February 22, 2010

Racine near the bottom of wealthy cities list

When it comes to America's wealthiest cities, Racine ranks near the bottom.

This should come as no surprise to anyone (except maybe the SC Johnson family).

Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2008 American Community Survey, BizJournals has rated the relative affluence of all 420 cities, incorporated towns and unincorporated urban areas with populations of more than 75,000. "Places with high income levels and large inventories of expensive homes naturally earn the highest scores," their report states.

You'll find Racine way near the bottom of the list, 379th out of 420, second lowest in Wisconsin.:
In Wisconsin, Madison ranked highest at No. 166, with a per capita income of $30,918 and a median household income of $53,516. About 3.8 percent of Madison's households make $200,000 or more.

On the other side of the coin, Milwaukee ranked the lowest at 384th with a per capita income of $19,237 and median income of $37,331. Just 1 percent of Milwaukee households make $200,000 or more.

Other Wisconsin cities in the list were Kenosha at 283, Green Bay at 253, and Racine at 379.
The Census data lists Racine's median household income at $40,976; per capita income at $20,496.

The full story is HERE, as well as a link to an interactive U.S. map for further explorations.

85 comments:

  1. In the 70's it was a different story. Then there were many businesses with good pay and benefits. Then the executives lived here and the school district was considered one of the most innovative in the US.

    It has been sad to watch the decline in jobs, schools and quality of the leadership.

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  2. The decline in local leadership has really been tough, I really hope someone with integrity and dignity runs for mayor next term!

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  3. Folks need to pay better.

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  4. "This should come as no surprise to anyone (except maybe the SC Johnson family)."
    Really?
    Is this another OP-ED?
    Remove that shot and it is a good story.
    SDJ

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  5. You'll find Racine way near the bottom of the list, 379th out of 420, lowest in Wisconsin.:

    Milwaukee ranks 384.

    Isn't that in WI and isn't that lower?

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  6. Dear SDJ, Alas, that statement wasn't a shot. Unfortunately, when an oligarchic clan and its corporate flunkeys control a community, the place turns into a rundown company town. As a historian and an ethicist, I hold the high and mighty House of Wax responsible for most of the misery in our sorry city.

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  7. Here comes your comet...get on it quick, you don't want to miss your ride.

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  8. We another Blog already taken over by Michael DeGauelle who will submit multiple comments - all of which are the same incomprehensable rants against the Johnson Family - accusing them of everthing including the comit that killed the dinosaurs.

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  9. "As a historian and an ethicist..." you are neither - simply a very bitter pitiful man

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  10. Can't wait til the Johnson's have enought of this crap and they leave too - then we can move doen the list even further

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  11. I'm a big Post fan, but this story was written too quickly. In addition to the point already made about Milwaukee ranking below Racine - they can't both be lowest in Wisconsin - why include the Milwaukee and Madison income numbers but not Racine's?

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  12. I would bet if you included Caledonia and Mt. Pleasant in the data it would change dramatically. There are too many uneducated and untrained people in the city. You know, birds of the feather.

    The findings should make most on this Blog happy since you hate wealthy people so much. You want jobs here yet you can't come to grips that wealthy people are who create the jobs

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  13. High Crime
    Poor Schools
    Few jobs and those low wages (thanks Mayor!)
    Scandal after scandal in local Politics

    Why are we so low I do not see why? Mr. Racine saids
    we are the best.

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  14. Racine has always been a very liberal town where government handouts and unionism (in the past) reign supreme. Liberalism does not embrace Capitalism and that is why we have a a culture of low performance in schools and in job creation. Systematically we have encouraged reliance on others rather than self. We don't teach self reliance in our homes or in the schools and that translates into a low numbers of entrepreneurs and therefore very little job growth.
    In the next decade there will be an explosion of jobs out along I-94 with very few Racinians having the basic skills or education to take advantage of it.
    People have to make themselves employable in order to find gainful employment. The problem is that the folks left behind are making Racine their haven.

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  15. 7:22 Oops. Thanks for catching that embarrassing error.

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  16. Michael Kroes2/22/2010 10:36 PM

    Pete,

    I have to agree with SDJ that the statement regarding the Johnson family is a "shot". Maybe someday you and/or Dustin will disclose what it is that's really bothering you about SCJ.

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  17. Wealthy people don't "create jobs." Nope, they pile up obscene fortunes sweated out of the hides of their vulnerable victims. A people's government in firm control of our nation's resources and assets could generate jobs and revenue for our rank-and-file. However, the rich don't want such a regime because it would interfere with their unregulated accumulation of mega-moolah at the expense of the miserable majority.

