Ben Stein, today on MSNBC:
A hell of a lot of them are bums. [snip] I wouldn't say no sympathy at all for them I feel sort of sympathy for them 'cause they are so confused they think banging a drum is going to accomplish something, so I feel sympathy for them. [snip] I'd like to see them work. If they really want to fight fraud on Wall Street, get a good record in school, go to law school and wind up suing people who commit fraud [snip] I don't buy the fact that there are no jobs out there. I know for example if you are a laid off research chemist in Thousand Oaks California you are going to have a hard time getting another job in Thousand Oaks, but if you just need a job at a McDonald's or a Burger King, there are plenty of jobs out there. It is amazing to me how if you go to the big McDonald's, the big Burger Kings at the airports, all of the people that work there are foreigners. Why can't Americans take those jobs. Now I agree if you have to feed a family of four in a middle class way you can't work at McDonalds, but there are plenty of young kids that say we can't get jobs. Somehow the young kids that come into the country and can't speak english can get those jobs.
First off, Ben, we aren't asking for your sympathy, and we especially don't want your condescension.
We are asking to not get screwed on our statements from the bank oligopoly, and at the pumps by the oil oligopoly.
We are asking for some measure of tax fairness, like asking people who make more than one million dollars in a single year to pay just one half of one percent more on their income in excess of one million – in a single fucking year – so that 400,000 much needed teachers, firefighters, and law enforcement officers can go back to work.
We are asking the major corporations to stop shipping the good manufacturing jobs overseas, and bring some back, and for Congress to take action that would discourage moving jobs to Mexico, China, and elsewhere.
We are asking for some consequences for the financial institutions that caused the great recession. Reinstatement of Glass Steagall protections would be a good start.
And most of all, we are asking to not have to take a university degree, resume, and $60,000 in college debt into a McDonald's and ask them to fire a foreigner so we can get a job, even if there were 14 million such positions available.
You did, Mr. Stein, hit the nail on the head when you said you can't provide for a family of four working at McDonald's. That's exactly the point. The middle class is going away, and your class is causing it to happen. When the only jobs are at fast food joints, something is desperately wrong.
So please, don't give us your sanctimonious 'anyone can go to law school and make something of themselves or work at McDonald's' elitist bullshit. You are too ensconced in your world of privilege and too impressed with yourself to get what the fuss is all about, or understand the challenges faced by ordinary Americans. Maybe you could try just shutting the hell up.