Tax cuts for the rich are not as important as the needs of laid off citizens & federal workers

Our priorities are backwards when tax cuts for Millionaires are more important than unemployment benefits for laid off citizens & pay for federal workers. The right is engaging in class warfare. Democrats shouldn't cave on these issues. I don't support Obama's pay freeze. If you are laid off, work for government or make less than 250K you should write you congressmen and women to pay employees & extend unemployment.

Once Reagan started cutting taxes for the rich in the 80s the deficit began to sky rocket. He pushed the theory of trickle down economics but it hasn't worked.

Clinton's budgets stabilized the deficits in the late 90s but the Bush tax cuts for the rich helped bring about rapid deficits again. People need to remember that a large portion of the stimulus under Bush in 2008 and Obama in 2009 was tax cuts too. Taxes are actually at an all time low.

I'm not even saying that I'm against renewing tax cuts for the poor and middle class at least on a temporary basis. They have been shafted over the past 30 years by outsourcing, credit card hikes, payday lenders and sub prime loans. We are coming out of a recession and people need a break.

Why are the Republicans willing to hold up tax cuts for everyone else so they can pass tax cuts for Millionaires? The average unemployment check is $290 a week that helps people skate by paying their bills and spending their money stimulating the economy. The average tax cut for millionaires is hundreds of thousands of dollars for people that don't need the money. Billionaire William Buffett paid 19% in taxes last year which is lower than most of his employees. That is why he is supporting raise taxes on the rich.

Why are we giving tax breaks to multi-national corporations to ship jobs overseas? Is that in the interest in the American people? Those corporations and the millionaires that fund the candidates (anonymously due to Citizens United) perpetuate this cycle of the government doing what is best for the rich (i.e. tax breaks) or the corporations (i.e. bailouts for companies with bad business practices that we're deemed too big to fail) while leaving middle class and working class Americans to fend for themselves.

In the United States, wealth is highly concentrated in a relatively few hands. The top 1% of households (the upper class) owned 34.6% of all privately held wealth, and the next 19% (the managerial, professional, and small business stratum) had 50.5%, which means that just 20% of the people owned a remarkable 85%, leaving only 15% of the wealth for the bottom 80% (wage and salary workers). In terms of financial wealth (total net worth minus the value of one's home), the top 1% of households had an even greater share: 42.7%.

In 2003, just 1% of all households -- those with after-tax incomes averaging $701,500 -- received 57.5% of all capital income, up from 40% in the early 1990s. On the other hand, the bottom 80% received only 12.6% of capital income, down by nearly half since 1983, when the bottom 80% received 23.5%.

As of 2007, income inequality in the United States was at an all-time high for the past 95 years, with the top 0.01% -- that's one-hundredth of one percent -- receiving 6% of all U.S. wages, which is double what it was for that tiny slice in 2000; the top 10% received 49.7%, the highest since 1917.

The ratio of CEO pay to factory worker pay rose from 42:1 in 1960 to as high as 531:1 in 2000 at the height of the stock market bubble according to research by United for a Fair Economy. By way of comparison, the same ratio is about 25:1 in Europe.

The United States needs to look at the needs of the average citizen first if they want to avoid allowing our country to become a Third World nation.

Park51 Islamic Community Center Plan for Lower Manhattan

This post is about what is being called the Ground Zero Mosque. However I will not call it the Ground Zero Mosque because it is not at Ground Zero and it is not a Mosque.

This past weekend I was in Lower Manhattan and I went to check out Ground Zero while I was in the area. This is what I saw:



I walked three city blocks away from the Northeast corner of Ground Zero to 51 Park Place to see the abandoned Burlington Coat factory building where the Islamic Community Center is planned to be built. This is what I saw:



The project's organizers state that it is intended to be "a platform for multi-faith dialogue. It will strive to promote inter-community peace, tolerance and understanding locally in New York City, nationally in America, and globally," and have stated that it is modeled on the noted Manhattan Jewish community and cultural center, the 92nd Street Y.

If that doesn't sound scary it's probably because it isn't. The leader of the project Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf is a moderate that worked with the Bush Administration on outreach to the Muslim World.

I know people came to New York City the week before protesting this Community Center. I wonder how many of them know it is being financed by Saudi Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal who is the biggest shareholder of Fox News Corp. aside from Rupert Murdoch.

If you have a sense that most New Yorkers don't want this Center you might want to see what people wrote on the sidewalk in front of the building:



You might wonder what the folks outside of the building thought about it:







You might even be curious what people wrote on the building:





One of my favorite quotes comes from one of our founding fathers Benjamin Franklin. That quote was, "Those that would trade in their freedom for protection deserve neither."

We as citizens of the U.S. can learn a lot from that statement. Our enemies want us to live in terror and fear. They want us divided so they can recruit those who will oppose us because they don't like what we represent.

Our country was founded on the concept of freedom of religion. Many early settlers came to North America to escape religious persecution. That is why our founding fathers included freedom of religion in the 1st Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. That means that we the people have a right to practice religion in this country regardless of our denomination or affiliation. This includes Catholics and Protestants, Muslims and Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and even protects the rights of non-believers.

New York City is an epicenter of Religious, Ethnic and Cultural Diversity. The World Trade Center was a symbol of the world economy. The attacks on 9/11 were symbolically an attack not just on the U.S. but on a major financial center of Western Civilization.

There are so called Christians that want to blame those attacks on Islam collectively and engage in a Holy War with the 1 Billion Muslims in the world. That world view only plays into exactly what Al-Qaeda wants.

Yet the Bible and the Koran both see the Hebrew Bible as being foundational to their religions. All of the Abrahamic faiths have at their core the concept of loving thy neighbor as thy self.

