The Tax Debate

Another example of how crazy politics is in this country!!

The Republicans say they will block everything - unemployment extension, the START nuclear arms treaty with Russia, immigration reform, extension of tax cuts for the struggling middle class in a time of recession. And all because they insist on extending tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% and adding that money onto the deficit which they care to claim so much about. Warren Buffet himself said the rich have never had it so good. 75% of Americans are against these top tax cuts.

At the same time the Republicans are pushing to increase the deficit by prolonging the Bush tax cuts for those that don't need it, they are saying in 2012 they are going to blame Obama.

The President makes a back room deal with Republicans. In the video clip below he explains very logically why he had to compromise. (of course a compromise I would have respected would be to find a point between the $200,000 income the Democrats are using as a cap and the Republican position. How about tax breaks for those making a million dollars a year and less. That sounds like a compromise and hard to argue with.)

Obama said he does not want to put the economy at risk to score political points. One problem with not considering political points is that the Republicans are constantly considering this and if Obama chooses not to play the game, he may lose in 2012. And example of being outplayed on this compromise: The concessions he got from the Republicans all expire in a year, in order to prevent the economy from benefiting from them leading up to his re-election bid.

The craziness comes in now: The Republicans were willing to block everything until they got what they want, even though what they want goes against the majority opinion in this democracy. Obama compromises, which means giving the Republicans exactly what they want (and more - they also got a deal on the estate tax). Now the liberals in congress are saying they will stand their ground and stand with the American people and vote against a bill that includes tax cuts for the top 2%. (25% of the money from Obama's compromise goes to the top 1% according to the New York Times).

Now everyone is saying if the bill fails it will be the liberals' fault and the Democrats will be to blame for ruining the economy. So Obama, in his not so masterful political game-man-ship set the Democrats up. He has basically sided with the Republicans and is setting up the Democrats to look like the problem. He could have backed a bill that the Democrats supported and blamed the Republicans for its failure if they voted against it. Then after the Republicans were seen as the obstructionists they are he could have made a compromise. But instead he backed a bill that gave the Republicans what they want and set the Democrats up with a situation where they need to give in or be seen as the obstructionists.

Even if the ultimate bill is the same, his political strategy sucks. No matter how much good will he shows to the Republicans they will slit his throat come election time. Meanwhile by not standing up for the liberal and progressive base of his party he is making it difficult for them to win.

Clearly there are different opinions about strategy but from my point of view Obama's strategy is not so good.

Of course the crazy part of our political system is that strategy is so key. In a logical world Americans would see that the Republicans are fighting against the opinions and interests of the majority of Americans and that they say one thing and do the exact opposite (claim to be so concerned about the deficit but insist on unpopular and unaffordable tax cuts for the ones who are doing just fine).

And that they get away with this! When a reporter on NPR asked a Republican about the tax breaks for the wealthy he responded by saying they aren't tax cuts, he said that in fact the democrats are fighting for the largest tax increase in American history. And he went on to say that raising taxes on the job creators in a recession is bad policy and shows how incapable of running our government Democrats are. And the interviewer let that explanation stand. Never mind that more money in the pockets of the already super rich are not going to create jobs. It is going to go into the stock market, overseas investments, and offshore bank accounts.

Obummer

So here is Obama's defense of his tax compromise. I whole heartedly disagree with the President. Of course it is obvious the Change he planned on bringing to the White House was not a change in policy, but a change in politics. He likes to compromise. This could be a good thing if the Republicans weren't out to destroy him and their policies weren't a continuation of what is causing our problems in the first place. The Republicans don't compromise, they hold hostage our government in order to get what they want for the ruling corporate class.

Obama is clear about what he thinks below, but I think before giving in he should force the Republicans to go on record. They should force the Republicans to stand up and filibuster what the vast majority of Americans want. After that give, with the message that we need to get rid of the Republicans to avoid further stunts.

