why they insured that he won the nomination. Call me a conspiracy theorist, it's ok.
I am objective to the point of coming off as...........critical. I didn't rush in, obviously, to support Obama for President, but have done so only after careful thought, tons of reading, and just plain 'observing the economy under the current republican administration. So, I believe that if I can support Obama, even though I have had some misgivings about some aspects of his candidacy, you should strongly consider supporting and voting for him as well!
Three Aldermen, Alderman Ed Burke, Alderman Virginia Rugai, and Alderman Eugene Schulter have proposed a mandatory Spay/Neuter ordinance for the city of Chicago. Asa responsible dog owner (and or rarely hobby-breeder) I am opposed to this legislation and extremely concerned about many facets of it.
Contrary to popular belief, spaying and neutering dogs isn't harmless, especially when done before maturity! It reduces vigor, stunts growth, and causes premature aging, obesity (lack of testosterone and estrogen), incontinence (sooner or later), especially, in females, and prostate cancer in males!
Personally, I own Belgian Malinois out of Dutch Police dog stock.My dogs have over 100 years of breeding for police work behind them, and have produced four working police dogs, two bomb dogs, and several drug dogs! My property is enclosed within a rot Iron fence that requires a key to enter and exit and my dogs are always either secured on my private property, or on lead when off the premises.
Dog owners should be held criminally accountable for their dogs’ actions when their dogs are allowed to escape their property and attack people, and I support stiff criminal penalties for such irresponsible dog owners!
In San Francisco,California, Marjorie Knoller was convicted of second-degree murder, later reduced to involuntary manslaughter, after her two Presa Canarios mauled Diane Whipple to death in 2001! Both dogs were put to sleep.
With severe criminal charges being the consequence of irresponsible dog owners' dogs, escaping their property and, attacking people, dog owners would be more careful and responsible with their pets, and would not allow them to escape, or they would simply not own them.
Furthermore, although (dog) aggression decreases with sterilization, it increases exponentially when dogs are allowed to free-roam and form packs! And even sterile dogs that are allowed to free roam, or that escape from their owners, will attack people (usually small children and people over 50) when they form a pack of two or more!
Also, the rise in pet homelessness and overpopulated animal shelters is not due to a lack of dogs being spayed, as there are no true feral dog populations in the City of Chicago, but due to the depressed economy, and millions of people loosing their homes to foreclosure and moving into apartments that don't allow pets!
Some people like Cockapoos, Labradoodles or just plain mutts and should have the right to own them if they choose too.And, while I understand that Bob Barker is a well liked public persona, you should also know that he has been linked to several radical animal rights groups, like PETA, that don’t think anyone has a right to own domesticated animals nor eat any type of meat, and who have been linked to the arson near Mayor Daley’s summer home, and threats towards the mayor and his family!
Dog and pet owners in the City of Chicago contribute many millions of dollars to the local economy and government every year, in sales taxes generated when we buy dog/pet food and products!Consequently, the more people who own dogs the more tax revenue is generated for the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois when these pet owners spend money on pet related products and food!
I also believe that this proposed ordinance has more to do with desperation and some of the aldermen at city hall trying to come up with any means they can to plug the 420 million dollar budget deficit, than it has to do with public safety or overpopulation and euthanasia of unwanted and abandoned pets!
In these tough economic times, these aldermen/lawmakers should be trying to increase pet ownership, thereby increasing tax revenue, rather than starting down a path of fewer dogs in the city and fewer owners purchasing pet products!
Further, if this ordinance is passed, I will also be asking all pet organizations, and exhibitors to cancel and boycott the annual events at McCormick Place, as I feel that it is preposterous for any government agency (which benefits from tax revenue generated by the sale of pet products – the sales of which are based on the pet population) to mandate sterilization and continue to expect to earn tax revenue from the affected pet owners!
Additionally, this ordinance is also disturbing because it infringes on private property rights, and the rights of homeowners to own and keep intact dogs if they see fit! If it is enacted in Chicago, it could very well spread to other cities, counties and states, and could very well grow to include all domesticated animals, over-restrictive pet count limists, etc.
The proposed mandatory sterilization ordinance is far too intrusive and invasive and infringes on both real property rights and private property rights; as our dogs are our own private property! I am notifying my bank that if the mandatory sterilization law passes, I will sell my home (or walk away from it if it doesn't sell), and move out of the City of Chicago and to a more dog and dog owner friendly city, and leave my City of Chicago tax burden (along with the tax burdens and losses from other fleeing residents) for remaining residents to bare!
Not only am I opposed to this mandatory sterilization ordinance, but so are the majority of Veterinarians, and also the AKC. Help get this proposed ordinance defeated! Visit the AKC link below for contact information for the three aldermen and Fax them letting them know that you oppose this ordinance!
Also call and fax your alderman and let him know that you oppose this obtrusive ordinance. If you don't know who your alderman is, and or need their contact information you can locate him or her by going to the link below.
Within the last year I have noticed a significant increase in the number of alley cats, and cats that are allowed by their owners to free roam at night. In fact, Now, I seem to see several ferral or free roaming cats a week. And since cats are primarily nocturnal, I usually see them at night.
[Do you see the holes chewed through these two garbage cans!]
Something else that I recently noticed is an absence of rats in the alleys near my home!!!! I hadn't even thought about it much, but after thinking about it I realized that, I haven't seen any rats scurrying under cars, or under garages, or behind garbage cans, or ......yikes, jumping out of Garbage cans as I open them to throw in the trash! Yes, those nasty, disease carying city rats are being displaced and exterminated by Alley Cats!
