There are some things that I try to avoid talking about in my posts, mainly because I (or someone else) could get carried away with the subject matter. There is the potential for my writing something that someone would take offense to, it turns into a big mess, we squabble and a lot of time and energy is wasted on something that has turned into a distraction. I’ve been down that road a few times and I can tell you it’s not fun, it’s very frustrating, and when your own message gets lost it can be quite maddening. That said, today I feel that I have to put my own two cents in on a topic that has political, economic and (for some of you) religious overtones…
Same-sex Marriage.
Now before I get to it let me preface this topic and say that as a happily married, 42-year-old heterosexual male I do not feel that a Gay or Lesbian couple getting married in any way threatens the sanctity of my own marriage. I personally do not feel threatened by Ellen and Portia getting married, or if Rachel and Susan want to get hitched. Just because a same-sex couple wants to tie the knot doesn’t mean that Wifey and I will cease to be married the second they do. We will still be married and the vows we made will be just as valid as they were before. My marriage is strong enough to withstand pretty much anything, thank you very much, and if something or someone does somehow threaten it then I am man enough to protect it myself without the meddling of the Religious Right. I don’t need Bryan Fischer or anyone else trying to pass legislation to that effect, which I take as an insult to my manhood because I think that they are saying that I am not man enough to look after my own marriage, so they are going to look after it for me. These are the people who belong to the party of “small government”? Yeah right, government that is so small that it fits into every one’s bedroom!
OK, see what I mean about getting carried away?!?!?!? Anyway…
Last night on his show, Keith Olbermann took Michael Steele to task for Steele’s claim that allowing Same-sex Marriage would have an adverse effect on small businesses around the country.
I have to agree with Keith that not only would Same-sex Marriage not have an adverse effect on small businesses, but that it would in reality have a stimulative effect on small businesses around the country. Think about it – all the extra business that would go to local florists, bakers, caterers, hotels, photographers, videographers, and all the other businesses that are normally associated with weddings.
And think about all of the extra jobs that would be created as a result of that!!!!!
Look at the video again and look at the stats that Keith quotes in this piece. In California alone, where the state economy is on the verge of collapse, 2,200 new jobs related to the wedding industry would have been created. The state would have taken in $64 million in new tax revenue as well as $9 million in marriage licensing fees. Now, do you think that any of that money would have been able to at least partially balance California’s budget, or even fix a few potholes? That’s just in California, what about the rest of the country?
The marriage industry is a $70 billion a year cash cow for those businesses who specialize in making one day the best day of any newlywed couple’s life! Think about all of the extra revenue those small businesses would be able to bring in with same-sex marriages. They estimate that an additional $16.8 billion would be pumped into the coffers of small businesses around the country. Think about all of the extra work that would be created, and think about all of the extra jobs that would be created thanks to this stimulus package that doesn’t cost the taxpayers one red cent!!!
And Michael Steele has a problem with those jobs and their creation? He doesn’t want to see people who are in need of an income go back to work if it means that Gays and Lesbians would get married? Oh that’s right, I forgot! If Gays and Lesbians had the right to marry, then that means that Government would have to give them the right to marry. In which case all of the jobs that will then be created will be courtesy of your local state government – and according to Micheal Steele, Government doesn’t create jobs!!! Of course, how silly of me!!!
OK, whatever your feelings are about Same-sex Marriage is fine by me. I know that some of you are for it, some of you are against it – and that’s OK – let’s just agree to disagree.
But the argument that Michael Steele tried to make about it hurting small businesses is just asinine, it would have the opposite effect!!! How, in the name of everything holy can someone, who is a top political figure in the GOP (allegedly) try to sell a point of view that would be detrimental to the economy by saying that allowing same-sex marriage would be detrimental to the economy? When people who are unemployed, underemployed and underutilized could use the income that these jobs could give them, why try to deny us desperately needed jobs in the middle of a recession?!?
Please, don’t insult our intelligence Mr. Steele, we know better!!!
Times have changed and we are all united. We all need to stay strong and focus on issues of adjustment, of employment, and getting this country back on it’s feet and quit griping about what isn’t necessary. Financially this country is in the whole. the government has laws against discrimination of any kind and if you ask me, this is DISCRMINATION!!! It is discriminating against a person’s religious and sex orientations. Mr. Steele needs to think about that. He needs to quit using religious opinions to get people to adjust to his way of thinking. It is a cop out. He needs to quit using religion to justify his thoughts in puplic and quit using his discrimination against same-sex couples. Discrimination is that of hate and basically, can start a whole can of worms that this country has had to pay for for generations. Stop the hate, stop the discrimination.
I personally feel that people who want to marry, straight or otherwise, should be entitled to the same benefits as anyone else. I am a straight woman but to each their own, and they shouldn’t be denied the rights as people in heterosexual marriages. Every human being should be treated with equal respect and rights, no matter what religion, sex, color. It is called Freedom. No one should be judged on who they fall in love with. It is their right and should be treated as such.
It doesn’t matter that the economy is bad off, some people will use this and others as an excuse to justify their own way of thinking. We need jobs. America was built on working class people and if they keep fighting things that will benefit people financially, they might just expect to have to deal with more people on assistance than ever before. For every job opening, there are thousands that apply. The odds that one company will hire everyone is rediculous. We need work to support our families. It seems to me that any job is better than none and if the tables were turned they would be protesting the situation just as much as they oppose the ones they seem to be turning down. Unfortunately, they have employment and the issues they keep bringing up are not as important to many of the unemployed unless it pretains to the hiring process. I understand everyone has issues on this and most other things but this economy will not get better unless compnaies start hiring fairly soon. Whatever issues Mr. Steele and his entourage argue over, this is not bringing in work for the average American. Therefore, he and the like might as well get use to more people applying for Government assistance and help, and then that will undoubtably give him something more to argue about, as well as deal with. He neds to keep his opinions on such issues to himself, come out of the dark ages and give people a chance on equal opportunity and say, and start being a part of a solution that is long time coming, instead of being part of a vast problem we already have. Get with the program or get out and give someone else an opportunity to do what needs to be done and get America back on it’s feet.
