September 23, 2014 8:59 AM

There's mean, there's callous...and there's whatever it is the GOP is doing

hen there’s House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who appeared at the American Enterprise Institute last week to discuss the economy. Asked about Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) anti-poverty plans, Boehner was quite candid about his thoughts on the unemployed[:] “I think this idea that’s been born out the last - maybe out of the economy last couple of years that, ‘You know, I really don’t have to work. I don’t really want to do this, I think I’d just rather sit around.’ This is a very sick idea for our country.”

I’m not certain when this happened, but somewhere along the way Republicans decided that they could screw vast segments of the electorate while simultaneously convincing them to vote Republican. Are they just that arrogant? Clueless? Mean-spirited? Tone deaf? Self-righteous? All of the above? Some of the above? It’s hard to know, because when it comes to Republicans, you almost can’t tell the greed, avarice, and lack of compassion without a program.

One of the GOP’s biggest whipping boys since the beginning of the Great Recession in 2008 (And, really…what was go great about it?) has been the unemployed. The social safety net has historically represented the recognition that sometimes people, through no fault of their own, lose their jobs. When someone loses an income, it represents money not going back into circulation in the local economy. If it happens to enough people, everyone begins to feel the effects. Businesses see demand for the products and services drop, they lay off employees, and, without some sort of public intervention the cycle may well continue to spiral downward. Unemployment insurance, in that sense, isn’t about handing out money to those who lose their jobs; it’s about protecting the economy from the adverse impacts of people being without an income.

Talk to most anyone who’s been unemployed. Hell, I’LL tell you: no one wants to be unemployed. No one enjoys not being able to put food on the table, keep a roof over their head, or meet their obligations. No one wants the phone calls, the letters, and the assorted aggravation that comes with losing their source of income. That’s not the fault of people collecting unemployment- you’re not eligible if you quit a job without good reason. Unemployment insurance is for those who, largely for reasons and/or events beyond their control, have lost their job.

So why do Republicans continue to treat the unemployed as pariahs? Why do they regard them to be parasites sucking at the public teat as the live in the lap of luxury, sipping mint juleps and downloading porn? Perhaps it’s because they have no real solutions to offer, and, recognizing that, they’ve decided their best strategy lies in deflecting attention from their paucity of ideas. Doing so requires a target, preferably one disorganized, beaten down, and unable to mount an effective defense. The unemployed masses were perfect for this role, because in a country where money means power, not having money means…well, being powerless and unable to fight back.

The other part of the equation, of course, is that Republicans JUST. DON’T. GET. IT. They don’t understand that compassion isn’t a sign of weakness, and that looking out for their fellow Americans isn’t socialism. It’s not a “handout;” it’s a “hand up.” Were they to be left to their own devices, Republican America would be a vicious, dog-eat-dog, I-got-mine-you-can-damned-well-get-your-own free for all. No rules, no regulations, no humanity, no compassion. Those who can would; those who can’t would wither away and die. Survival of the fittest. The poor and middle class would exist solely to serve the needs of the moneyed elite, and they’d be of no real value beyond that.

The Speaker’s perspective is bizarre as a matter of public policy, but I’m glad he made these comments because his candor sheds light on an ugly ideology.

When GOP lawmakers cut off extended jobless aid, on a substantive level, it seems bewildering. In recent decades, neither party even considered such radicalism with high unemployment, if for no other reason because cutting jobless aid hurts economic growth. But Boehner has offered a peek behind the curtain — the Republican argument isn’t about economics, so much as it’s about personal animosity. The Speaker and his allies seem to think there’s something wrong, and perhaps even offensive, about families struggling to get by.

It’s part of the same phenomenon that leads GOP officials to demand drug tests for those relying on the safety net. If you need a hand keeping your head above water, it may very well be the result of a drug addiction. If you want a job and can’t find one, the argument goes, the problem is almost certainly your fault — it’s because you’d “rather sit around” than work.

It stems from a school of thought that says many social-insurance programs shouldn’t exist because struggling Americans are lazy and simply don’t deserve public assistance.

So the unemployed, who find themselves without an income largely because of policies put forward by Republicans are unworthy of our assistance? We should simply cast them aside and call it “tough love”- if you toss someone in the pool, one of two things will happen…they’ll quickly learn to swim…or they’ll drown, which means they’re no longer our problem. Clearly, compassion and empathy are nowhere to be found in the Republican toolbox.

Because they have nothing of substance or value to offer, Republicans have chosen to demonize those whom they themselves have turned into victims. It’s as sick and devoid of compassion as it is just plain wrong. When a company lays off thousands, is it the fault of the workers? If only they’d been more productive, right? They should have worked harder, worked longer hours, and taken a pay cut…THEN perhaps they’d still have a job. Unless their employer packed up and shipped their jobs overseas because they discovered they can pay someone in Bangladesh five dollars a day to do the same work without all those pesky laws and benefits to worry about.

Ah, but that’s Capitalism, no? Businesses have the right to do whatever they must in order to reduce costs and remain competitive. Employees are merely overhead, units of production to be streamlined, rightsized, and made more efficient. Except that “overhead” is one big reason for a company’s success…but when your one and only concern lies with chasing the Amighty Dollar to whatever Third World Paradise can give you the best return on investment, people’s aren’t resources. They’re labor costs.

John Boehner is only one of the voices putting forth the GOP party line that the unemployed are lazy, unmotivated pariahs who want nothing more than to suck at the public teat. Most Republicans in Congress have never known and will never know what it’s like to live knowing that you don’t have enough money to pay the mortgage, feed your family, or pay for health care. Believe, unemployment benefits are not a dollar for dollar salary replacement. Because they lack any firsthand experience, Republicans default to blaming the victim. It’s reprehensible…but even more disgusting is Republicans believing that they can convince the poor, minorities, and the middle class to vote for them…because LIBERALS!!!

Republicans: Working for an America where only the strong survive. Now there’s an honest campaign slogan, eh?

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on September 23, 2014 8:59 AM.

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