After pulling out of his planned speech at Wharton School of Business because of a "misunderstanding" of the general admission seating policy, his camp released what he would have said to a chosen audience. It moved me to the point of writing my first diary entry, which I will send to him in letter form as well. My approach is to take his speech and play out his statements to a logical (though not necessarily his historically-positioned) end. I know it's long, but I would appreciate and welcome your suggestions to add to the final draft that I will send. The draft letter is after the jump.
(If you are interested in the full text of his speech before reading my letter, it can be found here...)
http://thedp.com/...
Dear Leader Cantor,
I was anxiously anticipating your planned speech at Wharton School of Business today, so I was saddened to hear that you were canceling your appearance. The statement released through your office earlier this week had caught my attention, and I was quite interested to hear your thoughts about income inequality... and what you cast as a solution. I was glad to see that you chose to release your text, and though it's missing your personal touch and inflection, I was still able to pull encouragement and inspiration from your ideas. I am especially grateful for the ideas outlined below.
Before my thoughts, let me say that I am touched by the story of your grandmother and her perseverance as an immigrant to this country, and as a young mother touched by tragedy. Members of my own family and friends share similar (though admittedly not identical) experiences, and I know just how sustaining that faith - in a Creator, in their community, and in this country - was in their own lives. I know how much a helping hand from the government gave them an opportunity to survive disaster where it might not have otherwise been possible. It is seeing my country at work in such a way that deepens my own love for it, a love that grows deeper as I age. Now... to the purpose of my letter.
She needs to know that the rules are the same for everybody. That although she may have to work harder than many of us, she needs to know that she has a fair shot at making it in this country.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that you have heard the message of the Occupy, or 99% movement. I, like you, started as needing to better understand the message that they were conveying. In understanding that the main (though certainly not only) message that the masses were communicating was that "something in our system is broken" - that the very playing field that allowed your family to achieve the American dream has become tilted - I found words to put to a feeling that has become pervasive among most in my community. I trust that having come to this conclusion, you will fight to right that playing field: to end loopholes and unfair rates that place a greater tax and economic burden on the poor and middle classes than on the most fortunate; to lend a helping hand to communities that have been hit particularly hard by the combination of lowered tax revenues and balanced-budget requirements, and offer funding assistance to bridge the gap in funding for teachers, first-responders, and municipal needs; and to see to it that the same advantages are given to
every individual, regardless of their station in life.
Instead, we must ensure fairness at every level. We must ensure that those who abuse the rules are punished.
I am also happy that you hear the voices of that movement in regards to seeing that the rules and laws are followed, and where they are not followed, that punishment is dealt. I hear and commend you for committing to standing up to the mighty power of the special interests and holding those responsible for the crash of our economy responsible. I hope that in addition to meting justice for past deeds that making sure such an event can never happen again will be your aim. I'm sure you can see the importance of reforms to our political system that will keep undue influence from being exerted upon those who are entrusted by the people of the United States to keep such influences in check. I hope that I can trust that you will lead your party to enact sensible and sound regulation of the financial sector, and that you will strengthen the instruments of oversight that will ensure our security and prosperity.
Maybe, with a little hope and a helping hand, that single mom can send her children to college. Maybe one day, her children will be like all of you.
Now I know that many of you came to this school from different backgrounds, states and even different countries. Like others in your age group, like my kids, you are wondering what will be in store for you when you graduate? Perhaps you are wondering how in the world are you going to pay off your student loans? How will you pull yourself up that ladder and who will be there to help you with a hand up?
I was also encouraged to see your support for tuition assistance to our next generation of innovators and job-creators. With the entropy we have seen in the median wage of the middle class in the last 30 years, the shift in responsibility for retirement savings from a pension to a market-based system, and the remarkable increases in cost of necessities like healthcare, even families with two incomes are finding it increasingly difficult to save enough to pay for college. Add skyrocketing tuitions and we suddenly find ourselves in a situation where our best and brightest can become neither their own best or as bright as they could be. And those are the fortunate families. Children not lucky enough to be born into "stable" or affluent circumstances face even greater challenges. Making sure that those minds are cultivated is an imperative if the financial ladder upward is to be realized. It starts with seeing to it that the nation's public primary and secondary education systems are fully supported and funded. Your commitment to a hand up to students gives me hope that the next Steve Jobs or Sonia Sotomayor won't be left working below their ability because they couldn't afford the basic training and higher education that they need to make their dream a reality.
Right now, your generation is among those hardest hit by the unemployment crisis. Record numbers of young Americans are unemployed. A recent survey of your generation has unemployment at 18%. Far too many students with degrees are returning home to live with their parents. My kids and their classmates are all going through the same uncertainty of wondering what the marketplace will look like when they graduate.
Furthermore, I am relieved to see that you are seeing the issues facing the unemployed. So many leading voices have demonized the unemployed in recent weeks, and I am glad to see that you are not going to join them. When 18% of well-trained, well-educated, well-motivated young people are without adequate full-time employment, such demonization is frankly ridiculous. I'm glad that you see that "hard-working" and "successful" aren't always interchangeable words - that often those working the hardest among us are those who are also most uncertain of their future.
And on the pillars of that bridge, we must erect our ladders with those who are successful extending their hands to those who wish to climb.
Making sure that the government is doing all it can to encourage corporations to spend the trillions of dollars that they currently are sitting on domestically will surely be one of your priorities. Giving those corporations a sense of certainty when it comes to government regulations is crucial. It is more than understandable that a corporate entity is hesitant to move forward with major endeavors when they have the uncertainty of whether or not regulations that they've
already begun planning for will be undone. I trust that you will help lead the House to refrain from using the threat of repeal as a political tool, thus conveying a real sense of certainty. Though a 2011
Wall Street Journal survey found that companies didn't think uncertainty was an issue, I'm sure we can agree that letting the corporate community know that they can plan with certainty can only help things. Knowing that small business lists its biggest concern as "poor sales," encouraging those with the ability to hire will only serve to help the sales of those small businesses.
In conclusion, please know that I, along with your constituents and your country, will be watching. I know that these things are only a start. We will be supporting you as you fight for all Americans as you outlined in your text. But with our support will also come accountability, and we will hold up your actions against your commitments to judge your efforts. We will hold you to the standard of cooperation and compromise - the foundational tenets of our system. Though all in this country are not of the same party or political persuasion, we are all in this struggle together. Only when the 99% and the 1% work together will we achieve the Dream that has been set out by those who came before us.
Sincerely,
newinfluence