What I want to say to Mr. Steele and his ilk, and that would include Ann Coulter, Bill O’Riely and Rush is to stop wasting our time with trivia. We have real problems that require real solutions, not the same ‘ol song and dance about how it’s all (fill in the blanks) fault and how we should blame and punish them – that gets us nowhere.
What really got me about what Steele said is that he actually wants us to buy into his rhetoric that same-sex marriage would hurt the economy instead of help it and put some people back to work. Thanks Mr. Steele, having been born yesterday under a turnip truck…come on, I’m not and idiot so don’t treat me like one.
It’s just another way of distracting us from trying to fix what is wrong in this country, put people back to work and get the economy moving again. It’s like if they can’t come up with any good ideas, then they don’t want anyone else to come up with a good idea and make them look bad. They keep saying that “the jobs are out there” and I keep looking on Monster, CareerBuilder, Jobbing.com and Craigslist and I keep thinking “oh really, where?”
We don’t want distractions, we want jobs and we don’t want or need to be denegraded or called “whiners” for it either.
I know. Everyday, I am on the job billboards, Jobs.com, etc. and some I qualify for, others i do not but so far, in this area or where I am moving to, there is nothing available. Rural areas like mine are suffering beyond the norm. Major companies would rather go to cities because of convenience. It hurts others in areas that do not live in cities and when you have to travel to major cities hours away, like where I live, people cannot afford the gas, which is going up, to apply, try and get an interview and risk losing that job you apply for to someone who right there, not live hours away, or who is either younger or more qualified. We need jobs and if there are any, it is not in the areas where I am or where I will be headed. unfortunately, we will always have to compete with todays market of job seekers. But people in the government keep telling us the jobs are there. Not where I live! Anyway, most of the issues they talk about do not concern me or interest me. I don’t have a problem with same sex marriages, religious forums, or eco. What I have a problem with is the idea that some in the Government would rather fight jobs that can be available but if it does not fit into their ideas or their pockets, they fight what others could desperately use and need, and that is work in one form or other. I get tired of people telling me there is work. Well, then they fight for what we could use and then things do not move as they should. americans need to work to survive and we just are not getting the employment unless we travel a distance, relocate or are willing to move to a closer city. and moving isn’t an option if you haven’t the funds. Gas is going up again and that alone will be another hinderence for those of us unemployed and needing to find work.
I hear you. Gas is going up again where I live too, and if I’m going to be interviewing I’m going to need to put some in the tank – somehow. I live in a somewhat rural area myself and I know that looking for a job has to be confined to my surrounding area. I can’t venture out too far myself because of the cost involved.
The problem with all of the government types telling us that the jobs are out there is that they have no idea what kind of jobs are out there. Commission sales is the one that’s most prevalent, and I have found that very few people in the world can make a good living at it. “If it was so easy everybody would be doing it” as I have heard so often in the past. And like you said sometimes it’s all about location, location, location.
Hopefully we will both be able to earn a living closer to home – sooner rather than later.
They say unemployment has slowed but do they consider it is because many people’s benefits have run out and even extentions have expired? If they are going by statistics, then they won’t see this. The numbers are piling where benefits, extentions, have run out. I expect we will see an increase soon enough on the number of people applying for Government assistance.
Most jobs out there are commission sales. I don’t know about you but been there, done that and it isn’t for me. Commission is fine for some that can actually do well at it but asking for people to buy something that I have to sell over the phone or door to door is not for me, not my style and I know I would be horrible at it. It would be frustrating for me personally.
If there were more companies that would reconsider layoffs and start budgetting for more hirees, and people can get back to work, they would be more like to put more money back into this grief stricken economy. Of course, we all know even if big corporations make a billion profit, they aren’t likely to hire more since they see the Ol’ Mighty Dollar and want to hold onto it without contributing to the economy by hiring as many employees as they can. Sometimes I think they should just suck it up, hire more people and wait it out. People will only bring the economy up if they have the money to spend and that would even contribute to what the big corporations are selling. The car industries alone, for example. If people were back to work and could feel safety and comfortable, as well as stabilty, again, then they would buy the newer cars and other products. Right now, the way things are, no one can afford much of anything.
I think Congressman who fight the jobs coming into their states for reasons of their own, haven’t a clue as to how the average unemployed person feels, and the stress this has put on them. We need to figure out a way to make things better, instead of hindering the process of turning away employment for those of us who need it. Otherwise, they can blame themselves when the time comes for them to seek bailouts for their states being so overwhelmed by people on public assistance. That is what is going to happen soon enough if they don’t do something to help out the unemployed.
Of course, what do I know…? I am just an average unemployed person that lives in the hills of Tennessee and common sense doesn’t face well with some in Government politics. I am not out to make more than them. I just want enough to be able to pay my bills and survive for the next crisis, whatever that may be. I am not asking for a multi-million dollar payroll. Just an honest wage for a job well done. I need work like everyone else and I can honestly say, political views aside, even I can see that the economy isn’t getting all that better in my area alone. I wish the politicians could see the facts from our side of the fence.
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