THE BALLAD OF DRCLEAN

or, Pull The Ladder Up. This is the sad tale of drclean, who struggled his way out of poverty, and now apparently wants to walk on the bodies of those who were not so fortunate. See, as I hear it, drclean grew up poor, with only the benefit check from his Pa's railroad pension to support him and Ma. The poor boy didn't have enough money to go to college, but with hard work, he started a business and made good. Bravo. (The inheritance from his nutty aunt didn't hurt.)

Now, what turned this honest, hard working dude into such a hard hearted scumbag? Now, he tells us that he never heard of anybody starving in America. That people who are poor are lazy and fat. Hell, why should his hard earned money go to deadbeats? Charming.

Say, doc, a lot of people survive, like you did, on a benefit check, like from Social Security. Should we kick those deadbeats (like you and your mom) off the dole? If we had a sensible tax policy, it might be possible for people like you and your mom to have basically free health care, courtesy of reasonable taxes on wealthier people. Hell, most of Europe has superior health care for a fraction of the cost. But fuck that, I got mine, who wants to help poor people?

Sometimes people get sick, doc. Sometimes people work hard their whole lives and get wiped out by an injury, or an illness. Sometimes a father dies, or a family splits up, and their whole financial house crashes into a heap. Not everyone can be great and successful like you. So why not give a little back, and let those who have benefitted so much, like millionaires and billionaires, pay a fair share back into the system, so that families like yours once was can get a little leg up, and maybe be less likely to slide into homelessness because of a little setback.

See, to people like you, who have forgotten what it was like, those bastards can rot for all you care. You want to pull that ladder up, after you've climbed up. And I know what you're saying. Why should rich people have to pay? You pay because it's the price of living in society. It's the dues you owe back into the system because of everything the system has let you earn for yourself.

Eh, screw it, there ain't much point jawing at you. You already decided that you got yours, so screw everybody else. Your mind is so twisted that you can't see that some people don't have it so good. And you don't even bother to find out how little it would cost to make a difference. Our wages are stagnant, while CEOs make millions, but you never think about that. The only thing you see are the people who you barely regard as insects, scuttling around with their hands out, looking for a favor. You're a real piece of shit, drclean. I hope you never find yourself in a place where your only chance is help from a soulless wretch like you.

JC