Here is the dirty secret the 1% is hiding from the rest of us ....

[Blackhatjack]

Nothing is going to change as long as the $$ keeps rolling in.

The health, education, welfare, and financial well-being of the other 99% is not an issue.

[Skittles]

1. that's.....hardly hidden from us

[Warpy]

2. The gravy train isn't what it once was

because we the 99% aren't spending money we don't have and we're certainly not taking on any debt we can't pay, especially since our jobs are insecure and we know we're one lost job away from having our credit card rates jacked up to 39% and ending any possibility of our doing anything but going bankrupt and losing everything. Lots of profits are way down, hidden by creative bookkeeping and the inflation they insist we don't have.

Profits are down. Fancy bookkeeping has about run its course as a way to make numbers bigger. Gold is pretty stuff, but that bubble is overdue to pop and besides, it doesn't give them any return on a huge investment.

That leaves playing commodities bubbles and loading the portfolio down with income generating derivatives, both risky ways to make an ill gotten buck.

Face it, even the plutocracy does much better when Democrats who act like Democrats are in power and people have jobs and money in their pockets to spend. The money pump works from the bottom up and when the demand side is choked off, the supply side finds its numbers start to decline.

[demodonkey]

3. Playing commodities... oh boy... this can kill people

1%ers playing commodities can literally kill people while they are having their fun... costs of things like food, heating oil, etc can mean life and death.

I personally have only about 5 gallons of heating oil left until I run out, and because I remain unpaid for my work I have no funds whatsoever to make the local minimum purchase of 150 gallons at nearly $4 per gallon. Even if I could somehow get 150 gallons right now, this will cover only about 1/4 of the winter and that is assuming I keep keep my well insulated house at 50-some degrees. And it hasn't been truly cold here yet... but the first real cold snap is coming.

Blankets and space heaters can only do so much for someone with a low normal body temp. I already had one episode of my body temp falling to 95.1 a week or so ago. I just couldn't get warm for hours and hours even under 4 or 5 blankets.

They say that hypothermia is a relatively nice way to go. I hope this doesn't happen but I am starting to actually fear that thanks to the 1% speculators fear I may end up finding out.

I hope and plan to be around for a long time, and I don't want to sound depressing. But with dangers like this just in case anything happens to me I hope that people will remember me and will keep working for fair and accurate elections... the unverifiable voting machines are NOT safe. Voter-marked paper ballots and audits of every election are needed. Any progress is better than no progress... holding out against incremental improvement for the "perfect" solution only further entrenches the status quo.

[Warpy]

7. An electric blanket costs less than the fuel oil does

and rolling up in one of those is a great way to get warm and stay warm when you're sitting around instead of up and doing projects. I have a twin sized blanket that has saved my butt for years when I couldn't afford to heat this place adequately.

Even a heating pad can raise your body temperature a bit when you're chilled to the bone.

Heating the air is an inefficient way to stay warm. A point source of radiant heat like a wood stove is much better, as is the heat source wrapped around us.

On edit: part of the reason for the Arab Spring was the jiggering of the worldwide commodities market by Goldman Sachs and other investment banks, driving up the cost of staple foodstuffs in those countries beyond the price most people are capable of paying. Revolution is another unintended consequence of starving people to fatten the rich.

[meow2u3]

8. So do space heaters

I have two problems with space heaters. If your space heater doesn't have a trip mechanism that shuts off the appliance if it's knocked over, it poses a fire hazard. They're also not exactly a useful heat source in bathrooms when you're taking a shower.

Otherwise, space heaters are a handy heat source in case of emergency.

[EX500rider]

9. help with your heating problem

Help keeping warm: Gun fired furnaces burn #2 fuel oil, that's
the same as diesel fuel,(exactly the same, I work at a fuel
delv company and we delv regular diesel for #2 fuel oil) take
a 5 gal can or two to a gas station and buy a smaller amount,
plus it will be a little cheaper then delivered.  To bad you
aren't around here, we have a 50 gal min and another company
here has a 35 gal min. Hope that helps.

[Syrinx]

4. that's only a secret to those not paying attention

[lunatica]

5. That would be Hannity and Limbaugh listeners

[Syrinx]

6. yeah, I would agree