Out-of-touch Rich Man Chronicles: Michael Bloomberg equates a living wage to communism

[marmar]

Despite Mayor Bloomberg's staunch opposition to the city council's proposed living wage bill, Council Speaker Christine Quinn came out defending the mayor when a heckler shouted "Pharaoh Bloomberg" at a rally on Monday.

The event, held to commemorate the upcoming vote to override Bloomberg's recent veto of the bill, took a sharp turn when Quinn appeared on stage, only to be quickly interrupted. Rather than ignoring, she responded:

Now, look. That's not appropriate. You stand here talking about democracy and wanting people to listen. In democracy, people have the right to have different views and they do not, we do not have the right to then call them names. So I would just ask, if that's what this press conference is about then I'll go right back inside and continue the work of business. But this is not democracy — calling people names who don't agree with you. So whoever said I'd ask that you apologize.

Quinn then ended her appearance, "Congratulations on the bill. I'm not going to participate in name-calling."

The swift defense comes as a bit of a surprise, considering the mayor recently compared the living wage bill to communism, scoffing, "The last time we really had a big managed economy was the USSR and that didn't work out so well. You cannot stop the tides from coming in." ...................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/30/christine-quinn-rebukes-pharaoh-bloomberg-living-wage-bill-video_n_1465487.html

[NNN0LHI]

1. What destroyed the USSR was its military adventurism

Same thing that is killing us.

Don

[SergeyDovlatov]

10. Can you clarify what military adventurism USSR was involved in?

Let's say if USSR funded radical fundamentalists to overthrow canadian government and Canada requested US help and US sent the troops to the north. Would you call it adventurism?

Collapse of oil prices in the 80s and inefficiencies of planned economy is what bankrupted the Soviet Union. Gorbachov started perestroika because he understood the need to modernize the economy.

Similar effort was done by Lenin in 20s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Economic_Policy

[NNN0LHI]

11. Afghanistan, Angola and Nicaragua for starters

[SergeyDovlatov]

13. Hmm

I already gave a preemptive example of why Adganistan was not an adventure. It is a country on our border with friendly government being overthrown by US funded radicals.

Angola & Nicaragua: Did USSR invaded, overthru their government? Don't think so.

I think both of us know which is the most aggressive country in the world since 1945. USSR was mostly concerned with survival, as opposed to looking for adventures oversees

[NNN0LHI]

14. Who was bankrolling the Cuban troops in Angola & Nicaragua?

[SergeyDovlatov]

15. supporting friendly marxist govt's is not the same as military adventurism

Compare that with United States which frequently funds its own (current of future enemies), dictators, radicals islamists, etc.

[newspeak]

16. also, the china-russia border dispute

However, I agree there are other economic factors. And you're right, we did fund radical fundies (many who weren't even from afghanistan) over the moderate afghanis fighters. And, I remember an article about the women in afghanistan under soviet influence before the damn taliban took over. Women who had jobs, women who didn't have to cover their faces, women who were educated. And, I remember many women having to flee afghanistan when the fundies came into power-some being murdered just like in Iran, when they refused to cover their faces.

I think that when the soviet union broke up, it might have been better if they had not relinquished all to predatory capitalism. I read stories of the elderly being thrown out of their homes, having to sell priceless family heirlooms for food; while some unscrupulous greedheads were setting themselves up and doing business with certain global corporations. Kind of selling out their people. After the break up, it would have been nice to see a more balanced approach, like in some of the other european countries, maintaining social programs for the people, while building a regulated healthy capital base.

Of course, I'm someone looking from the outside.

[SergeyDovlatov]

17. Little choice there

Thank you for a thoughtful reply.

With respect to Sino-Soviet border war, it looked to me, though I might be biased, China was looking to alter the terms of the border agreement that was done during Tsar's times in 19th century. There were some negotiations, but by the 1960s there was a Sino-Soviet ideological split based on ideas of peaceful coexistance with captialist contries and condeming the Stalin's cult of personality by Kruschev. At some point China decided to capture the land it wanted by force, there were some fighting, both sides wisely de-escalated the conflict.

With respect to economic condititions during and immediately after perestroika. It was very bad, but, I don't think I can blame it on capitalism, there were none at that time, yet.

Almost everybody was on the government payroll, oil prices collapsed, a lot of inefficiencies in production, government decided to print money to fund the salaries, pensions, but the prices were rising faster than they can adjust the pensions.

USSR needed to switched to a model where there is a productive private sector it can tax and redistribute it, as opposed to run everything itself. The other model it tried for 70 years and it did not work out.

[gratuitous]

2. Yes, please to take your economic beating like a peasant

Sorry, Christine Quinn, and even though you're on the right side of this issue, but we proles don't particularly care for having the Wealth created by our Labor filched out of our pockets by the oligarchy. Now, I'm sure it hurts poor Mr. Bloomberg's fee-fees to be called "Pharoah Bloomberg," but he probably has enough money he can buy himself a little diversion to cheer himself up. Those of us living hand-to-mouth to support his lavish lifestyle reserve the right to call him anything we want. Name-calling is hardly in the same class of injury as starving the workers of the fruits they've earned by their labor.

How's that for an apology? I even said "Sorry" and everything.

[TheWraith]

9. She's not really on the right side, she's a Bloomberg lackey.

Her support for the bill is purely political maneuvering.

[malaise]

3. I never thought I'd live to see the day when the 1% were

so willing to take off their gloves and ignore the 99%

[Yavin4]

5. 30+ Years of a pandering political system has not only distanced the 1% from the 99%

it's also distanced the 1% from history. After the Great Depression and WWII, the rich learned to be humble and inconspicuous.

[malaise]

8. So true

and they also are ignorant about the factors that led to the great depression

[safeinOhio]

4. "really had a big managed economy"

You talking about China?

[grantcart]

6. bizzare. After the compromises it would have involved about 500 workers and meant that their wage

could not be less than $ 10 with benefits.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/13/mayor-bloomberg-compares-living-wage-bill-communism_n_1424461.html

[libinnyandia]

7. I could never understand how New Yorkers could vote for Bloomberg 3 times. If they vote Quinn in

next year I will have lost all respect for voters in NYC.

[raouldukelives]

12. It's not even about a living wage.

Just about being able to live. To find a corner of this planet you can call home and be happy for your short life. Our job should be making sure nobody is born into suffering. Until that has happened we cannot rest and will not rest.

"Some are born to endless night, some are born to sweet delight."