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WASHINGTON -- Tensions between the rich and poor are increasing and at their most intense level in nearly a quarter-century, a new survey shows. Americans now see more social conflict over wealth inequality than over the hot-button topics of immigration, race relations and age. The survey released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center highlights U.S. perceptions of the economic divide, an issue that has moved to the forefront in the 2012 presidential campaign amid stubbornly high unemployment, increasing poverty and protests by the Occupy movement.

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: According to a new study from the Bureau of Labor statics, public school teachers are now the highest paid state workers. Public school teachers. In fact, public school teachers receive more than twice as much in average hourly wages and benefits as workers in private industry, on average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Public school teachers "are paid an average of $56.59 per hour in combined wages and benefits," which is twice the $28.24 an hour in wages and benefits paid to workers in the private sector. Now, some of you are probably saying, "I...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The jobs crisis has left so many people out of work for so long that most of America's unemployed are no longer receiving unemployment benefits. Early last year, 75 percent were receiving checks. The figure is now 48 percent — a shift that points to a growing crisis of long-term unemployment. Nearly one-third of America's 14 million unemployed have had no job for a year or more. Congress is expected to decide by year's end whether to continue providing emergency unemployment benefits for up to 99 weeks in the hardest-hit states. If the emergency benefits expire, the...

A Costa Mesa firefighter got an award of $39,590 because his work boots hurt Another firefighter twisted his knee in 1991 by walking downstairs and turning left. The bill: $96,919. A recreation leader who felt pain in the neck while shooting a basketball costing the city $7,325. claims that get compensation and reimbursement, from uncomfortable boots to stump-grinder accidents to "cumulative trauma" shows up at retirement time. New Police Chief Tom Gazsi, Fire Chief Kirk Dominic did not return calls A maintenance worker picking up trash on a slope with wet grass at a park when he slipped, straining his...

Herman Cain and Our 9-9-9 Plan Will Defeat Barrack Obama Dear Patriot, Last night's CNN debate was my first debate as the clear front runner in the GOP primary. I am truly honored and humbled to be in this position. My recent surge in the polls is a clear indication that America's are hearing my message loud and clear. Friends, I am a problem solver, and America needs a common sense problem solver in the White House! But I need your help today. Most of my GOP opponents are career politicians who have established massive fundraising networks nationwide, and the...

10 Mind Blowing Facts Which Show How Members Of Congress And Federal Employees Are Living The High Life At Our ExpenseOctober 19,2011 If you were asked to guess, what area of the United States would you say has the highest average income? New York City? Los Angeles? Silicon Valley? Well, would you believe that it is actually the Washington D.C. area? Median household income in the region is $84,523, which is the highest in the nation. One of the biggest reasons for this are the huge salaries being pulled down by federal employees in the Washington D.C. area. According to...

I actually have hopes for the Occupy Wall Street movement. Now, before you dismiss me, let me explain. I hope that one of the things we’re seeing down at Zuccotti Park is the first rustlings of what will eventually (though maybe not in our lifetime, comrades) become a full fledged revolution — not against capitalism but against what Rush Limbaugh likes to call Big Education and Michael Medved calls the Educational-Industrial Complex. This is really what most of these kids are angry about, isn’t it? Most of them — except for the usual complement of old lefties and sundry off-their-meds...

When the White House released its latest plan to stimulate – er, improve – the economy, everybody knew there would be a fresh round of spending to bail out government schools. But there’s another motive too: dues for the teachers unions. By my estimates, about three quarters of unionized teachers are represented by the National Education Association.  Every member pays dues, including $166 per year that goes to the national union, according to a secret union document posted on PublicSchoolSpending.com.  The White House says up to 285,000 teaching jobs – that is, dues payers – could be saved. Given these...

What was the most frequently used word in President Obama’s jobs speech Thursday evening? “Jobs.” By our count, the president uttered the word 44 times. Other oft-mentioned words included “America” and “American” (50 times for both combined), “business” (19), “economy” (14), and “companies” (18). Obama repeatedly urged Congress to “pass this jobs bill,” using the word “pass” 20 times. Some words that got no mention from Obama include “infrastructure,” “stimulus” and “bipartisan.” Here’s a longer word count:

Seeking to boost a slumping economy along with his hopes for re-election, President Obama unveiled his $450 billion jobs plan Thursday night in a highly-anticipated speech to a joint session of Congress. The American Jobs Act contains a blend of infrastructure spending, tax relief, unemployment assistance and other aid. All the proposals are paid for with spending cuts although the president isn’t expected to detail them until next week. “There should be nothing controversial about this piece of legislation,” Obama said in excerpts released by the White House ahead of his speech. “Everything in here is the kind of proposal...

