Time To Turn the Social Safety Net Into a Floor No American Can Fall Through
By Thom Hartmann A...
The republicans have brought us a situation where banksters pay 15% income tax and anyone rich enough to create an LLC pays 21%.We need to raise the top income tax rate back to where it was before Reagan, between 74% and 91%. And right away we need to have the rich to pay what plumbers pay. And then we need to establish a floor below which Americans can't fall.
What should that floor be made of? Ingredients that already exist are healthcare "ERs and Medicaid", housing "section 9", nutrition "food stamps", income (earned income tax credit), & education "free primary". Let's strengthen these floors and make them universally available and extend the EITC with Universal Basic Income.
► Are You Taxed More Than the Rich?
► Are the Billionaires Destroying the Middle Classes?
None of this is radical - we're ALREADY doing it all. But we're doing it in a patchwork way; it needs to turn from a "net" that catches some but not others into a "floor" that supports us all. Social Security (safety in retirement) being strengthened rounds out the things that both Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt called for.
-Thom
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
Images of Thom
From Screwed:
"Once again, Thom Hartmann hits the bull’s eye with a much needed exposé of the so-called ‘free market.’ Anyone concerned about the future of our nation needs to read Screwed now."
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Right through the worst of the Bush years and into the present, Thom Hartmann has been one of the very few voices constantly willing to tell the truth. Rank him up there with Jon Stewart, Bill Moyers, and Paul Krugman for having the sheer persistent courage of his convictions."
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Never one to shy away from the truth, Thom Hartmann’s collected works are inspiring, wise, and compelling. His work lights the way to a better America."
