| Author | Message | ||
     Geforce |
Really cool cartoon. Thought I would share it. Enjoy. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
That huckster looks strangely familiar. | ||
| Chellem |
Is this cartoon for real? This quote gave me chills: "When anybody preaches disunity, tries to pit one of us against the other through class warfare, race hatred or religious intolerance, you know that person seeks to rob us of our freedom and destroy our very lives." The first bit was a little long, I almost gave up before the really good part. Worth the wait. | ||
| Teddagreek |
Make Mine Freedom, a cartoon produced by Harding College in 1948, is essentially an explanation of capitalism and a criticism of the Soviet Union. After about two minutes of general talk on freedom, the film develops a storyline in which four men representing labor, management, politicians, and farmers argue and a snake-oil salesman steps in, peddling bottles of "ism" (communism) and claiming it will cure everyone's ills. A nearby man, who has been resting on a park bench, comes up and deflates the salesman's pitch. He first highlights the benefits of capitalism through a fictionalized version of the creation of the automobile. He then tells what life would be like under "ism": oppressive and poor. The film ends with the five red-blooded Americans marching in a band superimposed over an image of the Lincoln Memorial. The piece is a curious example of Cold War attitudes towards economy, communism, and the American Dream. It's entertaining, but it's unlikely it will change any communist minds, whether in our present or the present of 1948. I can't really figure out who the target audience was. Still, it's fun to watch, and a fascinating look into history. | ||
| M2me |
Still, it's fun to watch, and a fascinating look into history. I agree with that. It was a Cold War cartoon. Interesting, but not all that relevant 61 years later. When anybody preaches disunity, tries to pit one of us against the other through class warfare, race hatred or religious intolerance, you know that person seeks to rob us of our freedom and destroy our very lives.
Warren Buffet is very smart. I respect him way more than Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter or any of the other jackasses in the right wing media. They don't have a problem with class warfare as long it's being waged by the top 1% of wealth holders against everybody else. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
What are the top 1% actually doing to the other 99%? How exactly are they "waging war"? | ||
| Chellem |
Personally, I think class warfare is a complete farce. Imagined. All in one's head. Yes, some people have it better than others. In many cases, it's unfair. In many other cases, people work their ASSES off to better themselves. In many cases, people sit around and wait for someone, anyone to take care of them, and will resist actual self-responsibility at all costs. I feel the same thoughts as everyone else. Why's that guy got more than me? I work hard. Don't I deserve as much as him? Why's that moron making more than me? It's all a conspiracy, all against ME. But ya see, the major problem with that theory is - EVERYONE is so wrapped up in their own ME that no one even notices anyone else's ME. I am happy with my life right now. I would be happier if the economy wasn't tanked. I'd sleep more. I'd work a little less. But overall, I'm happy. I know that rich people have more stuff than I do. I'm not sure they're actually HAPPIER. Everyone - OK not everyone, but a LOT of people - who've won the lottery have had their lives considerably worsened. People in power want to keep us fighting with each other and missing the larger picture. Unions keep their power by blaming everything on management. Liberals blame mean, callous rich people for disregarding the poor like so much trash. Conservatives blame lazy poor people for not participating in they system and doing their part. In fact, it's all partly true and it's all mostly not true. But as long as we pick our side and direct our ire at our fellow man, NONE of us direct our ire at the people who are really causing the mess. Sorry. It's late I guess. I try very hard not to be envious of those who are more well off than I am. It's not easy, and I have to really try sometimes, but in my brain I know it doesn't make sense. And I try very hard to empathize with people who are less fortunate than me. Although I admit, that's actually harder for me, because I work really hard, and I expect others to do the same, and I have a base assumption that if most people worked a little harder they'd have more. May be true, may just me my buying the same crap the leaders sell. This is too long. To sum up - focus on making yourself, your family, and your community better. Don't worry if someone has a nicer house than you, because you don't know what their credit card bills look like. If everyone did that, what a wonderful world. AND WITH ALL THE FREE TIME YOU HAVE NOT HATING PEOPLE DIFFERENT FROM YOU, WATCH OUR LEADERS LIKE A HAWK AND QUESTION EVERYTHING THEY DO. They don't care about you. They care about maintaining their own power at all costs. | ||
