Forum Post: Will the American Austerity Replace the American Dream?
Posted 11 years ago on Nov. 27, 2012, 9:43 p.m. EST by TrevorMnemonic
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This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Dennis Kucinich - Published on Nov 27, 2012
"Entitlement Reform 2012: Wealthy Americans are entitled to tax breaks. Corporations are entitled to billions in giveaways. Arms manufacturers are entitled to bigger contracts.
"The poor and the middle class? They're entitled to unemployment, underemployment, foreclosures, and cuts in both Social Security and Medicare.
"Poor and middle-class Americans know all about the fiscal cliff. They've been getting pushed off it for years with an unfair tax system, unconscionable trade deals and the Fed's monetary policies.
"Nearly 50 million people are in poverty in America, twelve million unemployed and millions more underemployed. On January 2, millions stand to lose unemployment benefits. Fourteen million American's mortgages are greater than the value of their homes. On the horizon loom massive cuts to essential services.
"Will the American austerity replace the American dream?
"We need to turn back from the fiscal cliff with wealth creation, education, job creation, infrastructure rebuilding, monetary reform, trade reform, protection of Social Security and Medicare.
"We need a Great Economic Revival, not another Great Depression."
Denis Kucinich is one of the last pro-99% politicians with any integrity left in american politics - which is exactly why they have contrived to remove him from congress. If only OWS could talk him into fronting an 'Occupy Party', then it would reinvigorate The 99% I believe into a powerful force in american politics. Thanks for posting this and I recommend your excellent link to everyone. Never Give Up! Go Occupy!
Dennis is a great man.
He has great press releases on his webstie all the time.
Denis Kucinich is a national treasure - http://www.nationofchange.org/dennis-kucinich-conscience-congress-1331302581 . Thanks for your link which I'm bookmarking even if they have gerrymandered him out of congress. @ DK & all - Never Give Up! Go Occupy!
I think the great Kucinich supports the Senate effort to repeal Indef Detention. Do you agree with Dennis, & the mostly Dem effort?
How do you feel about the fact the only 2 Repubs voted for the Udall repeal, & only 19 Repubs voted for the Feinstein-Lee repeal?
Are the parties the same? Or is one vastly worse for our civil rights.
Where is your outrage at the politicians who won't support the repeal?
Check it out:
http://occupywallst.org/forum/support-mark-udalls-aendment-to-end-indef-detentio/
Andthe repeal that passed:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/01/us/politics/senate-votes-to-curb-indefinite-detentions.html
And the pols voted!
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=112&session=2&vote=00213
http://occupywallst.org/forum/ndaa-amendement-rejected-in-senate/
The Actuality of American Austerity is replacing 'illusion of 'The American Dream' as we speak & to not say so, would be self-defeating for The American 99%. Further :
fiat justitia ...
Very true!
The American and Global 99% need to wake up to the extractors and parasites in our midst. From the article : "Any honest discussion of ‘entitlements’ would be to the benefit of America’s poor and working classes. The globetrotting plutocrats behind current ‘discussions’ see working class product as their due. This is the very definition of entitlement.".
The 0.01% use the 1% to control the 99% and these Parasites will not change of their own accord, neither can we settle for the crumbs from their table for much longer - positive social change can ONLY occur from a Mass Movement of The 99% but it does not take ALL the 99% - it takes a certain fraction to attain a 'critical mass'. It has only been 16 months and OWS is sowing seeds for the future struggle. There is no 'fast forward' ; there is no magic wand for positive social change as there is no substitute for hard work and struggle. Solidarity to you Trevor & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SibgDQWU85g :-)
per aspera ad astra ...
Dennis Kucinich 2016
Always back to the question of a tax increase. Anything but That!!!
Man you guys are see through.
Here is some taxes we can cut
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/tax-reform/report/2013/01/22/50198/next-round-of-deficit-reduction-must-tackle-hidden-spending-in-the-tax-code/
Man this is a direct quote from Dennis Kucinich.