It is what it is, but for me it is a major disappointment. I did not like Hilary during the Primaries because she was so ruthless and mean spirited but maybe she would have fought harder. The pit bull was not appealing against the golden retriever in the Primaries but perhaps she could have stood her ground against the Republicans.

Sen Bernie Sanders for President 2012

(interesting and sad side note: They are now saying that Obama's compromise included lowering the estate tax (benefiting the rich) will increase California's budget deficit by 2.7 billion dollars forcing even more dramatic cuts to education and other state spending. Thanks Obummer for working so well with the Republicans to destroy the working and middle class while protecting the wealthy.)

Bernie Sanders on Tax Cuts and war on middle class

By far my favorite senator, favorite politician for that matter, is Bernie Sanders, Independent from Vermont. Here is a good speech about the Republican war on the middle class - he touches on taxes, national debt, trade, concentration of wealth, threat to social security, etc.
The first Video is from Rachael Maddow, she gives highlights from the speech (the second video) and interviews him.



The Speech:

Money Trickles Up and Austerity for All

First, don't take it from me that we should raise taxes on the rich, listen to one of their own:

Warren Buffett: "I think that people at the high end, people like myself, should be paying a lot more in taxes. We have it better than we’ve ever had it ... The rich are always going to say that, you know, 'Just give us more money, and we'll go out and spend more, and then it will all trickle down to the rest of you.’ But that has not worked the last 10 years, and I hope the American public is catching on."

So it should not surprise you that the opposite of what the Republicans say is true, it is the rule, not the exception. The great "Trickle Down Effect". In the past 40 years the taxes for the super wealthy in this country have been slashed dramatically - Reagan took them from around 70% down to around 30%. The idea, as Buffet said, you give rich people money, they spend it, it ends up trickling down to everyone else.

In reality, money trickles up. Look at the wealth that is accumulated in monarchies, in churches, in Swiss bank accounts. Most people I know spend all the money they earn. Poor people spend all their money on life necessities. Middle class people spend all their money on slightly higher quality necessities and some luxuries like cars, TVs, iPods, travel, mechanics, doctors, etc. There is all this money flowing through the economy but it stops flowing and collects in large pools - the bank accounts of the corporate CEO class of this nation. Look at Meg Whitman - she made Billions of dollars being CEO of e-bay. She has so much extra money that tricked up to her that she blew $140 million trying to become governor of a state that was too smart to elect her.

CEOs make hundreds of millions of dollars a year! This is thousands of times what I make as a teacher in the highest paying school around. Is what they do for our country thousands of times more valuable than what I do? Why should all this wealth be allowed to trickle up into there hands?

Warren Buffet says it: "We have it better than we’ve ever had it". The CEOs of the wall street banks that needed taxpayer bailouts - those CEOs are making record salaries - during a recession which has record unempl0yment (depression levels in some states) , increasing families losing their homes, record demand for food at food banks and shelters. The CEOs of health insurance companies are making hundreds of millions of dollars a year in profit - which they accumulate in their bank accounts - while American families are going bankrupt and even dying because they can't afford the cost of medical care or insurance.

The number of billionaires in this country and the world is soaring, even now during the recession - the US has I think around 1,400 billionaires now compared to I think about 40, 30 years ago. Hell the guy who created Facebook (actually the guy who stole the idea of Facebook) is worth four billion dollars ans is the youngest billionaire in the world.

Money trickles up and we are seeing the fasted consolidation of wealth the world has ever seen. Let people get rich - If you take half of Zuckerberg's 4 billion he will still be doing alright, and maybe our government could put it towards anti online bullying education which things like Facebook have made a sad reality of this new digital age.

I hear so much about Austerity measures! Cut government spending - the Republicans are going to push for that. The IMF is reaming Ireland, telling them to cut unemployment and minimum wage.

Balance the books on the backs of the poor and working class - that is what is happening, while the rich have never had it better. I say lets at the very least have Austerity for ALL, if we need austerity. Austerity seems like a smart idea when you have over spent. But is it the best way to get out of a recession?

Take away minimum wage, and other things that help the poorest people, cut spending and lay off government workers, how does that help us get out of the recession?

