Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Ed Asner and the 99 Percent


Flint isn't mentioned, but the Vehicle City plays a starring role in this animated fairy tale narrated by Ed Asner.


21 comments:

  1. I spotted Flint. It's the scene where money is pumped out of the factory and into Wall Street.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I heard a large sucking sound at some point in that video... I guess that was the Flint part.

    I'm surprised someone hasn't called you on this as a "political" statement. My only opinion of it is that Ed Asner sounds very sad at the end.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Problem is, if you confiscated every penny people like George Soros and Warren Buffett have, it wouldn't even put a dent in the federal deficit. And what many people call rich is really just middle class, and that's who always ends up getting taxed regardless of campaigh promises. A $1MM estate split between three kids barely enhances a retirement account, since there's no growth. At the 2% growth predicted under the present regime, it would take 36 years to double your money. Once you spend it, it's gone.

    As far as Ed Asner, I turn off "Up", and if I had it to do over, I wouldn't even watch MTM. Hollywood gets all kinds of tax breaks that won't ever end as long as they promote the regime agenda. All at the expense of the middle class.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous, open your eyes. Flint along with many other cities were ruined by greedy fat cats who cared more for money than communities, putting profit over people. It's the case of me me me instead of us. I do not want to confiscate anyone's money where did you come up with that?
    fox news? you are either a greedy fat cat or a hypnotized idiot. and your all over the place. Hollywood, estate taxes, "regime agenda" seems like your really saying LOOK over there !!! are you 99% or a poor but wanna be a 1%

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous 2, let me just say my eyes were opened when I realized that I was paying huge taxes that were designed for the "fat cats", but inevitably ended up being paid by frugal General Motors workers and their families. With rampant "hidden" inflation and no indexing of tax laws to compensate, that IS what is happening. Your retirement fund or 401K or SEP will end up paying much higher taxes when you cash them in. If it happens to include dividends and capital gains, you'll pay much MUCH higher taxes on those also. Inflation without indexing will inevitably push your funds and income into "fat cat" range. That's partly because to get any growth above 0.1% you have to put your money in those funds if you want to retire. And you are paying taxes even on that measly 0.1% bank interest! In the old days, you, a wise GM worker, could amass a few hunded thousand and literally live off the interest and social security if you didn't squander it on booze, gambling, and adult entertainment bars next to the Chevy plant. Now retirees are forced to gum up the works and take jobs. even as greeters at Wal Mart, jobs that younger workers could have.

    Fox News often doesn't report this accurately either, as Murdoch kisses whoever he has to to look out for himself. I rarely watch it. Ask an INDEPENDENT financial adviser who is NOT ordered by work rules not to take sides politically. He will tell you. There's a guy from Ann Arbor who will probably tell you to put your investments in Municipal Bonds, but those are becoming VERY risky.

    I'm not an idiot. I hold an advanced degree. I qualify for MENSA, though I don't yet belong, and I'm sick and tired of the insinuation that political views are somehow correlated with intelligence. I plan to join soon so I can whip my card out whenever you insult me.

    ReplyDelete
  6. OK, here is the political attack.

    Yup...thise was done by a leftwing wackjob. I wonder why you people have not put it all together yet. Do you realize that Flint has been run by and run into the ground by Progressive Democrates for years and years. You are nothing but a bunch of cry babies. Stop blaming the big bad rich boogie man. It's getting as old as you old Flint shop rats.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Everyone here is dancing around the real issue.......namely that this state lost 200,000 high paying MANUFACTURING jobs since 2005 approximately. The vast majority of which went over seas.The most popular country was of course China. When any country allows its economy to be exported with No sanctions (to say nothing of incentives) the game is up and poverty is the result. A MENSA like you should know that deficits are the result of this scheme........not "booze,gambling, and adult entertainment". Your card and a dollar might get you a dollar menu hamburg.....nothing more. And yes, you are an idiot.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Once again, the Alinskyite tactics appear-name calling and marginalizing anyone that disagrees with the agenda. You guys won't stop until Totalitarianism and Communism prevail worldwide. Funny you don't want to send jobs to China-aren't they your Communist Utopia? Don't you want all that brought here?

    Luckily, I had a good teacher, former 8th Ward Flint City Commissioner, Mr. Alton C. Smith, who taught us the truth about Communism and all the the other problems of our society. I asked him point blank why he was a Democrat. He said that sometimes you join a party to try to change it. Unfortunately, he failed in that mission.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anon at 8:10 AM:

    Dude -- McCarthy and Nixon are dead. (You must have missed the announcement.) There's no longer a commie under every bed and behind every tree.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Did I mention Nixon or McCarthy? Alton Smith is a principled man. He now has a Ph.D., as an internet search reveals. Paranoid is not somthing I would call Alton Smith. He told it like it is. The only thing that is different is that they don't call it Communism anymore, they call it Socialism, The Third Way, or some other euphemism. He was, and may still be (though I can't imagine why) a member of the Democratic Party. Hardly fits your "paranoid" insinuation.

    ReplyDelete
  11. This little experiment in political content is pretty much playing out as I thought it would, with references to booze, gambling, the third way, Nixon, commie sympathizers, adult entertainment, and that all-time favorite...inflation indexing!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Then why, oh why did you post this, Gordon?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, I thought the cartoon was a clever, thought provoking effort. And I thought it was presented in a way that might lead to a discussion that didn't break down along predictable lines. Part of this is just my foolishness. I still can't figure out why anyone, Republican or Democrat, would be in favor of off shoring industrial jobs and replacing them with the so-called "service industry." I mean that's so clearly going to be a disaster, and it has been. I also thought maybe I was being too heavy handed in avoiding political discussions. The problem is you can't discuss anything of real substance without it breaking down along political lines. I mean how the hell did global warming break down along party lines. It still mystifies me.

      Delete
    2. When I first visited your web site I was excited that I might have found a way to reminisce and read up on things about Flint. Although there are many aspects of Flint that are political, why here? Why not start a Web site called "Flint Politics past and present”?

      Delete
    3. Just a little experiment to see what would happen if I broke my self-imposed rule against politics on Flint Expatriates. I've learned my lesson. It won't happen again.

      Delete
  13. Please don't post anything on the Newtown shootings. It has absolutely nothing to do with Flint, and will just inflame people.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ain't no commies *under* my bed.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Quick now.without Googling it ,who was Alynski,and exactly what did he stand for,,,,,,aha, I knew it! You phoney baloney Fox freek.

    ReplyDelete
  16. You can't even spell Alinsky right.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I highly recommend reading the Wikipedia article on "Rules for Radicals" by Saul Alinsky. It's the official 12 Step Program for radicals. There are 12 basic rules. They are quite concise. They refer to their political opponents as "the enemy", and this, along with the rules themselves, gives insight into their state of mind. It's very eye opening. It can be thrown right back at your opponent like a grenade if you are prepared though. A perfect example is the above comment ridiculing another commenter for misspelling Alinsky.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for commenting. I moderate comments, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You might enjoy my book about Flint called "Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City," a Michigan Notable Book for 2014 and a finalist for the 33rd Annual Northern California Book Award for Creative NonFiction. Filmmaker Michael Moore described Teardown as "a brilliant chronicle of the Mad Maxization of a once-great American city." More information about Teardown is available at www.teardownbook.com.