Progressives Introduce The People's Budget
By Thom Hartmann A...
Republicans have unveiled their latest austerity budget, but, that's not the only budget that the media should be focusing on. While it's important that we all fight back against the Republicans' proposals to further the destruction of our social safety net, we need to be pushing hard to support the Progressive budget as well.
This week, the House Progressive Caucus – which is the largest caucus in the House of Representatives – unveiled The People's Budget: A Raise for America. Instead of slashing programs like Medicaid and food stamps, like the Republican Budget, the People's Budget would repeal the sequester cuts, strengthen the social safety net, and invest in working families.
Where Republicans want to repeal Obamacare and take subsidies away from low-income Americans, Progressives want to expand affordable healthcare by implementing a public option and negotiating lower drug prices for seniors.
Republicans want to voucher-ize Medicare, lower taxes on the rich, and increase military spending. And Progressives want to allow states to create single-payer systems, provide debt-free college to every student, and close the loopholes that allow corporations to stash billions over seas.
While Republicans are actually bragging about cutting another $5.5 trillion dollars from the federal budget, Progressives are proud to call for nearly $2 trillion dollars of investment in America's future.
There is no comparison between investing in jobs, healthcare, education, and infrastructure, and slashing our social programs with more austerity just to give billionaires another tax cut. The People's Budget is a virtual blueprint of how to put our nation back on track, and how to restore our faith in the American Dream.
These are time-tested ideas that strengthen the middle class and make those at the top pay their fair share, and it's time that our lawmakers made the People's Budget a reality.
Comments
#2
Thom means "turmeric", not "tumor-ick", right?
#3
Now I hear voter enthusiasm has waned. Nobody wants to vote anymore or nobody wants to bother.
Now in March 2015 they wonder why. Well I will tell you why, and it is this:
On November the 4th 2002 2 million of us stood on that mall in Washington people of all color and creed. We thought for the first time if we elected a black man he might be as angry as us. Yes us. All us all white folks angry. We thought our anger might drag us along with him. Jobs gone. This man we thought might be as angry as us.
We wanted someone to be held responsible for these war crimes. The UN just walked away. We wanted someone to be as angry as us.
We tried the vote, of course we did.
We voted for Obama. He said “let’s reach across the aisles” Those aisles did not exist.
Dick Cheyney figured it out with Vietnam that desk soldier in the Nixon administration who took 2 deferments.
Should have been prosecuted as a war criminal.
We wanted that. We wanted someone to be held accountable for all the killing they did in our name.
Now the people in this country realize no matter who we vote for we can’t change it.
We have no power. They destroyed the unions with our vote. We thought someone had to be as angry as us. Black or white we realised what we voted for was a preacher when what we all really needed was a savior.
Keep this war silent. The destruction of jobs in the Midwest. New fodder for this war in the name of patriotism. This war we have a responsibility for?
2 million Syrian people freezing and dying in refugee camps.
The Middle East is erupting in a firestorm as we stand by and eat the next newsfeed.
Now what is left for our soldiers that fought this war for money? A VA someone wishes to destroy? The Israeli’s trying to get us into another proxy war? Corporate war mongers rubbing their hands building bigger and better bombs wondering whom they can sell it to next?
The realization that this country just used us. Our soldiers were willing to give up their life for these people and finally realized they fought a war for a country that never actually gave a damn about them.
It really was all about money. That betrayal of trust is something else isn’t it? It destroyed all our people coming home and it might have just destroyed this country.
Now let’s just go out and vote.
#4
Gr8macaw, excellent post.
#5
PSYCHOPATHS, ALL OF THEM!!
When we don't vote, that's what we get. But sometimes when we do vote, we get it anyway. And I voted for Obama twice.
Hillary Clinton will not be getting my vote. I'll vote for one of those so-called "unelectable", marginablized candidates before I vote for her.
#6
I am completely in favor of a "people's budget." It is sad that we have to refer to it as that. All budgets should address the needs of the people these so-called representatives are elected to serve.
#7
You voted for Obama twice! You truly are blind. It's like the Faux News watchers who voted for W twice.
#8
If allowed to vote directly on the Progressive's budget, I suspect somewhere upwards of 60% of the people would approve. Just like most people who reject "Obamacare" will overwhelmingly approve the policies included in the AFA. Our problem is that 20 or 30% of the same group that will vote for the policies will also vote for the same congress people who will make sure that the Progressive budget doesn't see the light of day.
