Forum Post: Is Tea Party a Subset of OWS?
Posted 12 years ago on Dec. 27, 2011, 7:17 p.m. EST by Toynbee
(656)
from Savannah, GA
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Tea Party seems to be on the wane.
Government can improve its efficiency and effectiveness.
But I find that the "Taxed enough" mindset misses the mark.
Are our tax dollars being spent wisely enough?
Are some of the Tea Party complaints simply whining by !%'era who don't want to build a stronger America.
If Wall Street / Capitalism is the answer, why has America seen its roads and highways deteriorate over the last three decades even though taxes have plummeted?
If Wall Street / Capitalism is the answer, why has the top 1% seen its income and wealth skyrocket over the last 30 years, while the middle class has become an endangered species?
If Wall Street / Capitalism is the answer, why has there been an increase in the number of children living below the poverty level?
If Wall Street / Capitalism is the answer, why have we seen the number of Americans -- now some 45 million + living below poverty line?
If Wall Street / Capitalism is the answer, why isn't it delivering the health care that citizens need?
If Wall Street / Capitalism is the answer, why do we have higher infant mortality than some third world countries?
The Tea Party is the fucking anti-Christ.
The establishment calls what they are doing capitalism, but in reality it is "crony-capitalism" or "neo-feudalism." In many cases it is not the companies which offer the most value to the American people who are succeeding, but rather the companies that can buy off the most politicians with campaign donations. They are spending millions and even billions to influence our politics in their favor and often in the face of huge conflicts of interest (see the Documentary "Inside Job").
America needs to wake up and put integrity back into our political process. Here's my 2 cents:
There are a lot of improvements that need to be made. The list of reforms Americans want to see is long and varied depending on who you talk to. That said, I believe there is ONE reform that would provide the American people the best chances of seeing other meaningful reforms actually happen - that is REAL, loop-hope free CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM! I have seen others on this site calling this the "fulcrum" or pivotal issue. Right now the current legalized bribery, pay-to-play system of campaign donations and paid lobbyists has disenfranchised the American voter. Until this is fixed, any other reform the politicians may try to placate us with (be it a change to healthcare, clamping down predatory school loans, new financial regulations, etc.) will be about as effective as a farmer putting a new roof on his CHICKEN COOP, but still letting the FOX guard it.
We need to go back to the original political currency. Instead of the current system of who can collect the most money from corporations and special interests it should be who has the BEST IDEAS to EFFECTIVELY RUN THE COUNTRY (we don't need "Wealth Redistribution," what we need is "Political Influence Redistribution")!
For the sake of our children and future generations of Americans, we need to take back our democracy from the rich and powerful who are using their vast sums of money to "speak" as if they represent millions of Americans. This "Corporate Personhood" that has crept into our laws is allowing them to manipulating our policies in their favor at the expense of the average American (the recent "Citizens United" Supreme Court ruling is a miscarriage of justice and must be reversed. The $50 or $100 a normal American may give to a political campaign becomes meaningless when corporations or other special interests are handing our millions to buy political access to the decision making process.
For decades now the corporations and special interests have had our "representatives" bought and paid for (both on the right and the left). Concentrating our efforts on getting the money out of our politics is the best way we can create an environment in which further reforms can be realized. Until we end the current system of legalized bribery (campaign donations) and paid lobbying our politicians will continue to be the LAP DOGS of the corporations and special interests. What we need first and foremost is real, loop-hole free CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM!!!! If the corruption is not dealt with first, the chance of any other meaningful reforms becoming a reality is almost zero - the special interests will just use their money to buy votes and put forward bills that create loop-holes or otherwise twist the law in their favor. If we want our children to live in a country where there vote matters, we need to get the money out of our politics, otherwise they will increasingly become the 21st century version of the "landless peasant." Spread the word - End the LEGALIZED BRIBERY!!! CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM needs to be THE main goal of the protests!!!
I completely agree that CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM is one of the top priorities to restore the integrity of this democracy.
When elected "representatives" have to raise tens of thousands of dollars a week to represent "us" , they aren't representing us when the vast majority of the dollars comes from specialized corporate interests.
No.
Similar goals but a merger is not possible.
tTeabaggers raised my taxes, They are nothing like OWS.
They are republicans.
Tea Baggers are selfish old folks who don't want to "pay it forward." Now that they've got their piece of the pie.
Taxed Enough to Tea-Heads means not fixing broken streets because they don't drive that far these days.
Taxed Enough to Tea-Heads means not restoring the public elementary, secondary and university systems that helped build the infrastructure and trained human resources needed to protect America against the Cold War and other threats.
TiredElderlyAssholes?
I'm getting old too, but I don't feel that way.
I wouldn't even mind the tax raise, if wasn't to offset a cut to corporations. If I got some kind of public service in return.
But, no.
Just another republican lie, and the roads here are getting worse..
This is why we are here this is why you are needed.
http://occupywallst.org/forum/inside-job-documentary/
Share, circulate, educate, inspire.
why tea party has to be connected with OWS? For example in europe they have more than 2 political parties in their head. ha ha
"H.R.3765 Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 (Engrossed in House [Passed House] - EH)
SEC. 501. PERMIT FOR KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE.
http://tinyurl.com/6r5yrzk
http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/signed-legislation
http://tinyurl.com/6m3ezub
http://occupywallst.org/forum/this-is-what-the-bipartisan-political-theater-over/
If the Tea Party Republicans thought they could develop a consensus bill BEFORE the Christmas/New Years Congressional vacation, then we should all expect that the revised full-year bill will be approved in 2 weeks or less. Right?/
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