Donna
won't you concede that the vast majority of citizens have their most basic biological needs met?
No Donna, I don't. A person doesn't need to be homeless to wonder if they have enough money to put food on the table tomorrow, or to cover the medical payments, etc.
One of the reasons that mortgage of mine is so low is because Ohio currently has a drasically high mortgage default rate. People are losing their homes at a record rate. Few new loans are being incurred and the banks are fighting for new business.
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And I believe that those on the bottom of the heirarchy's pyramid, those focused on breathing, eating, sex and shitting do not vote at all, ever.
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I think you've also just insulted a good portion of the population by claiming 'they don't vote anyhow' - a very naive satement, imo.
The jobless rate means nothing when the paycheck doesn't meet the worker's economic needs.
Retirees whose incomes are fixed and can no longer afford property taxes due to land values (in the past) constantly rising and are about to lose their homes. That falls under physiological needs (not biological).
Donna, I'm a cop, and most of the problems I deal with are symptoms of problems in that physiological level, and I work in an upper middle-income or better city. The few homeless we have are drifting through.
I'm talking about everyday, blue and white collar workers. They're worried. I hear the stories several times a day.
Gas drive offs have practically doubled in the past year in our community, and I don't mean vagabonds or kids in old cars, but family people in SUVs who 'accidently forgot' to pay, even though a clerk was standing next to their car window yelling at them to stop.
People are spending less on non-essentials, so businesses are cutting down on payroll and personnel. less money going out to the labor force.
The majority of domestic violence calls have always been about money or sex. The ratio of money related calls over sex related calls has grown significantly. (The most recent I eas on was a man who owned his own business - he appraised real estate. He hasn't had any business -see above - and his wife had to go back to work, yada yada yada. You get the drift. Tight budget, male ego, she wants to go shopping instead of being here with the kids and we don't have the money, etc.)
Oh yeah - and these people vote. What issues do you think are most important to them? Are they going to vote based on morality or common good?
Even the people better off want to stay that way, and will vote accordingly.
[This message has been edited by Jerry Glenn Hartwig (edited September 07, 2008).]