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  18. My hatred of the capitalists and their corporate system shall not be slaked until I behold a common man's government come to power. Pray for everyone's sake that the new regime will be installed by those who use non-violent and legal methods only. May the new regime systematically dismantle capitalism, smash the corporate culture and reduce oligarchic wealth to a minute fraction of its present size. Mega-money represents too much power to be left in private sector privateers' predatory paws. No individual or dollar-sign dynasty is capable of ethically managing the power represented by a billion bucks. ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE'S GOVERNMENT ANSWERABLE TO THE PEOPLE THROUGH FREQUENT AND HONEST ELECTIONS!

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  19. Dear 2/22/9:00, The last thing we need is more Emersonian Transcendentalist trash about self-reliance. The myth of self-reliance is merely the richie-poos' way of conning us into thinking that we rather than our oppressors are responsible for our misery. Paupers brainwashed into blaming themselves instead of their exploiters are easy to control. That's why the Waxtrash and their lackeys push Emersonian cr-p in Racine. That's why they worship Frank Lloyd Wright and Ayn Rand, among other disciples of Emerson. That's why they taunt their victims with Horatio Alger stories and rags-to-riches fairy fibs. By and large, the rich will trot out every worthless piece of individualistic Victorian garbage rather than risk the chance that their wage slaves may wise up to their true situation and overthrow their tormentors.

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  20. ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE AND THE PEOPLE'S GOVERNMENT!

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  21. I think you guys intentionally put these stories out to bait Mr Marx (more site hits then).

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  22. Rosa Luxemburg'2/23/2010 7:04 AM

    Mr. Marx is interesting reading. After living here I understand why he thinks that way.

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  23. Wow there's a plug for Racine, hell Dickert can announce that at his press conference about him bringing jobs to Racine and Eickhorst can write a big fancy press release saying Come to Racine We all Po!

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  24. With all the socialist programs in this state, it doesn't really surprise me. Free sh!t for everyone while the people that pay for it leave!
    This is the major design flaw of socialism/communism.

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  25. 9:10 - Very well said - most people in this town do not take responsibility for their own lives - they think the government should take care of them.

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  26. Our Mayor seems to be following the socialist path. What country is it that he so dearly wants to do business with? The answer is China. Does he want to travel to their country to learn more about their Red ways? I almost forgot, he wants to attract investors. Meanwhile he is kicking every American business in the rear end.

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  27. The Racine City Council can correct this wage disparity right away - create a mandate for a minimum wage of $124,000 per year per family - regardless if working or not!

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  28. Dear 9:10 PM, No, most of the folks I know want their government to HELP them survive in a system which the rich have imposed on them for oligarchic fun and profit. Receiving help is not necessarily tantmount to being completely cared for by the government. Even so, a Western European "nanny state" would be preferable to our free enterprise flail-and-fail free-for-all which benefits only the elite.

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  29. This should come as no surprise to anyone (except maybe the SC Johnson family).

    It is obvious the Post does not like the SCJ company.

    In my opinion SCJ is the best ting that has happened to Racine.

    Name one other city where a family has done so muck for a city of our size.

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  30. Mr. Angry - read my post from one of the other articles - same holds true here - you sad, depressing loser.

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  31. If you ignore him, he might go away. He is starving for attention.

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  32. Recession aside, if you can't make it in the USA you are a loser.

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  33. 4:23 AM so tell me where has this worked well? USSR?

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  34. So there is no greed and corruption in Governemnt? Ha!

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  35. Although government isn't perfect, it beats the private sector. (I am, of course, discussing regimes found in developed, post-industrial nations such as France, The Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries. Alas, Third and Second World governments are every bit as corrupt as the corporate realm.)

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  36. Capitalism: from each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed.

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  37. Years ago, a wise Irish-American said that anyone could make money in this country--that is, if he had a printing press in his basement. The time has come for us to outgrow the antiquated notion that the USA is a land of opportunity for all. Sad to say, the only people who profit from America are the already-wealthy and a handful of foreign-born predators with capital who break our labor laws while grinding our citizens into the muck.

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  38. Dear 9:04 AM, You bet the Waxtrash have done "muck" for Racine! In case you don't know it, "muck" is usually defined as "dirt," "mud" or "manure." Since their filthy fiscal finagling has brought us misery galore, the Waxies deserve to be known as this town's Maximum Muck Masters.

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  39. If SCJ decided to leave, we wouldn't even show up on the survey. It only includes cities with 75,000+ in population. The way it's going, we might not be on there next time anyway.

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  40. 11:05 - give me 3 specific actions that the "waxis" have done that have resulted in something bad for the poor.

