How long do we continue to turn a blind eye to the state of affairs right here at home. Besides the top 1 or 2 percent, most Americans are either stagnant or falling behind the economic curve, when it comes to earning, healthcare, and retirement. Many "middle class" families have taken a pay cut when you factor in the contribution level they are being forced to make for their pensions and their healthcare benefits. When he smoke clears and the dust settles, these families have taken a pay cut anywhere from 8 to 18 percent, depending on their respective professions.
For those that are self-employed, things get even worse. Healthcare costs continue to rise, and while the Affordable Care Act helps in some ways, at the end of the day, it is nothing more than a boon for the healthcare industry, which remains broken and out of control. As the GOP/Tea party cry foul over "Obamacare" they are simply upset because a black man was behind the mandate requiring everyone to purchase coverage. The ACA is not national healthcare, it is not government run healthcare, it is simply a continuation of a broken private system, now one that gets subsidies from government for those that can't afford the premiums on their own.
competition among the private sector entrepreneurs is a joke. sure, there are those luck few we read about, those that make it big with some novel idea, but what about the rest of those that want to open their own business and make a go of it. Energy prices continue to rise, "big business" monopolizes almost every aspect of business, controlling supply and price of all durable goods, thus making it almost impossible for the little guy to make it.
Who is responsible for this mess? The answer is simple, our elected leaders, all of them. The GOP allowed the trickle down theory to take hold during the Reagan years, yes, the years when our national debt was 1 trillion dollars. What did they do, they gave big tax breaks while at the same time increasing spending. Those of us who learned math in the second grade understand that that equals an increase in debt. starting with Reagan we endure 12 years of this economic principal, taking our debt to 5 trillion dollars, an increase of 500%. Clinton comes along, makes some changes, we have surpluses, but he is forced to deal with a Congress still immersed in the failed Regeanomic theory. Then we endure 8 years of Baby Bush, the combination of two unfunded wars, trillions in tax giveaways, and a financial market unregulated and out of control, the outcome, economic collapse.
We then elect Obama, who in all honesty is actually fairly moderate, and yet the right freaks out. They blame him for everything that was a result of shit that happened before he was elected. Some of it was before he was even elected to Congress. Obama's fundamental piece of legislation is healthcare reform. great, except it did only a few things to reform a broken system. sure, kids get to stay on parents insurance plans until 26, a good thing. Getting rid of pre-existing conditions, another good thing. Making sure women get access to birth control and healthy checks, all good things. However, the fundamental problems of cost are not adequately addressed. The emergency room treatment for the poor is still an issue, as expanding Medicaid does nothing to fox the issue that most doctors do not accept it. The only real fix is for a Medicare for all system, with a private option for those that choose that route. Medicare works, it has been around for decades, and while unpopular at first, try taking it away from those that have it now, it would be your fastest ticket out of office.
Tax rates; unfairly burdensome on the middle class. Sure, the wealthy pay taxes, nobody with a brain is saying they don't. The issue is the effective "rate" they are required to pay. Romney gave us a peak, he pays around 13 percent, at least that one year, the probability exists that some years he pays nothing in income tax. Billionaires like Warren Buffet acknowledge that they do not pay a fair effective rate, and yet people on the right piss and moan that they pay to much, and that they deserve the tax breaks they get, which is insane and total bullshit. The tax code needs to be simplified so that everyone pays a fair share, not in a total amount, which is an insane way of judging taxes, but in an effective rate of taxation. Unfortunately people, taxes are necessary for any society to function. roads, sewer, highways, bridges, tunnels, water systems, sewers, garbage, education, defense, the list goes on. we all enjoy the benefit of these infrastructure works, and they cost money. those that have the most should pay the highest rate of taxation. That is the nature of a progressive tax system, one we have had in place for 100 years. Are we really so stupid and easily manipulated by the wealthy, that we should get drawn back into an argument over something decided 100 years ago/? Personally, I think most people are smarter than that, we have more important things to accomplish than to revisit 100 year old tax policies, that came about to break up the hold a few had on the collective wealth of this nation.
Defense; here is where we can make an impact on several things important to the future of this nation. there is no rational reason that the United States needs to spend more than Russia, England, France, Germany, China, Iran, Israel, and Japan combined, on defense. When President Eisenhower left office he warned the American people about the trappings of the military industrial complex, this was a career military man, and his message fell on deaf ears. Nobody is saying we do not need defense, or that we should even spend more than any other nation. What I am saying is that it is past time to cut spending and re-direct those funds to infrastructure repair and modernization. Our infrastructure has been neglected by Congress for decades, and it is in dire condition. The American Society of Civil Engineers has graded the condition of our infrastructure a "D", and warned of devastating economic consequences if it is left unaddressed. This is not only an economic issue but a national security issue as well.
