A Nation of Whiners?

Sen. John McCain has said economics isn't his strong suit, so it's not much of a surprise that he selected former Sen. Phil Gramm as his economic advisor. Gramm, also known as Foreclosure Phil, has been described as "a guy who helped screw up the global financial system," seems perfect as McCain's financial advisor.

Gramm's never been one to apologize for his economic failings and on Thursday he solidified his rank as a Republican when he said the United States had "become a nation of whiners." He later complained that he was referring to leaders not the public. Right, when Sen. John Kerry told a joke about Bush, the right wing nuts convinced the public he was talking about the troops so its hard to be sympathetic. Did Gramm and his staff defend Kerry for the nuts mischaracterization? I doubt it.

Perhaps they are whiners because they don't feel they are treated fairly by their employeers or the government. Gramm apparently has a different view of who should be whining. In an article in the Wall Street Journal Gramm said "I recently told Ed Whitacre [former CEO of AT&T, who retired with a $158 million pay package] he was probably the most exploited worker in American history."

Only $158 million? When is enough enough? Is there no line where people look at the good of the whole as opposed to the good of the few?

Economic cluelessness or carelessness is rampant in the Republican party and also in the McCain campaign. On Social Security McCain said “Americans have got to understand that we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today. And that’s a disgrace. It’s an absolute disgrace, and it’s got to be fixed,” he said.

What the REAL disgrace is is that Social Security taxes are not all going to pay benefits, or being saved, but rather being used by the government to give the illusion that the deficit is lower than it is and allow the Bush Administration to avoid raising taxes to pay for the tax cuts they passes and the war in Iraq.

Now that's a economic disgrace.