For years, I have been trying to figure out how Republicans can get so many people to vote against their own best interests. To me it comes down to two things:
1) we are saddled with a large number of low infomation voters who don't really think much about the consequences of their vote and
2) a very effective right wing education machine - Fox So-Called News and all the rest who use misinformation and scare tactics to convine people that their way is the best.
I would like to see our media (you know, the good guys) unite to spread the word that you want to vote for people who will support policies that are good for you ("you" includes about 90% of the people voting).
Why can't we have a positive education policy that is just as strong as their negative version? We should not allow any candidate to run for office who runs away from their President and their party as many did in 2014. Let's sing out of the same hymnal like the Republicans - just sing a positive song.
#9
A referendum vote or a rigorous national poll on the two budget proposals would be a great way to measure just how much damage Fox and the corspe media have done to our democracy. I'm quite sure if the "rabble" were allowed media exposure to the content of both budget proposals the Teapublican Party would be finished....and ole bombastic 2950-10K intends that last statement to be understood with the utmost sincerity on my part.
I used the word "rabble" for citizens because throughout our history , Jeffersonian, Jacksonian, to now, those with money and power have justified their complete control over our economy with the idea that ordinary working class citizens, the "rabble", which is how they have referred to us, are incapable of making the right choice. In reality the Fascists are simply afraid the rabble will make the right choice for the vast majority, but the wrong choice for the relative few Fascists....that right choice would be unions, fair pay, single payer healthcare, basically the progressive budget and Democratic Socialism.
I for one am a proud member of the Rabble Party!
#10
There is a lot better way to do things. If 60% of the people want something, they can "vote" for it in the market by spending their own money the way they see fit. It's much better than the 60% imposing their worldview on the 40%.
Fox, MSNBC, CNN are all propaganda machines. The truth is that Fox is pretty much as pro-goverment as the others.
You guys, progressives, are just as low-information as the Faux News watchers. You are both statists. You worship government.
The only person on Fox who is worth a damn is the Judge.
#11
I'm sure that Jefferson and Jackson were democratic Socialists.
#12
Speaking of the corpse media....I've seen two separate articles in the USA Today paper recently. Headlines read; "Winter ice in Artic close to record-low level" and "Earth endures its warmest winter on record."....not a mention of climate change in the articles...lmao! Oh well, at least Gannett published something related!
#13
Reply to #10 Jefferson and Jackson both believed in power to the vast majority, "the working people," within the context of their times...obviously they were both slave owners who held manifest destiny ideas as the way to accommodate an ever increasing population.
They however had faith in "good government" the type of government put in place by the people and the kind that represents and responds to the will of that people....as opposed to only the desires of the super wealthy. Jefferson constantly fought this notion that only the wealthy class could determine what was best for the country, an idea guys like Adams, Hamilton, Marshall, who had little faith in the rabble clung to.
I certainly didn't intend to imply that men like Jefferson and Jackson were anti representative government, only that they were still surrounded by those who would use government as a tool for their own self enrichment at the expense of everyone else....this kind of government is the bad kind! It's always been that way.....we only have breaks when good people like FDR take on these forces of darkness and greed.
To sum up.... I believe you are convinced that government will always be bad, that is, you have zero faith in the possibility of the good kind. You accuse me of being a low info citizen when you yourself believe that a marketplace absent of government will cause everything to be wonderful. Very funny....that kind of unrestrained capitalism has been tested...it's called feudalism.
The government you're unhappy with is owned by the billionaires, which makes them our representatives for all practical purposes. Those same billionaires support FOX Teapublican propaganda, it's the tool they use to place their shills in political office. I don't see the Kochs supporting a democrat for president. For god sakes, wake up! You don't see the difference between government by and for only 100 hundred rich out of control citizens, and another one that is by and for 99.99% of us, but no longer has any power thanks to big money having its way in elections?????????
#14
Anoter repy to #10 -- Even Milton Friedman said the masses should have a minimum income so they have something to vote with. Of course, the provider of that minimum income would be the government.
#15
Reply to #10: Oh stuff it, Lysander. If you think you're gonna find new recruits for your crackpot ideology, you've come to the wrong place. The overwhelming majority of us have had our fill of libertarians' you're-on-your-own, freedom-for-the-rich-guy, me-first-and-the-hell-with-you philosophy. We're not buying it. Makes no difference how many threads you start here to try convincing people otherwise. Libertarians are just a self-serving bunch of hacks.
#16
By the way, is this the most recent thread Thom started? It's already a week old.
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I'd tell the people that can't stand to have the pledge of allegiance read off in Arabic, because they had family members killed in Afghanistan, that Arabic isn't spoken in Afghanistan.