| Oldog |
I believe that the cartoon is quite relavent, the basic tennants that it explains still hold true today. the ISM pedalers are smoother, and slicker and we are bombarded from all sides by messages that its some one elses fault, or heres the easy way, IMO the media weather deliberately or not reported things in such a manner as to insite the blame game ( class war fare, ) We John Q Public, have on at least one ocasion have said Wait a minute let me read that before you sign it. The difference is that in 48 they were not so distracted and were not concerned about being politicaly correct, they were in fact Far sighted, as the comunist system as they knew it in fact did fail. I say it again, those who fail to learn historys lessons are doomed to repeat them. | ||
| Nobuell |
The President of my company is one of those 1%ers. He is a great guy. Yes he makes decent money but if the company fails, it is his house and money on the line because he is leveraged to keep the credit and bonding required to run the company. There are many risks to be successful in the business world. Company success to him is a good work load, profit and share the wealth within the company. When the company does well, the company profits, the workers make more and he does as well. Capitalism works for me. As a Vice President, I make a good living. But there are a lot of 14 our days, working at nights and on weekends when required. It is real easy for the workers and the unions to blame management, but when they walk out of the door after their 8 hour day, I may be working 5 more hours to put out that proposal to get the work. In general, a person that is willing to do what it takes. Go to school or to the trades add in a little luck, but working hard will have its rewards. | ||
| Jwnsc |
What are the top 1% actually doing to the other 99%? How exactly are they "waging war"? Buffet was referring to his discovery that the rich are able to manipulate the tax code so that they pay far less taxes as a percentage of their total income as compared to the middle or lower classes. The result, is more and more of the middle class sinks into the lower class and more and more wealth is concentrated in the hands of the people like Buffet. Ben ("Bueller, Bueller") Stein will explain it to you here: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/business/yourmon ey/26every.html} | ||
| Chellem |
Didn't Buffet say in the same interview that he had NOT manipulated the tax code, that it was set up that way? http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/business/yourmon ey/26every.html "It turned out that Mr. Buffett, with immense income from dividends and capital gains, paid far, far less as a fraction of his income than the secretaries or the clerks or anyone else in his office. Further, in conversation it came up that Mr. Buffett doesn’t use any tax planning at all. He just pays as the Internal Revenue Code requires." So, by this logic, if we revamped the tax code to a straight percentage, say, like the Fair Tax, then "rich" people would be paying more of their share? And the class warfare would be over? And the middle class would move closer to the rich class instead of the other way around? Because I'm all about the Fair tax! | ||
| Alchemy |
Buffet was on Squawkbox a couple days ago discussing the railroad purchase. A full in bet on the future of America as the investment was described. My memory is that he again asserted that taxes (as in a higher rate for the wealthy) are not a problem. We have paid more in the past and done just fine. I wish we had a hundred more like him and John Bogle. Buffet is just an amazing guy. He only makes me nervious in that he chums with Gates Jr who I consider to be lacking any moral compass. Buffet has been a favorable influence on Gates however. | ||
| Jwnsc |
Didn't Buffet say in the same interview that he had NOT manipulated the tax code, that it was set up that way? So how do you think the tax code got set up that way? Is it possible that a bunch of rich people, (not Buffet personally, I mean, really, how many billionaires have you heard say they aren't taxed enough?) got together and funded hordes of lobbyists and made massive campaign contributions to sympathetic (rich) politicians running for office and to U.S. legislators that write the tax laws? No, of course not, this is a representative democracy and we follow the Golden Rule! No, not the one in the Bible. I'd support a national sales tax exempting food and medicine in lieu of the current federal tax code, but all the tax lawyers, CPAs and lobbyists say it won't work. |
