Biden: The "middle class has been screwed"

Vice President Joe Biden addresses the third annual Washington Ideas Forum at the Newseum in Washington, Thursday Oct. 6, 2011. The Atlantic, the Aspen Institute, and the Newseum presented the third Annual Washington Ideas Forum, which drew together more than 60 policy makers, business leaders, and top journalists for a series of conversations and in-depth interviews about the direction of the country.

/ Manuel Balce Ceneta

Vice President Joe Biden expressed empathy for the "Occupy Wall Street" protestors in New York and elsewhere who are pushing for a radical overhaul of U.S. institutions and government, saying the American system has run amok and is no longer fair for the vast majority of Americans.

Asked if he and President Obama stood in solidarity with protestors in lower Manhattan,Biden said it was a "really fair question" and then did not directly answer it.

"What is the core of that protest?" Biden asked rhetorically. "The core is the American people do not think the system is fair or on the level."

The vice president noted that the conservative Tea Party wing of the Republican party emerged from anger at President George W. Bush's bailout of the financial system three years ago and many Americans from the opposite side of the political spectrum are feeling that same anger toward the banks.

"Look guys the bargain is not on the level anymore in the minds of the vast majority of the American (people) the middle class has been screwed," Biden said.

He cited the public outrage over a recent decision by Bank of America to impose a $5 fee for consumers to use their debit card demonstrates that anger.

Biden said "The American people know... the reason the CEO of the Bank of America" is still in business is because "the guy making $50,000 bucks bailed him out. Bailed him out."

Bank of America is "incredibly tone deaf at a minimum. At a maximum, they are not, they are not, paying their fair share of the bargain here. And middle class people are getting screwed," Biden said.

[agniredux]

Yes the Republicans destroyed the Middle Class but Obama did nothing to help. He was the president and he didn't fight for us. On the debate he said that we don't have the money to help the Middle Class. I would rather vote for Romney then a president who is a Republican in sheep's clothing.

[wardove]

let me out of the mattrix pls i want to be free

[lg144]

Republicans have done more damage to America than any terrorist ever could.

The Republican game plan is to destroy the economy blame the Democrats and President Obama. This is their strategy to obtain the White House and the Senate in the 2012 elections. If you think the Republicans are death on average Americans, working-class and middle-class people now. Just think of how much more damage they could do to this country if they had the house,the Senate and the presidency to consolidate power to do whatever they want. They would then have free reign to turn America into the Third World country that they want for their corporate overlords.

They've already shown their hand by not approving extended unemployment benefits for people and anything else that would help the average American. Then they took America to the brink of default with the debt ceiling crisis. A crisis in which they created. Republicans on the supreme court ruling corporations are people and therefore can give unlimited funding to politicians. Republicans fighting for tax cuts for corporations, big oil and the wealthy while advocating cutting social security, medicare and medicaid. For those reasons and more I can't imagine any thinking working-class poor or middle-class person voting to support Republicans after all the damage they've done to this country. Americans must reject republicans at town hall meetings and the polls for their anti American unpatriotic strategy and tactics. The only difference between Timothy McVie and the republicans is he used explosives and they used their congressional positions.

The phoney debt ceiling debate and agreement is another part of the republican game plan to take back the senate and white house. They create artificial crisis to stall (run out the clock on President Obama's term) and cripple him and the economy to prevent JOBS from being discussed or created. They are counting on voters blaming the president for the bad economy even though they the republicans are sabotaging every step of the way. Even a blind man can see republicans couldn't care less for average Americans. Just imagine what they would do if they controlled the house, senate and presidency. Americans cannot let that happen. Because it is crystal clear by the behavior of republicans they do not want America to progress and will hold it hostage to prevent it.

Republicans are screwing up government to prove their mantra " government doesn't work". This is designed to frustrate and turn off non supporters from voting thus paving the way for their depraved zealots to vote republican. Americans need to punish republicans at town halls and the polls. They cannot be allowed to get away with sabotaging our great nation. Americans need to recognize that republicans have no intention or incentive to do anything to bring America out of its economic woes. After all, they think they can also get elected by blaming President Obama and Democrats. Time will tell if voters will fall for this again.

[Evilsam]

Obama raised the national debt more than 41 previous presidents..combined,if not for the two wars it would have been all

[slightlyoffthewall]

obama has brought in one jobs bill after another and the republicans have canned them all. evilsam: you've left out 2 presidents (there have been 44), so i guess that's bush and reagan.