End of rant

Danny's post election thoughts: Obama has two choices

OK the 2010 midterm elections are over and the dust has settled. I think they were very interesting and are perfect for clarifying where this country is and where it might go from here.

The republicans will try to prevent Obama from being re-elected in two years and Obama will either continue trying to work with them, or he will stand up firmly against them. The success of the Democrats in 2012, in my opinion, depends on which he chooses to do.

First I am fairly relieved since Meg Whitman and Carli Fiorina lost in California. They were just awful. (I actually know a lot of first hand info about Meg that I cannot tell you) But self funded corporate CEO's are not the ones we want running our government regardless.

I am most sad that Russ Feingold, Alan Greyson, and some other progressives lost their jobs. Russ Feingold fought in the senate for the people and against big government (what the Tea Party that ousted him claim to care about). He was the only one who voted against the patriot act, he voted against the bank bailouts, against NAFTA and every free trade agreement, authored political finance reform, etc. He was a truly independent (going against the Democratic establishment often) progressive. Sad to see him go to a corporatist millionaire.

Of course the Citizens United case has played out with the most expensive election in history!

So in a bad economy what always happens happened, the party in Power lost. In fact the last three elections have seen the party in charge lose. People are not happy with the economy or our government. The economy is bad because we deregulated the banks and lowered taxes on the wealthy. Just like when we did this before the great depression, it led to speculative bubbles with all that money the wealthy were playing with. The bubble burst, the economy collapsed, the banks and wealthy who caused it have actually made record profits during the recession. Obama and his government catered much more to wall street than they did main street. The Republicans of course did everything they could to prevent the economic recovery so they could win. For instance making sure the the stimulus was too small to make a big difference.

Obama tried to compromise with the Republicans and placate wall street rather than take on the Republicans and fight for the people. The horrible health care bill is an example. Obama took the public option (which 60% of Americans according to USA Today STILL SUPPORT) off the table. The weak stimulus another. The lack of a climate change bill another.

Now John Boener, the new speaker of the House, says he will repeal the health care bill because it will bankrupt the country and will push for extending tax cuts for the rich. (Of course this is crazy as the tax cuts will add to our debt while the health care bill is actually projected to lower it - but we know the Republicans don't play with the facts)

Republicans have also said now their number one goal: make sure Obama does not get re-elected in two years. Carl Rove has promised to continue running secretly funded attack ads nonstop even after the election to turn public opinion against the Democrats. Citizens United is a flood gate that has been opened that could wash away our democracy - this is scary stuff. Imagine providing the evil genius Carl Rove with UNLIMITED SECRET CORPORATE MONEY with which to wage the biggest advertising war the world has ever seen - and all to the detriment of our democracy)

Obama and the Democrats have two choices: work with the Republicans, which will not win over Republican votes and will not motivate the Democratic base, leading to a sure loss of the white house and senate in two years.

or stand up and fight against the Republican agenda. This will be a winning strategy as the majority of the people actually want a public option, they want the banks to be regulated, they want foreclosures to stop, they want job creating stimulus bills, they want to take action on climate change. The people will be on the side of the Democrats if they fight for them and against the corporate interests. This was shown in the two million people who went to the Mall to see Obama sworn in, in the young people who outvoted old people for the first time when they thought Obama was their guy. (Young people failed to vote in large numbers this time)

Fighting Washington is the only way Obama will win in two years. Becoming Washington he will lose.

Now I must say that we cannot blame Obama or expect him to act on his own. He never said he was a progressive. He talked of Change and people projected what they thought that meant. I never expected him to be progressive. But for most people, change meant fighting for the people and not the corporations. Unfortunately it seems change for Obama meant ending the divisive politics and trying to be a uniter, a compromiser. Well that has not solved the countries problems and did not help him politically either.