Part of the increase in the feral cat population is due to the housing depression and a percentage of foreclosed owners unable to secure housing that allows pets (while others simply can't afford to feed their pets and themselves with the rising cost of food, Gas, and the general economic recession) and deciding to turn their animals out into the streets.
This is generally seen as a bad thing and a negative. But, I have to admit, a year after the appearance of alley cats in the area that their is a huge upside to having ferral cats in the area!
Alley cats have done for free in my area, and many others that have seen their numbers increase, what the city of chicago has, and many other major metropolitan areas have, spent millions of tax payer dollars (over several centuries) trying to do but failed......exterminated rats!
For as long as I can remember I have admired Bill Gates. He and his partner Paul Allen had the insight to buy MS Dos; an obscure operating system when no one else wanted it, and turned it into a Billion dollar plus enterprise!
Yet, I've never seen them on the cover of any magazine proposing to raise or eliminate the cap on H-1B Visas; which allow foreign nationals to work in the US for a fraction of what American workers are paid, and which is exactly what he wants to do!
Gates' Microsoft corporation has already off-shored call center and tech support job positions to India (which translates into job losses for Americans) and already hires the maximum number of H-1B Visas currently allowed by congress.
An even greater problem is that "the Department of Labor states that current H-1B law doesn't require employers to seek local talent before recruiting abroad for their US job openings and H-1B Visa renewals do not count towards the annual limits!"
So every year, Gates and owners of other multi-national corporations are allowed to add to the number of foreign nationals that they already employ here, up to the yearly limit! Gates claims that he just 'can't find enough local talent' to fill his job openings and that India is full of talent and the Indians are so smart.....'
[I'm also certain that companies are firing small percentages of American workers for any number of (false and trumped up) infractions just so that they can replace the workers with lower paid H-1B Visa workers! Wait until those lawsuits start!]
Another thing about Bill and Melinda Gates that bugs me is that Bill Gates got his start with a small business loan from the SBA! The SBA gives loans for business start-ups from money allocated to it's budget which ultimately comes from tax payers.........the same tax payers (and their children) who are now being screwed out of well paying jobs by Gates!
In the Economist's Billanthropy article, Gates claims that he was taught by his mother that he had a responsibility to "give back." If he truly believed that, why wouldn't he 'On-Shore' jobs and companies and hire more American citizens vs trying to raise the level of Foreign nationals that he hires! Especially since "Charity begins at home!"
Melinda Gates is from a middle class upbringing, but by not advising her husband (which both of them claim she does) to lead by example and hire more Americans vs foreign nationals (a practice that hurts the middle class), she shows that she has forgotten where she came from', namely the middle class.
Also, many large Companies brag about how many minorities they hire yet don't tell you what percentage of those minority employees are actually lower paid H-1B Visa workers, while in many instances the employer gets tax incentives and breaks for having hired the minority (in these instances H-1B) worker whom they've hired at a fraction of the salary they'd be expected to hire an American at!
All of this translates into American citizens having to accept lower and lower wages in order to get hired, while depressing wage and salary growth and deteriorating the overall economy! Yet, many economists claim not to understand why real wages haven't grown at a pace even close to the growth in housing prices! Go figure!
Sorry, but no matter how many Indians or other foreign nationals occupy lofty (job) positions in this country, from Doctors, Staff Attorneys, Teachers, Aircraft Mechanics and yes even staff (Employee vs Independent Contractor) Real Estate agents, the real reason that they are being hired is because their employers are paying them less than they would have to Pay an American worker to do the same job and not because the foreign worker is any smarter!
Recently, a foreign national from India filed suit against his employer over deceptive pay. He was promised by the recruiter in India that he would be paid $43,000.00 a year (as a computer engineer-I believe), but was in fact paid only $23,000.00 per year, for a job that Americans get $65,000.00 per year to start!
Education in India is unbelievably cheap compared to the US! And Americans spend a fortune to go to college and get a good job, only to not even be considered for would be lucrative jobs as employers hire cheaper H-1B Visa workers!
Weve also learned that students were steered by their Universities to preferred lenders who charged higher interest rates on student loans and gave the Universities a kick back on the loans. American students are then stuck paying back a student loan yet often lack job opportunities, partially due to H-1B Visas!
They have already eliminated the incentive to keep jobs in this country with the proliferation of "Free Trade" agreements and tax incentives to companies that offshore American jobs!
So, now, jobs that aren't off-shored, or outsourced, are still lost as employers replace American workers with imported cheap labor in the form of foreign nationals on H-1B Visas! These visas can last for 6 years, while the foreign nationals apply for citizenship and consequently erode American salaries and pay rates!
These practices, in large part, explain why real wages have not risen enough to keep pace with housing. And large companies, many of which are the main employers in their areas want to raise and eliminate the cap on H1B Visas.
Multinational corporations, like Microsoft, have too much power and undue influence over the government. One way that they maintain their control is through bribing public officials in the form of positions on boards, ghost patrolling jobs to the relatives of lawmakers, and by hiring lawmakers' relatives (at outrageous wages) to lobby congress and the house of representatives!
And big business, while reaping substantial tax breaks, often ends up costing us many Billions, soon to be Trillions, of dollars in Tax payer bailouts.
This is all just plain wrong. The more that larger and growing segments of American citizens have less money to spend and make mortgage payments, as now with the current credit crunch and economic recession, the less real value that real estate has!
What they don't know is that the people are starting to talk......"bout a revolution!"