We can take our military spending cuts, create tens of thousands of good paying jobs, providing an opportunity for veterans to have preference in job placement, and secure our future for decades to come. This would stimulate our economy, it would be debt neutral, and in the long term it would help us expedite paying off our debt faster. With a healthier economy their is more tax revenue generated, the modernized infrastructure saves billions per year in lost money due to the current state of our infrastructure. This is a win/win for all Americans.
Lastly, we need to truly embrace the intended meaning of capitalism. Adam Smith envisioned a market place with many buyers and many sellers, not one with giant corporations that have monopolies on virtually every market, from financial to fish and everything in between. Making sure that people are free to compete fairly, with government there to regulate fairness and the wellbeing of our citizens. Sorry folks on the right, but regulation and oversight are necessary to combat greed and corruption. We also need to protect our environment, ensuring the health of our citizens. For those that believe corporate America will police itself and protect the environment and the people, will I cam only offer that you are truly ignorant. History has taught us just how vile and corrupt big business is when it is left to its own devise's.
Sounds simple enough; all we need to do is to quit electing people to office that place the needs of the wealthy or special interests over the needs of the people. Both parties re guilty, with the right more aligned for the wealthy in policy today. That does not excuse the democrats that take money from the special interests, and who over the past 4 decades have supported policies that have created this mess we find ourselves in today, the guilt is shared by all.
What we cannot due is to get caught up in the rhetoric and start blaming the poor, or the elderly, or lazy inner city minorities, this is all bullshit. The proof is right in front of us in the numbers and the math. The wealthy have never had it better, and corporate America has enjoyed record profits. Who has been left out in this euphoric climb up the ladder of intoxicating consumption and ownership, has been the American people. those who have managed to find and keep a good job have been somewhat lucky and fortunate, that does not make them better or harder working then others. There are many hard working men and women, mill workers, loggers, factory workers, teachers, etc. who have lost their jobs simply so the corporate bottom line looked better for some investor. Remember the day when big business made plenty of money and Americans still had jobs, I do. Then, this new greedier capitalism took hold, and things began a slow slide into hell. It happened over time, any many Americans simply did not see the indicators and then they bought into the crap they were being sold by their elected leaders. We blame immigration, we blame minorities, republicans blame democrats and democrats blame republicans, instead of blaming the guilty party, greed.
In closing I feel remiss not to mention immigration since it is at the forefront of today's political agenda. First, we need to quit blaming the Hispanic or other nationalities and blame those that have caused the problem. The people that employ illegal immigrants are the ones to blame, they create the demand thus the supply. Why do they create the demand you may ask, simple; most of them are employers that are so greedy that they want to avoid paying any taxes on their employee's, and they do not want to provide mandatory worker's compensation insurance, which protects workers who suffer injuries on the job. Until we start putting these people in prison, we should quit the debate about simple people who come her because someone has led them to the realization that there is an opportunity for a better life here. Think of it like this; do we punish the dog for eating out of the bowl because someone left food for it to follow bowl in the first place? Of course we don't, we correct the problem of baiting the dog into the bowl.
I know this is long winded and just the opinion of one person. I would at least ask for your support for a petition I have started, one that would cut military spending and use that money to re-invest in America's infrastructure. The format of the petition did not allow for that specific of language, but if enough signatures are gathered, when presented to Congress, that is what we will ask them to do. Also, we will ask that veterans receive preference when it comes to hiring. This petition if successful, would create tens of thousands of jobs, and provide economic security for decades to come, as well as addressing an important national security issue here at home. America is put first, and we all benefit and win with this one.
Subject: Cut military spending and re-invest in America's Infrastructure
Hi,
Our elected officials have neglected our infrastructure far to long. Continuing to do nothing will lead to a catastrophic economic failure in the near future. We spend more on our military than the next five biggest military nations combined. We can maintain our military superiority and still cut spending, all we need is leaders to recognize that this "corporate welfare" needs to end.
"America's infrastructure is vital to our economic growth and future. The current state of our infrastructure has been graded a "D" by engineering groups around the country. Cut military spending and re-invest in our aging infrastructure, creating tens of thousands of jobs and preserving our future. "
Will you sign this petition? Click here:
http://petitions.moveon.org/...
Thanks!
http://www.dailykos.com/...