President Barack Obama, facing waning confidence among Americans in his economic stewardship, plans to lay out a $300 billion job-creation package on Thursday, CNN reported, citing Democratic sources. The proposed new spending, to be announced by Obama in a nationally televised speech to Congress, would be offset by budget cuts, the report said, signaling that the Democratic president hopes to mollify the concerns of Republican fiscal hawks resistant to his jobs ideas. There was no immediate comment from the White House. Obama's aides have refused to go public with the estimated cost of Obama's package or provide many specifics in...

President Obama sent a warning shot across the bow of congressional Republicans in his Labor Day speech in Detroit this afternoon, pledging to hold them accountable publicly if they fail to support the job-creation plan he puts forth later this week. The proposal he’ll outline in his address to Congress on Thursday is filled with “bipartisan ideas,” Obama said, and Republicans can either get on board or explain their refusal to the American people. “I’m going to propose ways to put people to work [that] both parties can agree to,” Obama said. “We’re going to see if congressional Republicans will...

A city sewer worker made more last year than the police commissioner, the schools chancellor and the mayor - combined. Senior engineer Gerald Mistretta's pay was $771,841 - and six of his co-workers raked in nearly as much - thanks to a wage settlement with the city. His bottom line for the fiscal year that ended in June included a base salary of $109,850 a year, $173,000 in overtime - and nearly half a million dollars in back pay. The Brooklyn father of three said the one-shot windfall - which made him the top earner among city employees last year...

A top House Democrat introduced legislation Friday designed to help state and local governments retain and rehire workers amid the country's lingering jobs crisis. Sponsored by Rep. George Miller (Calif.), senior Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee, the proposal would pump billions of dollars into local communities in order to stanch the hemorrhaging of government jobs that's been the trend throughout the year. The proposal has a tough road ahead, as the Republican majority in the House is opposed to new stimulus spending as a solution to the jobs crisis. Indeed, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) suggested earlier this...

Via Breitbart TV. Remember that liberal tea party that Van Jones is building? Here’s one of their first big initiatives: The “Contract for the American Dream,” in which fresh-faced load-bearers for an imploding entitlement regime cheerily read cue cards calling for more weight on their backs, please. If you’re wondering how we can possibly afford “Medicare for all” when we can’t afford Medicare for some, you obviously missed this video from a few weeks ago of Jones reassuring America that we are not in fact broke, no matter how many zeroes there might be up on that national debt scoreboard....

For some California Tea Party conservatives, it has become a favorite statistic: Nearly half of Americans - 46 percent - don't pay taxes. The number is used to back up their claim that if that many people don't pay taxes, why should the wealthiest individuals pay more? It is accurate in a sense - 46 percent of U.S. households aren't expected to pay federal income taxes this year. "But most of those people do pay federal taxes" of some sort, such as payroll taxes, said Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center, a center-left Washington think tank,...

For two years, the Democrat party had a super-majority in the Senate, the majority in the House, and the executive branch. They had hundreds upon hundreds of chances to raise the debt ceiling or to cut spending but decided not to. Yet, the day after S&P downgraded the United States' credit rating, Democrats are deciding to blame Republicans for every possible thing wrong with the economy, particularly our credit. For example, Harry Reid stated in response to the news: "The action by S&P reaffirms the need for a balanced approach to deficit reduction...instead of hardliners who have already ruled out...

The average worker who is unemployed has been searching for a job for 40.4 weeks, or more than nine months, according to new Labor Department figures. That is the longest average unemployment duration on record.

Last Sunday, legislators and the president, convinced that the United States was facing an imminent risk of default and their sound decisions were needed to wrest global well-being from the jaws of collapse, purportedly scrambled to announce a deal on the debt ceiling hours before the Asian markets opened. Instead of cheering the deal, however, global markets thumbed their nose and turned down within hours of the announcement. Indeed, the most striking response to the “successful” conclusion of the United States debt ceiling cacophony on Sunday was the sharp fall in global stock markets the next day. Then, on Thursday,...

On this day of a 265 point drop on top of a net 850+ drop over the past 8 days (12,724 to 11,866) the next question overlying the US Economy is where will be the July 2011 Employment figures (June 2011 = 9.2%). A constant comment from the private sector appears to be the burden of government regulation. In the coming months and years, the business community is facing an enormous slew of known and probable regulations as created by an activist government ideology, ranging from Dodd-Frank Financial Reform & Obama Health Care to EPA Carbon Reduction & Dept. of...