American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Union President has some choice words for the WSJ critics of public workers and the unions that represent them ...
Responding to Wall Street Journal Attacks
afscmeblog -- Jan 28th, 2011
In recent days, The Wall Street Journal — defender of the millionaire bankers who brought our economy to the brink of collapse — has published a number of attacks on public service workers and their unions. The most recent, by pollster Doug Schoen, blames us for state fiscal imbalances.
Responding in Thursday’s edition of the Journal, [AFSCME] Pres. Gerald W. McEntee pointed out the real cause of our continuing economic difficulties:
"That brings us to the real driver of the fiscal challenges facing the states -- it’s a revenue problem, not a spending problem. Because of the recession, a substantial majority of state and local governments have lost between 10% and 20% of their revenues during the past two to three years."
Yeah it's the Union's fault -- that the Wealthy and Corporations keep finding more ways to avoid paying taxes!
Yup it's all those greedy Public Workers, expecting a decent wage, and to one day get the Pension they were promised -- THEY are reason that the Bush Tax Cuts were extended!
You bethcha!
Former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich had some choice words today about all the GOP hand-wringing [ie. Framing] about whether Dems are being "Austere Enough" ??
The Obama Budget: And Why the Coming Debate Over Spending Cuts Has Nothing to Do With Reviving the Economy
Robert Reich, Professor at Berkeley; HuffPost -- Feb 14, 2011
The best way to revive the economy is not to cut the federal deficit right now. It's to put more money into the pockets of average working families. Not until they start spending again big time will companies begin to hire again big time.
Don't cut the government services they rely on -- college loans, home heating oil, community services, and the rest. State and local budget cuts are already causing enough pain.
The most direct way to get more money into their pockets is to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (a wage subsidy) all the way up through people earning $50,000, and reduce their income taxes to zero.
Taxes on incomes between $50,000 and $90,000 should be cut to 10 percent;
between $90,000 and $150,000 to 20 percent;
between $150,000 and $250,000 to 30 percent.
And exempt the first $20,000 of income from payroll taxes.
Make up the revenues by increasing taxes on incomes between $250,000 to $500,000 to 40 percent;
between $500,000 and $5 million, to 50 percent;
between $5 million and $15 million, to 60 percent;
and anything over $15 million, to 70 percent.
And raise the ceiling on the portion of income subject to payroll taxes to $500,000.
It's called progressive taxation.
The lion's share of America's income and wealth is at the top. Taxing the very rich won't hurt the economy. They spend a much smaller portion of their incomes than everyone else.
THAT's what you call one Progressive solution, to kick-start the Economy, spur Real Botton-up demand, and to begin to seriously address the real problem in America -- The Revenue Problem!
Scot Lehigh, columnist of The Boston Globe doesn't mince words -- when he calls the Republican Austerity framing of the National Budget problem what it is -- a GOP HOODWINK ...
GOP's Fiscal Hoodwink
By Scot Lehigh, The Boston Globe, Columnist -- Feb 2, 2011
It's become a favorite Republican refrain. This country needs to have "an adult conversation" about our fiscal problems. And who can argue with that?
Now, when responsible, ratiocinative grownups address a problem, they start with a basic question: What caused it?
[ ratiocinative: capable of or reflecting the capability for correct and valid reasoning; "a logical mind"]
But that’s not the approach the GOP is taking when it comes to the long-term federal budget deficit.
[...]
"The talking point that you hear most often from the Republicans is that we don’t have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem," notes Bob Bixby, executive director of the nonpartisan Concord Coalition, a deficit watchdog.
[...]
Yet that misdirection pales in comparison to willfully ignoring the role tax cuts have played in our fiscal plight. Unless and until they acknowledge that reality, the Republicans can’t claim to be leading an adult conversation. Instead, they’ve embarked on a lamentable attempt to hoodwink the unwary.
GOP "Misdirection" Indeed! Tax Cuts!? What Tax Cuts!?
Wasn't it the GOP that rubber-stamped every one of the Bush No-Limits Budgets, that put us into such a severe National Debt in the first place? After starting with a huge Surplus.
Wasn't it the GOP that rubber-stamped every one of the Bush Tax Cuts, that were "supposed to spur the economy" and Create those fabled Jobs? By the way, Where are those Jobs, anyhow? We could use them about now.
Wasn't it the GOP that condoned the Bush practice of Off-the-Books Accounting, to pay for RUN UP DEBT for things like War, like drone weapons, like data sweeping, like doughnut holes, like unnecessary tax breaks for Big Oil and Wall Street?
Funny how short their memories are.
The GOP sure knows how to RUN UP the Debts -- they just DON'T know much about Paying for those Debts.
They'd rather blame anyone, like Union workers, like State workers, like Federal Workers -- Instead of blaming the real source of the Budget problem:
Their constant Binge-buying of endless goodies, during the last Decade, "on Credit" and off the books -- without the will-power to Raise the Revenues to ACTUALLY PAY FOR all their Give-aways to their Corporate Buddies and Wealthy Benefactors!
AFSCME President Gerald McEntee was Right:
"We don't have a Deficit Problem -- We have a Revenue Problem!"
Too bad we don't have any "adults" in Congress, willing to shoulder their blame, in the spending-fiascoes of the last decade.