[RangerDan107107]

My grandfather told me an old saying about politics and how people try to blame a current president for what the last one did. It goes like this: "THE FIRE BURNS HOTTEST AFTER THE ARSONIST HAS FLED".

[RangerDan107107]

As a standing member of America's Working Class, I would like to know when we are going to get our "ENTITLEMENTS"? The rich got their's via tax loop holes and big tax cuts, the poor got their's via welfare, foodstamps, etc. that no body seems to want to make them work for. What does the working class get? Other than they get to pay for everybody else's entitlements. Now everybody is standing around with their fingers up their butz, wondering when the working class is going to step forward and start buying again. THEY'RE NOT GOING TO, they're broken. Duh!

[spike54321]

All those in Washington who advocate for more spending are screwing the middle and poor class. Their profligate spending has crashed the value of a dollar by 20% in a couple short years. thats a 20% haircut in your purchasing power people. Thats robbery and that is your free spending government at work. The bailouts were also robbery. The government robbed you and me to pay the guilty. There would have been no collapse. The guilty would have failed which is how it should be. Instead, because of the bailouts they pay record upon new record bonuses. Maybe the wall street protests should be directed at the elected officials who voted for this robbery to occur. In fact you had better check how your rep. voted on this plan and spending plans in general. If they vote the wrong way, then vote to get them out, reguardless of party. We the people need to rule instead of political party or crooks ruling for us or over us.

[I_P_Freely]

The value of the dollar has not dropped 20%, however. The inflation seen except in gas is smaller portions affected by profit taking and gas prices. People are running to the dollar.
The crime, if you don't mind me saying is letting them get away with it still.

[Susanbooth1]

I personally think the middle class have been screwed. So pass the jobs bill and implement the Buffett Rule already.

[aghast101]

Please don't be that stupid. This jobs bill is really just a rerun of Old Inflationary ideas. The middle class is the whipping dog of every class activist on the face of the earth.

[wardove]

i will take one of those jobs pls

[editorial-comment]

Fight fertilizer with fertilizer. Tired of being fed bull poop and screwed when ever they want? Americans are being treated like them kidnapped girls by them there perverts! Fight the crap with fertilizer - as in amonia nitrate and diesel. Them there tallybans is blowing all kinds of poop up over there in Afghanistan. Im sure the same formula would work just fine over here. Some real nasty people way up in them penthouses will be coming down real fast if you make a speacial delivery to their ground floor looby - doncha think there jeethro?

[I_P_Freely]

R U simply insane?

[PourpaixPourpaix]

I spoke to a woman with a surprising point of view. She was from Chile, and expressed thanks for Pinochet. But wasn't Pinochet a pig? Well, yes, in the extreme. Life was very difficult. But he shot all the bad guys who were abusing the system. With all the clowns gone now, including Pinochet himself, she said Chile is a really decent place to live. The prospects of such upheaval seem dire and most unpleasant, but with as much corruption that has found its way into corporate America and both political parties, how else can it be exterminated? The days of Henry Ford, who realized that workers have to be paid enough to buy products, are gone. Now, it's all about rape, rape, rape, and more rape.

[notyrants]

See the National Geographic documentary entitled Stress, Portrait of a Killer. If you have access to it, it's great. Very similar to what you just described.

[notyrants]

temple1962 October 6, 2011 7:49 PM EDT
Steve Jobs was the type of person a nation wants for a president. He was a worker, a capitalist, and entrepreneur, and inventor a man of vision, a man who knew his beginnings and was not limited by it. Instead we have a Manchurian Candidate with no recognizable associates from childhood, college, classroom teaching and no appreciable accomplishments as president. We have a social experiment that has failed the entire country and as the alias name implies, "One Big Awful Mistake for America"!
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Not a big Obama fan but that is a bunch of BS you just wrote. Back the corruption and destruction of a government of, for and by the people by global non-democratic corporate governments who have an ultimately narrow vision. Maximize profits by eliminating competition, cutting overhead by decreasing service and quality, passing the rewards of this onto the global investor class and bidding for them to pay the lowest income tax rate as their tax rate is based on dividends and interests instead of Payroll like the worker slaves they keep in subservience.