From Senator Jeff Merkley, Dem., Oregon
I’ve got a pretty simple test when I’m considering legislation. Will it help the middle class and small businesses create opportunities and get ahead? It's a test the debt bill couldn't pass, which is why I voted no. All policymakers should use that criteria, but the debt plan we voted on today proves that not to be the case.
After over two years of a devastating recession, and a decade of stagnant wages before that, our number one goal should be creating jobs and making sure our kids have opportunities in the future.
Instead, this deal will cut off jobs and pile burdens on middle class families who are already paying the price for a decade of bad policy choices.
Imagine: Americans who may have lost a job, whose mortgage is under water, who can’t afford their kids’ college anymore and have seen prices skyrocket for food and gas are asked to tighten their belts.
At the same time, the very wealthiest Americans and big, well-connected special interests are 100% insulated from any sacrifice. Their lavish tax breaks and sweetheart deals sprinkled throughout the tax code have been conveniently put off limits for any cuts.
The conventional wisdom says we have to swallow this deal. But if we give in to these ransom demands and allow the extremists to continue their assault on the building blocks of middle class prosperity in order to protect the wealthy and well-connected, we’ll be facing more ransom demands soon enough.
I don’t discount the need for tough choices to bring down our unsustainable deficits. But they can’t be only tough choices for those who can least afford the sacrifice, while those in the penthouses and boardrooms continue amassing more and more and more.
This is a fight about more than how we lower the deficit, it’s a fight for our country’s basic values, and our future. Too many in Washington seem to have forgotten that America’s economic strength is inseparable from the well-being of its middle class. If we continue to sacrifice their prosperity to provide more to the well-off and well-connected, we sacrifice America’s greatness. Let’s not let that happen.
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5 comments:
Senator,
I could not help but read this post because of its title. For many years our nation's citizens have been rapidly moving left and right-- away from each other, and away from the things that matter most. Lately, however, I've seen a slow moving trend which is bringing people together again. Some politicians make great efforts to reverse that trend.
There are two distinct ideologues in America which have very different ideas about how to identify and solve problems. The right believes that if a man earns a dollar and pays taxes on it, then whatever is left of it is his to do with as he pleases. The left believes that if a man earns "enough" of these dollars, he ought to give a higher percentage of them to the gov't in order to provide for the man who did not earn "enough" dollars.
Prior to the year 2007, if you gave 100 homeless, jobless people $200,000 each, at the end of 5 years, you would have 98 homeless, jobless people ranting about how they got screwed by the gov't and corporate America. Rather than addressing the problem of such a huge percentage of people who cannot manage their money, the left and right ideologues instead argue about how we're going to pay for the $20 million.
We're starting to figure it out. We're starting to see that opportunities are far more valuable than generosities. I'm happy to see your test regarding a bill's benefit to the middle class and small businesses-- it's good that you've finally decided to apply this test after 12 years of supporting things like gay rights, Obamacare, and the ridiculous impeachment of Alberto Gonzales-- none of which do anything to help the middle class or small businesses.
I'm curious about your statements regarding "big, well-connected special interests" and "lavish tax breaks and sweetheart deals." Can you please point out the lavish tax breaks and sweetheart deals that are only available to the wealthiest Americans and big, well-connected special interests?
I'd also like to know how this bill asks Americans who have lost jobs, homes, can't pay for kids' college, etc. to tighten their belts. Or is that just something we're supposed to "imagine" for some reason? How does this bill "cut off jobs and pile burdens on middle class families"?
I guess my point is that I just don't see any benefit to using slogans and catch-phrases to incite people to hate the wealthy. These people earned their money and paid taxes on it. They reinvested it, saved it for their children's education, purchased things that make them happy. Why do you go to such lengths to make people hate them? How much more do they "owe" before you'll stop this asinine hate-mongering?
By the way, Abe Lincoln was a republican, the republicans in the North fought the pro-slavery democrats in the South. Even your title spews misinformation.
No one is inciting people to "hate the wealthy". What we are saying is that taxes on the wealthy need to be raised -- back to the levels they were at during the Clinton presidency -- when our Government was able to provide the services needed by the middle and poorer classes, and jobs were plentiful.
Wealthy people themselves will not survive unless we have a huge pool of American consumers who can buy American products. Starving out the middle class and creating a new underclass of poor people will cripple our economy and eventually destroy wealthy people along with everyone else.
Government laws and regulations and taxes are necessary to keep our economy healthy, and the rich need to pay a higher percentage of taxes if they want a healthy economy to continue. When Right-Wingers say "Starve The Beast", the "Beast" they are starving is the American economy. That's why this new Tea Party "victory" is propelling our country towards another Depression, as the stock market has been telling us for the past few days.
How come Wall Street knows how "off-the-wall" these Right Wing Congressional Republicans are, and you don't seem to realize it?
The title of this article refers to "America's Right-Wing" once again firing on Fort Sumter. Where's the mis-information in that?
We know that Abe Lincoln and the Republicans fought against Pro-Slavery Democrats in the 1860's.
What we also Know is that, if Abe Lincoln returned from the grave today, the first thing he would do is Disown today's Republican Party. Abe would switch to the Democratic Party quicker than you can say "Arlen Specter".
"This is a fight about more than how we lower the deficit, it’s a fight for our country’s basic values, and our future. Too many in Washington seem to have forgotten that America’s economic strength is inseparable from the well-being of its middle class. If we continue to sacrifice their prosperity to provide more to the well-off and well-connected, we sacrifice America’s greatness. Let’s not let that happen."
-CJP
This shows the difference between liberals and conservatives. You believe the government MUST spend money to help the people, but you fail to understand that the money they are spending is coming from the people and much of that money is wasted. Most Americans will admit that the federal government wastes alot of money, so when the conservatives call for cuts, they want to see the waste cut! Liberals only want to raise taxes and ignore the waste.
Brandon seems to be a paid T-troll. Or is he that dumb? LOL
You want to cut what the Federal government does for you?
No roads etc (infrastructure), firefighters, police, education, FDA, food safety, no minimum wage etc.?
I'm sure he isn't paid. Would you pay anyone to make those comments?
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