If you bothered to look into the context, instead of playing party politics, it'd make more sense.
In compliment: from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee
Former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell is an MSNBC contributor. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa chaired the Democratic National Convention. They should be good Democrats.
But instead, they joined the main group hell-bent on cutting Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security benefits while giving tax breaks to big corporations and the rich. It's innocuously called Fix The Debt.
As key negotiations happen in Washington, it is not okay for Democrats to help right-wingers enrich themselves while cutting the safety net for regular Americans. Click here to sign this statement:
"Any deal that cuts Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security benefits is unacceptable. I will work to hold accountable Democratic politicians who side with the millionaires and corporate interests that are working to enrich themselves and cut these benefits." Click to sign.
We've already shown that progressive activists pushing back on rogue Democratic politicians can move the debate.
Recently, the top Democrat tasked with leading the fight against Paul Ryan on the House Budget Committee said he was "open to all ideas" on Medicare benefit cuts.
PCCC members in his district hammered his office with phone calls. Days later, he reversed course on national TV – taking one of the biggest proposed cuts to Medicare benefits "off the table" for the first time. It was a great people-powered accomplishment.
Join thousands of others in fighting back against any cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security benefits -- and pledge to hold accountable Democratic politicians that support unpopular right-wing ideas. Click here.
We'll send more action steps in the days ahead. Signing the statement is the first step. Thanks for being a bold progressive.
-- Adam Green, Stephanie Taylor, Karissa Gerhke, Matt Wall, and the PCCC team
P.S. We polled key swing states, and right-wing ideas for deficit reduction are wildly unpopular. By wide margins, voters favor Elizabeth Warren's progressive approach -- tax the rich and end corporate subsidies. You can sign up to get polling updates on the petition page.
In Compliment:
This month Congress can save both $1 trillion and and the planet by bolstering clean energy jobs and public health protections …or they can bow to the dirty fossil fuel industry and allow devastating cuts to critical environmental programs. MORE>>>
my asshole congressman is doing all he can to make sure it's a Tar Sands future. I just got done writing him an email. I think I'm going to call his office too. It's already been about 2 weeks since the last time I called.
"We'll get you a response" - is their normal response on the phone. I've never once received a response letter answering questions.
Biggest question i've continually asked my a-hole congressman, "Why do you support the pipeline when Transcanada themselves have said it can be used to increase American energy costs by up to 4 billion a year?"
This is what "all of the public" should be asking their elected "representatives" - Then The Public needs to go further - AND TELL "OUR" Elected Representatives what to support and what to reject. Or The Public will take them out of office. That Should Be The Public's Message To Government
that's been my message the entire time. The public keeps voting them in. The congressman I mentioned for example just got his 7th term. In his eyes he's serving his voters by supporting the XL pipeline. It's really sad to live in a red state.
We need to continue to educate the public as to what needs to be done - and then educate them as to who is standing in the way and why.
Awareness has grown in this last year - and must continue - in growth of awareness comes fuel for action.
I keep pushing the anti-war message and monetary reform to benefit the people and not just the banks.
The down votes on the forum are fuel for the fire!
Yep - be consistent - stay on point - Abolish War.
"Poor and middle-class Americans know all about the fiscal cliff. They've been getting pushed off it for years .............. ain't that the truth !!
Plouffe lays out WH thinking on the "fiscal cliff" -
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/plouffe-lays-out-wh-thinking-on-fiscal.html?m=1
“The amount of tyranny you get, is the exact amount you put up with.” - TJ
The 99% needs infrastructure spending (not austerity).
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/11/30/1262291/jersey-bridges-are-falling-down/
Austerity is simply a spiraling race to the bottom.
And economic stimulus is the best way to increase consumer activity, strengthen the recovery, and grow the economy.
