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That's what I call scrounging!!
Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 9:53 pm
by Gob
Salma Yaqoob called Tory bigwig Iain Duncan Smith a “scrounger” on Thursday’s Question Time, attacking the secretary for works and pensions over austerity measures that have left "13 million Britons living below the poverty line".
"I’m sitting next to Iain Duncan Smith who labels poor people as scroungers when you {IDS} claim £39 for a breakfast, like you can’t afford your own breakfast, and you live on your wife’s estate and have taken a million pounds of taxpayers’ money, that’s what I call scrounging," the Birmingham chair of Stop the War and the former leader of the Respect party said.
"What a load of old nonsense," replied the angered Tory, before dismissing his attacker with a wave of the hand. "I have never, ever labelled them as scroungers at all," he said, shaking his head. He also denied that he had claimed the money for breakfast.
Re: That's what I call scrounging!!
Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 10:06 pm
by BoSoxGal
The Two Bums
The bum on the rods is hunted down as an enemy of mankind
The other is driven around to his club, is feted, wined and dined
And they who curse the bum on the rods as the essence of all that's bad
Will greet the other with a willing smile and extend a hand so glad
The bum on the rods is a social flea who gets an occassional bite
The bum on the plush is a social leech, bloodsucking day and night
The bum on the rods is a load so light that his weight we scarcely feel
But it takes the labour of dozens of folks to furnish the other a meal
As long as we sanction the bum on the plush the other will always be there
But rid ourselves of the bum on the plush and the other will dissappear
Then make an intelligent organised kick get rid of the weights that crush
Dont worry about the bum on the rods get rid of the bum on the plush
Re: That's what I call scrounging!!
Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 10:10 pm
by rubato
In America it is the defense budget and well call it "welfare for the rich". Bush II's anti-missle defense system is only 50% effective and that is only when the incoming missile has a homing beacon on it; so we only have to talk the N. Koreans Chinese and Russians to put homing beacons on their missiles and we'll shoot down half of them!
It's not logic. It's "Republican logic". Not the same thing at all.
yrs,
rubato
Re: That's what I call scrounging!!
Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 11:36 pm
by Gob
rubato wrote:In America it is the defense budget and well call it "welfare for the rich". Bush II's anti-missle defense system is only 50% effective and that is only when the incoming missile has a homing beacon on it; so we only have to talk the N. Koreans Chinese and Russians to put homing beacons on their missiles and we'll shoot down half of them!
It's not logic. It's "Republican logic". Not the same thing at all.
yrs,
rubato
Can anyone see the logic in rubato's post?
Re: That's what I call scrounging!!
Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 12:45 am
by Scooter
He's talking about corporate welfare, much of which is spent on defence, which uses public funds to make the rich even richer. Something Republicans support, while demonizing parents who need food stamps to make ends meet.
Re: That's what I call scrounging!!
Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 3:53 am
by Gob
Right, I understood that, what does it have to do with the topic in hand?
Re: That's what I call scrounging!!
Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 6:01 am
by BoSoxGal
double post
Re: That's what I call scrounging!!
Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 6:01 am
by BoSoxGal
The OP is an article with a 'left'-leaning politician calling attention to social welfare and decrying the conservative politician on the public teat who points at the poor and cries foul.
I posted in response a timeless classic USA union song, about the bum on the plush (the corporate, sometimes war profiteer in bed with politicians) v. the bum on the rods (the social flea who collects welfare).
rubato pointed out that in the USA the bum on the plush is almost always in some way connected to the military-industrial-complex, i.e., defense spending.
It's actually very logical and rubato's posts are generally logical, and often quite wry and funny and appreciated by those of us here who don't just dismiss him out of hand.
That's about it. Capiche?
Re: That's what I call scrounging!!
Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 7:17 am
by Gob
Well, I suppose.
It's a thread about a UK politician being taken to task for allegedly claiming £39 for a breakfast, so I would see that naturally George Bush's anti-missile Republican logic would apply.
Re: That's what I call scrounging!!
Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 12:54 pm
by MajGenl.Meade
This is what I call scrounging.... give a little, get a lot back
Rank Name Donation $$$ to Dems to Reps
1 ActBlue $107,563,973 99% 0%
2 American Fedn of State, County & Municipal Employees $62,182,379 80% 1%
3 National Education Assn $59,005,000 56% 4%
4 AT&T Inc $57,225,773 41% 57%
5 National Assn of Realtors $55,561,528 41% 44%
6 Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers $45,966,856 91% 2%
7 Goldman Sachs $45,954,910 52% 43%
8 Carpenters & Joiners Union $42,339,785 70% 9%
9 United Auto Workers $41,925,128 71% 0%
10 Service Employees International Union $38,663,398 84% 2%
11 Laborers Union $38,408,370 83% 7%
12 American Federation of Teachers $37,663,325 89% 0%
13 Teamsters Union $36,528,957 87% 5%
14 Communications Workers of America $36,340,373 86% 0%
15 JPMorgan Chase & Co $35,185,676 47% 51%
16 United Food & Commercial Workers Union $34,239,403 86% 0%
17 United Parcel Service $32,826,166 35% 64%
18 Citigroup Inc $32,606,867 48% 50%
19 National Auto Dealers Assn $32,423,910 31% 68%
20 EMILY's List $32,076,849 98% 0%
Re: That's what I call scrounging!!
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 6:18 pm
by Long Run
Well, I suppose.
You don't have to concede false comparisons. In your example, if the charges were right -- that the pol who criticizes welfare is asking the taxpayers to pick up his breakfast -- there is indeed some hypocrisy. In contrast, it is inapt to compare such situation to those who criticize of welfare programs, where cash or equivalent is given to a poor person (on the basis that such programs should be limited to prevent encouraging indolence or abuse), while supporting of military programs where the government pays for goods and services received. Having the government pay for necessary goods and services is not welfare (though one can argue how necessary the goods and services are, and it is also tangentially fine to point out poor contracting practices and abuses of the contracting system, but this is more an indictment of the inefficiencies of government, and is not corporate welfare). The only common criticism of welfare and military spending is that both illustrate how inefficient and subject to abuse government programs can be. The auto bailout and financial bailout were examples of corporate welfare -- where the government was not purchasing anything, but instead was trying to save those businesses or industries. Similarly, providing cash subsidies or tax incentives can also be examples of corporate welfare, where the government is trying to encourage a certain behavior by having the taxpayers pick up the tab.