Did I leave out science? Republicans don't seem to respect science very much either. The Republican Party has outlived its useful life.

Fly - You seem to have plenty negative to say about the republican party, but I have not seen you address anything regarding the democratic party. Is the democratic position in this election simply going to be "Romney is bad (taxes, he's rich, he's morman, he's average, etc. etc), or is there going to be a time when the democratic party goes "you should vote for us, because this is what we've done and what we are about to do".

Yes, you should vote for the Democratic Party because the Democratic Party will save Social Security and have some concern for the middle class.

Sox, Charlie. Thank you for asking the question.

Fly, the Democratic Party will neither save SS nor do they care about the middle class.

They have demonstrated an agenda of giving more free social benefits to any group except the rich and middle class, at the expense of the middle class.

I feel like the country has reached the 'skinny dog' stage - lord knows, the middle class is being eaten inside and out by fleas and worms. In the end, the parasites always kill the host. And then they die as well.

Charlie, I like your parasite analogy,but know your enemy. The "wealth creators" like Romney and his kind have been sucking the life blood out of the American economy for far too long. The Ryan "plan" will end Social Security.

The poor will always be with us ,but we would have fewer poor people if all of the jobs had not been sent away. Manufacturing was first. Now engineering projects,design projects of every description,accounting projects,legal projects, IT projects,and medical reviews are commonly sent overseas.

Some welfare recipients are parasites but many more are simply victims of the MBA's in the glass towers who have learned how to make money the easy way.

Fly, Charlie.

We must have grown up in different neighborhoods. No MBAs where I lived. There was those who worked and had a little, and those who didn't work and got just as much from the gov't.

As for jobs being sent away...hmmm. I usually pin that on unions who demand salaries and benefits beyond the pale. What would you do, Fly - pay the union guy $150 to cut you grass, or pay the immigrant $50? Not opening the discussion to immigration, but do you routinely pay more for the same service?

Lastly, the only problem I have with ending social security is how to recover what has been withheld from me for decades. Personally, I would have opted out a LOONG time ago, if I could have.

Fly -

That is great news. I am 36 years old, and quite frankly am not planning on Social Security being there when I retire. So my questions are :

1. How? What is your party planning on doing to save Social Security?

2. Why haven't they done it already? I remember hearing this in the 2008 election as well. If there is a plan / desire to save social security, why hasn't it been enacted?

Thanks,

Charlie,

Thank you for your response.I think we grew up in the same neighborhood.Small businesses deserve all of the help that they can get. Ordinary ,hard working Americans need all of the help that they can get.

Unions ,with the exception of public sector unions, are moribund. About seven per cent of the workforce is unionized so what was once a problem cannot be the source of our problems now.I might also add that Georgia is a Right to Work state.

This is Fly. Wordsprite is my wife! I accidentally posted under her account.

wordsprite (Fly?), Charlie.

Have you heard that between $5000 and $10,000 of the price of a new American made car to go toward union benefits negotiated in the '70's? I have.

I remember those days, the strikes, the benefit packages. I remember my mom and dad commenting how a UAW guy in Ohio could deserve $25/hour while my dad earned less than $15 as a supervisor in GA.

Unions served a vital purpose from the late 1800's through the 1950's. After that, they morphed into a self interested, self perpetuating monster. I think it will take a long time to erase that stain and repair the damage.

Sox, One barrier to fixing Social Security ,or any national problem for that matter, is the notion that the fix will be painless.People do not want to hear about pain. They want happy talk. So any politician or political party suggesting that the solution might be messy is in for trouble.

Another reason that nothing has been done is simply obstructionism from the Republican Party.Making the opposition look bad will yield votes for Republicans.Note that I am not suggesting that the Democrats would not do the same thing if roles were reversed ,but regardless of the party in power, this lack of principle is harmful.

Republican happy talk revolves around the magic of deregulation and tax cuts. Cut the taxes and all falls into place--- painlessly. If we all understand that there is no free lunch and that we will have to pay for the decisions we make or fail to make, we would all be better off.

You're thirty-six---enjoy being thirty-six ,but consider your parents, if still living, and all of those worthy Americans who depend upon Social Security. Shopping for an alternative is an exercise in wishful thinking. The privatization of Social Security assumes ,and this is a very big assumption, that a profit can be be made where none could reasonably be expected.

Finally, what of our civic culture? Are we all simply consumers buying a product from a vendor? Is the merchant or salesman a ready substitute for our hard won democracy? We need to be careful here. Our government is charged with providing for the needs of every citizen no matter how poor. A business can only provide for citizens with cash.

Charlie, one comment about your statement on jobs being sent away that, "I usually pin that on unions who demand salaries and benefits beyond the pale". While that may be true in some situations, it does not apply to the major impact in the South - textiles. I worked in a carpet mill and had relatives who made their livelihoods in textiles with J.P. Stevens and others. Those jobs were not unionized but still paid a living wage. Attempts to unionize were routinely voted down through the years. Yet, those jobs still went overseas. Strict capitalism - to control costs and keep consumers, producers were forced to seek cheaper work markets.

Bryant, Charlie.

Still union driven, in my opinion.

A non union textile worker makes a living wage - fair enough. But then he/she has to buy things, a car for instance. That car was made by a union worker in Michigan and the car company passes those union costs along to the textile worker. The textile worker sees less bang for his buck, so he/she needs more wages. Textile company can't/won't do it, so the plant moves overseas.

I know it is all much more complex than that, but that is the way I see it in a nutshell.

Charlie, Bryant

But if you take your view in a nutshell, even with our unions (as small as they currently are) foreign manufacturers are moving into the US. You have numerous foreign car manufacturers in the US. You have the Portugese transformer factory, Efacec, in Rincon. So, how does that fit in with your theory?

It is a complex question. To parse it down to unionism as the driving factor assigns too much blame and ignores too many other contributors.

Bryant, Charlie.

I agree it is a complex issue, far beyond my nutshell example.

However, I have (have had for some time) a major issue with unions that demand the moon and stars, defend worthless employees/members, and collect outrageous dues to support full time union personnel who no longer even WORK, in the field/trade.

And that is my bias. I claim it, embrace it, and will cling to it until I die.

Fly -

Thanks for responding. Unfortunately it sounds just like what I hear on TV! You blamed the other party (Republicans in this case) for the fact that your party hasn't fixed the issue and then never really answered my question (republicans are masters at this as well!)

So why do I vote for Obama? Seriously - has he fixed any of the issues he said he was? Is there a future for social security? If so, what's the plan? I am ready to support it if someone can let me k ow wh

Know what the democrats are actually going to do!