[this was submitted as a comment by J Anthony who did not register so has no name available]
Hey you. You there in the Glenn Beck T-shirt headed off to the Tea Party Patriot rally.
Stop shouting for a moment, please, I want to explain to you why you’re so very angry.
You should be angry. You’re getting screwed.
I think you know that. But you don’t seem to know that it doesn’t have to be that way. You can stop it. You can stop it easily because the system that’s screwing you over can only keep screwing you over if you keep demanding that it do so.
So stop demanding that. Stop helping the system screw you over.
Look, you can go back to yelling at me in a minute, but just read this first.
1. Get out your pay stub.
Or, if you have direct deposit — you really should get direct deposit,
it saves a lot of time and money (I point this out because, honestly,
I’m trying to help you here, even though you don’t make that easy Mr.
Angry Screamy Guy) — then take out that little paper receipt they give
you when your pay gets directly deposited.
2. Notice that your net pay is lower than your gross pay. This is
because some of your wages are withheld every pay period.
3. Notice that only some of this money that was withheld went to pay
taxes. (I know, I know — yeearrrgh! me hates taxes! — but just try to
stick with me for just a second here.)
4. Notice that some of the money that was withheld didn’t go to taxes,
but to your health insurance company.
5. Now go get a pay stub from last year around this time, from January
of 2009.
6. Notice that the amount of your pay withheld for taxes in your current
paycheck is less than the amount that was withheld a year ago.
That’s because of President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan, which
included more than $200 billion in tax cuts, including the one you’re
holding right there in your hand, the tax cut that’s now staring you in
the face. Republicans all voted against that tax cut. And then they told
you to get angry about the stimulus plan. They didn’t explain, however,
why you were supposed to get angry about getting a tax cut. Why would
you be? Wouldn’t it make more sense to get angry at the people who voted
against that Obama tax cut?
But taxes aren’t the really important thing here. The really important
thing starts with the next point.
7. Notice that the amount of your pay withheld to pay for your health
insurance is more than it was last year.
8. Notice that the amount of your pay withheld to pay for your health
insurance is a lot more than it was last year.
I won’t ask you to dig up old paychecks from 2008 and 2007, but this has
been going on for a long time. Every year, the amount of your paycheck
withheld to pay for your health insurance goes up. A lot.
9. Notice the one figure there on your two pay stubs that hasn’t
changed: Your wage. The raise you didn’t get this year went to pay for
that big increase in the cost of your health insurance.
10. Here’s where I need you to start doing a better job of putting two
and two together. If you didn’t get a raise last year because the cost
of your health insurance went up by a lot, and the cost of your health
insurance is going to go up by a lot again this year, what do you think
that means for any chance you might have of getting a raise this year?
11. Did you figure it out? That’s right. The increasing cost of health
insurance means you won’t get a raise this year. Or next year. Or the
year after that. The increasing cost of health insurance means you will
never get a raise again.
That’s what I meant when I said you really should be angry. That’s what I
meant when I said you’re getting screwed.
OK, we’re almost done. Just a few more points, I promise.
12. The only hope you have of ever seeing another pay raise is if
Congress passes health care reform. Without health care reform, the
increasing cost of your health insurance will swallow this year’s raise.
And next year’s raise. And pretty soon it won’t stop with just your
raise. Without health care reform, the increasing cost of your health
insurance will start making your pay go down.
13. I wish I could tell you that this was just a worst-case scenario,
that this was only something that might, maybe happen, but that wouldn’t
be true. Without health care reform, this is what will happen. We know
this because this is what is happening now. It has been happening for
the past 10 years. In 2008, employers spent on average 25 percent more
per employee than they did in 2001, but wages on average did not
increase during those years. The price of milk went up. The price of gas
went up. But wages did not. All of the money that would have gone to
higher wages went to pay the higher and higher and higher cost of health
insurance. And unless Congress passes health care reform, that will not
change.
Well, it will change in the sense that it will keep getting worse, but
it won’t get better. Unless the problem gets fixed, the problem won’t be
fixed. That’s kind of what "problem" and "fixed" mean.
14. Sadly for any chance you have of ever seeing a raise again, it looks
like Congress may not pass health care reform. It looks like they won’t
do that because they’re scared of angry voters who are demanding that
they oppose health care reform, angry voters who demand that Congress
not do anything that would keep the cost of health insurance from going
up and up and up. Angry voters like you.
15. Do you see the point here? You are angrily, loudly demanding that
Congress make sure that you never, ever get another pay raise as long as
you live. Because of you and because of your angry demands, you and
your family and your kids are going to have to get by with less this
year than last year. And next year you’re going to have to get by with
even less. And if you keep angrily demanding that no one must ever fix
this problem, then you’re going to have to figure out how to get by on
less and less every year for the rest of your life.
16. So please, for your own sake, for your family’s sake and the sake of
your children, stop. Stop demanding that problems not get fixed. Stop
demanding that you keep getting screwed. Stay angry — you should be
angry — but start directing that anger toward the system that’s
screwing you over and taking money out of your pocket. Start directing
that anger toward fixing problems instead of toward making sure they
never get fixed. Instead of demanding that Congress oppose health care
reform so that you never, ever, get another pay raise, start demanding
that they pass health care reform, as soon as possible. Because until
they do, you’re just going to keep on getting screwed.
And it’s going to be that much worse knowing that you brought this on
yourself — that you demanded it.
Thanks for your time.
P.S. — I didn’t mention this because I’m trying here to be as patient
with you as I can, but you might also want to keep in mind that in
addition to screwing over yourself and screwing over your family and
screwing over your own children by demanding that Congress oppose health
care reform so that you will never, ever see another pay raise, by
doing that you’re also demanding that I never, ever see another pay
raise, which means that you’re also screwing over me, and my family, and
my children. Not to mention the millions of poor and uninsured and
uninsureable people I didn’t even mention above because they don’t seem
to matter at all to you. And for that, let me just say the only
appropriate thing that can be said to someone so determined to do
direct, tangible harm to the welfare of my family:Why do you hate
Americans?