I saw signs of hope that some New Yorkers support the concept of coexistence. One of the most powerful things I noticed was the windows of the building at the southeast corner of Ground Zero:



In conclusion my experiences reminded me of another famous quote that came from our 32nd President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He stated in his Inaugural Address that "We have nothing to fear but fear itself."

I believe we can learn a lot from that statement because if we spend the rest of our lives living in fear of those that are different from ourselves then the terrorists have already won.

Streetcar Defense and the Museum Center at Union Terminal

Yesterday I read the opinion column of the Cincinnati Enquirer and saw that one of the readers wrote in to complain about the article of the Sheriff supporting the Streetcar. They said that the Sheriff was right to compare the Streetcar to the Cincinnati Metro because ridership for the Metro was down.

I want to say that I don't ride the Metro. Not that I never have but I have a car and just don't use it. I couldn't tell you the routes or times that are subject to change but I can tell you that I will ride the streetcar. This will be a new experience for a lot of people in Cincinnati who were not around when they got rid of the streetcars we did have. I travel between Uptown Clifton and Downtown Cincinnati a lot and would love to have the opportunity to hop on the line with a consistent path and schedule as opposed to driving downtown to try and find a distance spot, find change for a meter or lot and walk the rest of the way to my destination.

This Friday I was at the Museum Center at the Union Terminal downtown, a possible streetcar destination in the future. The Children's, Natural History, Cincinnati History and America I AM museums were free.

While I was in the Cincinnati History Museum I was excited to see the Streetcar that was part of the Clifton/Ludlow line. Climbing aboard was like going back in time but it was a little sad to see that it just now sits in a Museum exhibit outside of use. It's time to resurrect the Clifton Downtown streetcar line once again.

Hamilton County Sheriff Supports the Streetcar

The Cincinnati Enquirer reported yesterday that Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis supports the Streetcar. He told the Enquirer about his trip to Portland, Oregon and his positive experience he had on their recently installed Streetcar system. He talked about the low fares and development that has been built along the line since it was installed.

The Cincinnati Streetcar system has been modeled after the system in Portland, Oregon. There was a feasibility study that was conducted in regards to the planned system for Cincinnati. Portland, Oregon spent $57 million to build its streetcar system and recouped $1.6 billion in development. According to research, the investment in Cincinnati could bring in $3 billion in development out of a $128 million investment for the lines from the Banks to Uptown. The study determined that there is a 14:1 cost benefit ratio.

The study was completed in 2007 that focused on creating a 4.5 mile loop from The Banks, through Downtown and Over-the-Rhine. The study suggested several extensions. The extensions include a line through Cincinnati's "Uptown" communities including the University of Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Zoo, and the neighborhood of Clifton. Other possible lines could go out to Union Terminal, a line to the East End using abandoned track and a line connecting Downtown to Newport, Kentucky via the Taylor-Southgate Bridge to Newport on the Levee.

Now that federal, state and local funds have been secured for the project development should begin. These include funds from OKI, Ohio Department of Transportation, Ohio TRAC, city of Cincinnati bonds, local funds and a U.S. Department of Transportation grant. The initial phase is slated for completion by 2013.

Glencoe-Auburn Hotel and Clecoe-Auburn Place Row Houses

In 2009 I went exploring with some friends of mine this abandoned neighborhood between Over the Rhine and Mt. Auburn. The community was nicknamed Little Bethlehem due to its proximity to Christ Hospital. The homes are known as the Clecoe-Auburn Place Row Houses.

This photo shows the Glencoe Auburn Hotel:



I took photos and I researched what the case was with the area.

Apparently there are 54 buildings constructed between 1884 and 1891. The architect is unknown now but the builders were either Truman B. Handy or Jethro Mitchell.

As you can see from the photo below the houses are now vacant and boarded up:



They were designed as single story apartments for the poor as opposed to row houses. The homes were renovated in 1964 but fell into disrepair in the 1990s due to drugs and crime. In 2002 the remaining renters were evicted.In January of 2004 the properties were placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Also in 2004 Pauline Van der Haer of Dorian Development purchased the property. They planned to convert the buildings into row house condominiums. My friend can be seen pointing at the building that was repainted blue as part of the stalled redevelopment:



Unfortunately this projected stalled out due to disagreements and funding problems between the developer and city council.

Turntables & Snares at Grammers

It is going down Friday, August 20th 2010!

Outdoor Stage

10:00-10:45 - Shotski w/ DJ Pillo

11:15-12:00 - The Best Revenge w/ DJ Dirty C

Red Room Stage

10:00-10:45 - Pete Dressman and the 6 w/ DJ Justin Hatfield

11:15-12:00 - Eclipse w/ DJ Mowgli

12:30-Close - Where They Landed w/ DJ Aaron Glorius

Movie Room Stage

10:00-10:45 - Worthington Law w/ DJ Empirical

11:15-12:00 - Buckra w/ DJ Optik

12:30-Close - The Electric Generals w/ DJ Stump

Bar Stage

10:00-10:45 - Majestic Man w/ DJ Rude Cat

11:15-12:00 - Zella Whelms w/ DJ Harvination

Purpose

I created this blog to share my commentary on music, politics and local events in and around the Greater Cincinnati area. I will also share my thoughts on National and International stories of the day.

I DJ locally around town as DJ Rude Kat. I have a wide variety of music but typically spin Soul, Funk, Ska, Reggae and Early Hip Hop. Occasionally I fill in for John and Hilly's Yeah Night playing recent Indie and Dance Punk. I have had gigs at C&D Northside, Baba Budans, Grammers, Golden Lions and local weddings.

I will include information on upcoming events I will be participating in as well. Feel free to share your comments on this page. I'm a strong supporter of the 1st Amendment and would like to make this blog as open a public forum as possible.