I was appalled as I watched the unfolding of the drama enacted by our government this past week. The republican party threatened to shutdown the government unless certain programs were hacked from the budget. The original budget hoped to slash over $60 billion in national spending. The democratic party caved and they all agreed upon budget cuts equaling $38.5 billion dollars from our national spending. This is the biggest national budget cut in history - and yet it's no wonder. We are now at war in four countries - more wars than we have ever had running concurrently in history. We are also now into a decade of tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans and to multinational corporations.
Is it any wonder then that the government is screaming BROKE! We are financing the lifestyles of the very rich, and sacrificing our infrastructure, the livelihood of Americans, and our youth's education to do it! We have but to bring our troops home, (the privatization of many aspects of our military is also driving up the costs of our wars), and equalize the tax process. Why is it that hardworking Americans must pay their taxes or risk going to jail, while large corporations like GE and Bank of America not only don't pay taxes, but receive tax deductions in the billions? If we simply made GE, Bank of America, Verizon, and other corporations pay their fair share, as the US Uncut graph below shows, we would save $21.7 billion dollars.
Yet, contrary to what your politicians say, and what the corporate media spouts, We Are Not Broke! Why is our government waging war against the middle, working and struggling classes? The president in his speech discussed this as a time where two parties came together to make a tough decision. Mr. President, here's a news flash. We the people have been making "tough" decisions for a very long time. Due to the increased cost of living and stagnation of wages, more people have had to decide to put gas in the car or buy groceries - to get the root canal or to have the transmission fixed. We the people are tired of "difficult" decisions made on our behalf. It is time for our government to start making "right" decisions. Yet, they won't do this on their own. Democracy is not passive, it demands that we be active. Wherever you are friends, become active, join a campaign for economic justice.