I agree, if done in the right way. For instance instead of giving money to solar, battery, and turbine companies that have low demand due to price; give the money directly to the end user to reduce price and increase demand. If we simulate demand the companies will benefit from this also. I would also suggest steering clear of the tax cuts that were loaded in the previous stimulus. They were just more corporate welfare.
I support xfering all fossil fuel/nuclear subs to green tech.
The best Stimulus would be more tax cuts for working class,& forcing banks to cut (in half) the cr card debt principle they hold for the working class, & cap that interest rate at no higher than 10% (for working class only).
Your last sentence sums up everything in this country.
Thomas Jefferson produced great words for thought and this one seemed to apply.
Do you agree with any of this? Or are you that far gone.?
http://www.nationofchange.org/organizing-mcdonalds-and-walmart-and-why-austerity-economics-hurts-low-wage-workers-most-1354373264
and the people that voted for obama are willing to give away their freedom in exchange for govt freebies.
Actually people voted for Obama for the same reason that they voted for Romney.....fear of the other....divide and conquer.
Dont forget that over half the population said fuck it.
IMO, anyone voting for either one of the two corporate candidates were willing to give away their freedoms ......... and maybe much, much more.
In compliment: from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee
Former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell is an MSNBC contributor. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa chaired the Democratic National Convention. They should be good Democrats.
But instead, they joined the main group hell-bent on cutting Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security benefits while giving tax breaks to big corporations and the rich. It's innocuously called Fix The Debt.
As key negotiations happen in Washington, it is not okay for Democrats to help right-wingers enrich themselves while cutting the safety net for regular Americans. Click here to sign this statement:
"Any deal that cuts Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security benefits is unacceptable. I will work to hold accountable Democratic politicians who side with the millionaires and corporate interests that are working to enrich themselves and cut these benefits." Click to sign.
We've already shown that progressive activists pushing back on rogue Democratic politicians can move the debate.
Recently, the top Democrat tasked with leading the fight against Paul Ryan on the House Budget Committee said he was "open to all ideas" on Medicare benefit cuts.
PCCC members in his district hammered his office with phone calls. Days later, he reversed course on national TV – taking one of the biggest proposed cuts to Medicare benefits "off the table" for the first time. It was a great people-powered accomplishment.
Join thousands of others in fighting back against any cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security benefits -- and pledge to hold accountable Democratic politicians that support unpopular right-wing ideas. Click here.
We'll send more action steps in the days ahead. Signing the statement is the first step. Thanks for being a bold progressive.
-- Adam Green, Stephanie Taylor, Karissa Gerhke, Matt Wall, and the PCCC team
P.S. We polled key swing states, and right-wing ideas for deficit reduction are wildly unpopular. By wide margins, voters favor Elizabeth Warren's progressive approach -- tax the rich and end corporate subsidies. You can sign up to get polling updates on the petition page.
Wait a minute, are you saying the election is over? That doesn't sound like the "social justice" agenda of the last election, does it? Something radically new... and yet strangely appealing.
people need to become very very disciplined. Parents MUST STAY TOGETHER, enforce strict parental discipline. The human mind is capable of creating so muvh, but it has tonbe disciplined. Progressives hate discipline but strict personal discipline built this country.
Stimulus not austerity
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/14140-the-myth-of-living-beyond-our-means
http://www.cnbc.com/id/49989684
And now Cuba-a country that many socialists LOVE to tout as having things all figured out-is going to start implementing taxes in order to modernize and move forward.
In Cuba's "old system", the workers were paid an average of 450 pesos a month ($19 in US dollars-a MONTH) and all the rest of the money earned by companies (large and small) was given to the government who then allocated some of it back to the companies to operate.
Cuba "preferred to maintain low wages so it could fund free social services." SO in other words, all that "free education and free healthcare" etc wasn't really free-the PEOPLE were paying for it THEMSELVES by having it taken out f their own paychecks.
Cuba moves forward "the 21st century and a modern state" and the US appears to be trying to move backwards to what Cuba has been.
I can hardly wait!