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  41. I think 11:05's point didn't have anything to do with the "waxis" doing things that would harm the poor, it was that there wouldn't be 75,000 or more people in this city (the cutoff for the survey) if they left.

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  42. Stop the free handouts and the whole state will change.

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  43. 11:40 - Sorry, I meant 10:16.

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  44. What free handouts? Have you ever tried to obtain fuel assistance, Food Stamps or a monthly Disability check? I know crippled people to whom our stinking state won't give ANY help whatsoever. Any way you look at it, Wisconsin serves the interests of the corporate elite rather than meeting the needs of its low-income residents.

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  45. I enjoy seeing all the crap that is purchased with food stamps. I would guess many of those on food stamps don't need to be. For those that truly need it - they deserve it.

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  46. 12:06 - That's only half the problem. The other half is getting all those people that are taking free handouts to leave the city. (i.e. 99.9% of the folks living on Jacato and the 3 or 4 blocks east of Jacato.) They're living off our tax dollars and the majority of their kids don't give two $#@Ts about school unless sports are involved. Another generation of waste starts every 14 to 18 years.

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  47. John Crimmings2/23/2010 5:49 PM

    Pete

    I have to agree with Mike Kroes. There does seem to be something bothering you and Dustin about S.C. Johnson. It is clouding your judgement. You know, for a brief period of time, as you were taking shots at the JT for their negativity, I thought (and hoped) that maybe, just maybe, you guys would be the beacon of some positive comments on the Greater Racine area. Alas, apparently, it is easier for you guys to foster the negativity provided by anonymous bloggers than to really try and find the good news going on in the community. I, for one, but among many, am proud to call Racine home. I just wish you would take the time to appreciate what Racine has to offer. I think all of you will feel better!

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  48. John Crimmings2/23/2010 7:41 PM

    I would like to apologize to Pete for the shot on positive reporting on Racine. There have been countless times when I have seen Pete, with camera in hand, taking photos of local events that often go unnoticed by other media. That cannot be overlooked and I was wrong in suggesting otherwise. I think that my bigger, deeper issue is with the majority of people who think so little of the value they can add to a public discussion by hiding behind "Anonymous". Seems to me that one should be proud of what they write, where they work and where they live. At least that is the way I was raised and I'm proud of it. So, again, sorry Pete. My angst was directed at the wrong target. Keep dong the things you do and be proud of the service you provide.

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  49. How do I know you are the real John Crimmings?

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  50. John Crimmings2/23/2010 8:20 PM

    I guess you don't. No system is perfect. I just believe that signing one's name provides credibility that the anonymous just can't match. Someone can always hide behind a false identity. I would just hope that if one did so, they would have the brains to be someone other than John Crimmings.

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  51. Anon 9:00 PM, very eloquently and factually stated. The absolute best explanation I have ever heard describing the issue and its cause.

    Anon 4:23 AM, on the other hand, your statement is one of the most foolish, ignorant, hateful analysis I've ever heard; and we've heard it from you time and time again. What you describe is communism, which does not work in practical application. It only creates the haves and have-nots, with no one in between. Oh, and as long as you have liberals in charge in the Democratic Party, there will never be anything close to an honest election held (do illegal aliens and dead people voting and bribery and ballot box stuffing and hanging chads mean anything to you?).

    Anon 8:06 AM, right on!

    Anon 8:07 AM, that is correct, too. I forget which founding father said it, but, to paraphrase, no government or society can withstand when the people find they can vote themselves free gifts from the treasury; eventually there are going to be more takers than givers.

    Anon 10:16 AM, so you suggest that SCJ shut down and leave town. That, in your opinion I suppose, would do wonders for the unemployment rate in Racine. I didn't know it was possible for a person to exist inside-out. But that's what you appear to be: half-ass backwards, upside-down and inside-out.

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  52. I see both sides of this argument. We cannot hand out money to help people become self-reliant. It just doesn't work. We cannot have others just set up huge playlands and everyone else is supposed to work at them. Both of those scenarios keep society down.

    So you want to keep all your money capitalist and liberals want to spend it. The answer is to spend it correctly in the correct way. We all saw what happens when ACORN got the money.

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  53. Amen! Great JOKES from little ACORN grew. (This is a spoof on one of Racine High School's slogans, "great oaks from little acorns grow." Back in the Twisted Twenties, my Mom's class at Racine High School wound up with rings adorned with acorns. Understandably, Mom and her peers thought that their teachers were either squirrely or just plain nuts.)

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  54. Hell, "just plain nuts" would describe this rundown company town and the corporate criminals who control it.

