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KamaAina

(78,249 posts) Mon Apr 6, 2015, 01:34 PM Apr 2015

Virginia Foxx On The Pain Of Working Families: ‘We Work Hard For Our ($174K Paychecks'

http://www.ifyouonlynews.com/politics/virginia-foxx-on-the-pain-of-working-families-we-work-hard-for-our-174k-paychecks/

Yes, she said “we.” Virginia Foxx, Republican Representative from North Carolina, made the most ridiculous budget-balancing argument in history when she posted this on her Facebook page:

Most of us understand what it means to balance a budget. We work hard to get a paycheck. We use that money to feed and clothe our family and keep a roof over our heads. If we’re able, we put a little aside in case of emergency or for a rainy day. We all know the feeling of sitting at the kitchen table, long after the kids have gone to bed, shuffling through bills and pay stubs. But we only spend what we earn. In my family, balancing our budget isn’t just a priority, it’s a requirement. We need to view America’s budget the same way.

Awwww. . . is it tough, Virginia? Do you have a hard time feeding and clothing your family on your meager $174,000 annual salary with full benefits? How many days did you work last year? 113?

Virginia Foxx, like most of the old-guard cronies who need to expelled via term-limits, has absolutely no idea what it means to live at or around the minimum wage. By “putting away for a rainy day” she means “plunging into the campaign fund for an unnecessary trip to nowhere to meet with nobody.”

7 replies

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Virginia Foxx On The Pain Of Working Families: ‘We Work Hard For Our ($174K Paychecks' (Original Post) KamaAina Apr 2015 OP

Aside from the fact that t "we" is tone-deaf, she's wrong about people spending only what they earn. Gormy Cuss Apr 2015 #1

Yep. Any of us who carries any debt whatsoever SheilaT Apr 2015 #2

And by carrying (affordable) debt we are fueling the economy Gormy Cuss Apr 2015 #6

The same old lie, comparing America's budget with a family's. n/t Orsino Apr 2015 #3

I am trying to picture Representative Foxx at a kitchen table. stage left Apr 2015 #4

She could always use Roseanne's method KamaAina Apr 2015 #5

... stage left Apr 2015 #7

Gormy Cuss

(30,884 posts)

1. Aside from the fact that t "we" is tone-deaf, she's wrong about people spending only what they earn.

Reply to KamaAina (Original post)

Mon Apr 6, 2015, 01:40 PM

Apr 2015

Last edited Mon Apr 6, 2015, 02:49 PM - Edit history (2)

Unemployed, under-employed, and other low income people are constantly in debt because there just isn't enough income to pay for basic needs.
People who have car loans, educational loans, mortgages, etc. aren't "balancing the budget" in the way Foxx sees it. They're in debt. Now it may be what's called "good debt" in that it allows them to leverage their income, but it's still debt.
Governments also take on debt for leverage, something Foxx knows unless she's been sleeping in her chair.

SheilaT

(23,156 posts)

2. Yep. Any of us who carries any debt whatsoever

Reply to Gormy Cuss (Reply #1)

Mon Apr 6, 2015, 02:08 PM

Apr 2015

is at least theoretically spending more than we earn. Although lots of people have mortgages and car loans, and so long as they can afford the payments -- and don't lose the job they have without getting another one immediately -- it's okay.

Most of us would feel quite wealthy were we to suddenly start earning $174,000 a year, no matter what that is after appropriate taxes are taken out.

Gormy Cuss

(30,884 posts)

6. And by carrying (affordable) debt we are fueling the economy

Reply to SheilaT (Reply #2)

Mon Apr 6, 2015, 02:54 PM

Apr 2015

which is considered a good thing.

The 174K may not stretch as far as Foxx would like it to, but the reality is that income is miles above the median family income and miles above average family income. Completely, utterly clueless to include herself in that statement.

Orsino

(37,428 posts)

3. The same old lie, comparing America's budget with a family's. n/t

Reply to KamaAina (Original post)

Mon Apr 6, 2015, 02:19 PM

Apr 2015

stage left

(2,967 posts)

4. I am trying to picture Representative Foxx at a kitchen table.

Reply to KamaAina (Original post)

Mon Apr 6, 2015, 02:35 PM

Apr 2015

In front of her is a heap of bills. She's shuffling through those bills and wondering what has to be paid right away...and what can go another week or two. She's wondering how to come up with that $10 her daughter needs to go on that class trip next month. Johnny needs new shoes and the Plymouth is making an odd sound and the other day it just shut off as she was driving across the railroad tracks. Maybe she could get a few more hours at the Savamart, but it's doubtful. They just let Sally go.

Yeah, I'm trying to imagine Representative Foxx, or any other member of Congress, doing that. And I just can't do it. They know little or nothing about the struggles of ordinary people and they don't have the empathy to imagine what life is like at $8.00 an hour. Therein lies the trouble with US government, imo.

KamaAina

(78,249 posts)

5. She could always use Roseanne's method

Reply to stage left (Reply #4)

Mon Apr 6, 2015, 02:50 PM

Apr 2015

Send the electric bill to the water company, and the water bill to the electric company. Then forget to sign the check for the phone bill.

stage left

(2,967 posts)

7. ...

Reply to KamaAina (Reply #5)

Mon Apr 6, 2015, 05:28 PM

Apr 2015

I can't remember the show, but a guy just threw all his bills up the stairs and paid the ones that landed the highest up.

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