And we the people need to be loud and clear with what we want. We need to start organizing and calling the White House TODAY. Tell him to let the Republicans repeal the lousy health care bill and then fight to replace it with Medicare for anyone who wants it. Tell him to fight against the tax cuts for the rich in a time when our economy is so bad (he even has Alan Greenspan on his side). Tell him to push hard for green stimulus that will get people back to work and reduce out carbon emissions. Tell him to let the Republicans kill Cap and trade and instead fight for a carbon fee that will be returned in dividend checks to EVERY AMERICAN.

Obama will not chose this fight unless a loud movement of people PUSH HIM INTO THE RING. We need a Green Tea Party (unfortunately we are not backed by toms of money and the corporate media like the (White) Tea Party but we do have the true numbers on our side!

If Obama chooses these fights and makes the case for each one plane and clear and drill it home then he will reignite the passion that got him elected. At the same time when the Republicans fight him he needs to point out over and over again that it is the Republicans who are blocking progress, fighting for the corporations, and that in 2012 we need to give them the boot so we can actually get these things done.

Obama, the choice is yours, do you want to move out of your house in two years?

privatization vs socialism

Well there is all this spin that Socialism is a bad thing coming from the right in this country. The conservatives want to privatize everything - education, health care, social security, even the fire department.

Progressives think many services should be socialized and provided by our government and funded through taxes - we already have socialized military, police departments, fire departments, education etc. Progressives believe we should also have socialized medicine in addition.

Recently Mike Huckebee at a conservative convention likened people with pre-existing conditions to houses that already burned down, suggesting insurance companies should not have to insure them. That is the mentality of privatized, for profit services.

We have all heard of people being denied treatment because they have no health insurance. Well as budgets get slashed throughout this country services we once took for granted (like the fire department) are being forced to privatize or cut services and charge subscription fees (our "public" school has to ask families to give money to buy things like paper). So like health care and higher education, if you can't afford to pay for it, you don't get it.

Here is a story of what it looks like in this conservative world:

Tennessee Firefighters Watch House Burn Down; Owners Didn’t Pay Subscription Fee

Oct 3 2010 Posted in U.S. News by Dan Evon with View Comments

In certain parts of Tennessee, there is a $75 subscription fee for firefighter services. Gene and Paulette Cranick, of South Fulton, Tennessee, learned the hard way that the firefighters in Tennessee are not joking about the subscription fee.

A group of firemen arrived to an emergency call, then watched the Cranick’s house burn down, after they were ordered not to put out the fire because of an unpaid subscription fee.

When the fire spread toward a neighbor’s house, the firefighters did step in. The neighbor, of course, paid the subscription fee.

Mr. Cranick, the owner of the house, said:

“I thought they’d come out and put it out, even if you hadn’t paid your $75, but I was wrong.”

The Telegraph reports that the Cranick’s live in a rural part of Tennessee, out of the firefighters typical designated area. The people who live in South Fulton, Tennessee, can pay a $75 fee to have their house protected by firefighters, but it is not a mandatory fee.

Timothy Cranick, the owner’s son, was arrested shortly after his parents house burned down for punching the fire chief.

Read The Full Story: Tennessee Firefighters Watch House Burn Down; Owners Didn’t Pay Subscription Fee – Indyposted

Change the Filibuster!

The Republicans are using the threat of a filibuster to block EVERYTHING the Democrats try to do. Stop the government and then blame those in charge. We take it for granted now that the Democrats need 60 votes to get anything passed. That was not the case before! We constantly hear about this 60 votes needed. That is because it takes 60 votes to break a filibuster and the Republicans block everything from getting out of debate and being put up for an up or down vote.

A simple majority is all it takes to pass a bill. The Republicans, when they were in charge, bullied the Democrats into up or down votes on everything - even extreme things like the appointment of Samuel Alito to the supreme court.

Just yesterday four corporate democrats and all the Republicans used the threat of filibuster to stop a bill that would have taxed corporations that ship jobs overseas and given tax credits to companies that create jobs in America. A needed solution for our unemployment problem.

Blocked by the filibuster - would have passed without it.

The filibuster rules must change - tell your elected officials.