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  55. Racine was flawed from its inception, founded as it was by a former privateer (Gilbert Knapp). Then scads of simple gullible souls were lured here to provide dumb, docile low-wage labor for several throughly-evil entrepreneurial leeches. Today, the spawn of some Victorian and Edwardian exploiters of the proletariat perpetuate the pernicious pattern, aided and abetted by their Ivy League carpetbaggers as well as an assortment of less-cultured corporate thugs.

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  56. Mr. Angry - get a job.

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  57. I'm not Mr. Angry. Furthermore, I've got two jobs: one of them is a conventional executive position while the other is the creative task of smashing capitalism.

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  58. What kind of executive position allows someone to blog all day? You should be fired. The rest of us are working hard to prop up your lazy ass and your socialist/communist rantings.
    Nothing you say adds up or makes sense. You are nothing but a BS artist!

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  59. At least the Waxies do work unlike Mr Angry The - Ultimate Hypocrite!

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  60. 12:06, 12:20 - Amen!

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  61. Alas, I am not Mr. Angry. As for the Waxies' work, if you mean the activities of "The Scam-ily," we'd be better off without their dubious endeavors. From what I've heard about much of the Waxclan and its upper-echelon execupigs, heterosexual and homosexual affairs appear to be the order (or ordure) of the day. The sedulous pursuit of the sex-etary birds is a notorious Waxtrash indoor sport. Although middle level office staff and the exploited low-pay temps are known to do real work on occasion, the Waxelite is worse than useless. Were I to win the lottery, I'd bribe the Waxaristocracy to refrain from its current round of dirty ditzy deeds.

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  62. I don't care about that crap. You never answered the question (as usual) as you probably think you are so much better than everyone. Typical pompous, I am better than you, communist attitude!
    Answer the question, hypocrite! You talk about "the toilers" all the time. All you do is sit in your office and blog on about useless crap while "the toilers" sweat away their lives!

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  63. I fight for social justice--a more equitable distribution of our nation's assets for the benefit of all our citizens. As matters stand now, the only people who prosper in this vile excuse for a developed country are members of what I call the "Unholy Trinity" of socio-economic classes--the propertied, the privileged and the preferred.

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  64. Inasmuch as the Waxtrash Corporate Crime Family and its money-mutt myrmidons personify property, privilege and preference to putrid perfection, neither my allies nor I shall rest until the House of Wax falls, never to rise again.

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  65. 3:25, Amen!!!

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  66. Mr. Angry, you are either a liar or a hypocrite. I do not believe for one second that you are a "conventional executive." You have a bone to pick with SCJ, as is evidenced by your un-abating continual attacks against them. I would suggest that you go play Russian Roulette, but the bullet would undoubtedly be unable to find any brains to blow out!

    Mr. Angry = the welfare leeches superhero of wealth redistribution. You are no Robin Hood! And quit denying that you're Mr. Angry. We see right through you. Maybe when your unemployment benefits run out and you're forced to get another job (if anyone will hire you after being fired from SCJ), you won't be sitting there all day, every day, dictionary in hand, blogging. You are entirely pathetic.

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  67. Who the hell is Mr. Angry? I'm just one of many irate men who hate capitalism. By the way, many of us work for corporations, including the "Family Company." Anyone who thinks that Michael the Avenger is the only Waxbasher in town is crazy.

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  68. Why, you may even have some of us on your payroll...

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  69. There is only one of you, don't flatter yourself. If you were on my payroll you would be canned instantly. I would not allow anyone to sit and blog all day and get paid for it.

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  70. Buddy, there isn't just one guy blogging away. Nope--we've got lots of men who agree to make comments on different issues around the clock. So you could have one of us working for you. Ditto the Waxtrash Corporate Crime Family. Plenty of employees who were honked off about the profit sharing policies of the greedy Waxbrats started helping us last year. As I write, the number of disgruntled Waxdrudges is increasing...

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  71. Why, we've even got men at "Whitebread."

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  72. Ummm...sure.

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  73. We're here, we're there,/ we're in Hellwitch's lair.

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  74. Hey Randolph...it's people like this that make me want a drug free America.

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  75. Hey, Buddy--our men don't do drugs and never will touch dope. Ditto booze. Clear heads and healthy bodies are absolute necessities when fighting capitalism. By the way, we want a drug-free America too!

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  76. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  77. Ditto Dr. Risk Waxtrash, whose little problems coupled with big bucks are notorious.

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  78. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  79. Someday the Feds will arrest, try and incarcerate that tribe of dollar-sign dullard swine and druggies.

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  80. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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