Bernie Sanders: "MAKE RICH PAY OFF THE DEFICIT"

[kpete]

Bernie Sanders: Make the Rich Pay Off the Deficit
Vermont independent wants half of any deficit reduction package to come from tax hikes on the wealthy

Shared Sacrifice
Dear Mr. President,

This is a pivotal moment in the history of our country. Decisions are being made about the national budget that will impact the lives of virtually every American for decades to come. As we address the issue of deficit reduction we must not ignore the painful economic reality of today - which is that the wealthiest people in our country and the largest corporations are doing phenomenally well while the middle class is collapsing and poverty is increasing. In fact, the United States today has, by far, the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any major country on earth.

Everyone understands that over the long-term we have got to reduce the deficit - a deficit that was caused mainly by Wall Street greed, tax breaks for the rich, two wars, and a prescription drug program written by the drug and insurance companies. It is absolutely imperative, however, that as we go forward with deficit reduction we completely reject the Republican approach that demands savage cuts in desperately-needed programs for working families, the elderly, the sick, our children and the poor, while not asking the wealthiest among us to contribute one penny.

Mr. President, please listen to the overwhelming majority of the American people who believe that deficit reduction must be about shared sacrifice. The wealthiest Americans and the most profitable corporations in this country must pay their fair share. At least 50 percent of any deficit reduction package must come from revenue raised by ending tax breaks for the wealthy and eliminating tax loopholes that benefit large, profitable corporations and Wall Street financial institutions. A sensible deficit reduction package must also include significant cuts to unnecessary and wasteful Pentagon spending.

Please do not yield to outrageous Republican demands that would greatly increase suffering for the weakest and most vulnerable members of our society. Now is the time to stand with the tens of millions of Americans who are struggling to survive economically, not with the millionaires and billionaires who have never had it so good.

Respectfully,


Sen. Bernie Sanders;
and Co-signers

(SIGN PETITION HERE:)
http://sanders.senate.gov/petition/?uid=c1fd7f9b-abd8-4e7a-a370-1867881259d8
MORE:
http://www.usnews.com/news/washington-whispers/articles/2011/06/27/bernie-sanders-make-rich-pay-off-the-deficit

[tekisui]

1. KNR!~

[rurallib]

2. of the 12T in debt Republicans ran up, they got nearly all of it

[lonestarnot]

3. K & R!

[xchrom]

4. Recommend

[txlibdem]

5. Bernie Sanders for President

:patriot:

He is 100% correct on all issues. If only we had a few hundred more like him in congress.

[newspeak]

16. I'd vote for Bernie in a heartbeat for president!

I wished this country had more Bernie Sanders, because right now we need them more than ever to tell the populace the truth. Instead, we got a corporate media with their fabricating bigoted corporate mouthpieces.

[txlibdem]

21. Solution: copy his brain and put that into the empty heads of everyone in congress + the Prez.

We'd have single payer healthcare, something that Sen. Sanders is working to get in Vermont.

And the corporations would damn well not be calling the shots nor writing legislation or regulations to be rubber stamped by puppets in gov't.

[defendandprotect]

59. Problem isn't with their brains ... it's with corporate money in their pockets ... !!!

If you haven't read Al Gore's Rolling Stone article on Global Warming --

it's really about fascist government -- oil and gas industry control over

Congress "paralyzing it" --

"Dysfunctional government" --

Page 2 re "Climate Crisis" -- as well!

[trueblue2007]

74. BERNIE IS A HERO

[defendandprotect]

60. Let's DRAFT Sen. Bernie Sanders for president -- 2012 -- he can run on Dem ticket -- !!

but we sure as hell have to get busy taking the party back from the

Koch Bros -- if there's anything left of it!!

[Lorien]

72. I'm all for it

He's my write in candidate of choice!

[Lifelong Protester]

6. Agree, K & R.

Spent last week "out east" in an undisclosed location (don't want to incriminate the relatives here) looking at multimillion dollar homes and yachts.

Tax the rich, THEY HAVE ALL THE DOUGH!

[Cresent City Kid]

20. I second that

They could create jobs AND pay their fair share but do neither.

[KansDem]

7. DAMN!!! If it needs to be said, count on Sen. Sanders to say it!!!

:woohoo:
:woohoo:GO, BERNIE!!!:woohoo:
:woohoo:

[monmouth]

8. Proudly signed..n/t

[Jack Rabbit]

9. Done.

[yellerpup]

10. Happy to sign this life saving petition.

(life saving IF is executed) Saw Bernie Sanders on "Countdown" last night. What a smart and principled man! K&R!

[defendandprotect]

61. +1 -- done

[Tennessee Gal]

11. Done.

[Greybnk48]

12. Done. It's time for others to give back.

[zazen]

13. done and linked on FB page n/t

[They_Live]

14. Make them pay for their WAR

Thank you Bernie!

[nykym]

15. 40925 signed the letter

[midnight]

17. They created the debt via the tax breaks and now it is time to put the money back....

[Uncle Joe]

18. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, kpete.

[bertman]

19. SIGNED. REC. nt

[placton]

22. from his lips to Obama's ears!

Oh wait! The prez dont listen to this kinda stuff.

[LiberalAndProud]

23. 43720

[closeupready]

24. Once again, sad that it has to be a non-Democrat to point out the obvious solution.

Which means, of course, it won't happen.

[Duppers]

25. done & sent to my entire email list

thanks. :)

[nonperson]

26. WRITE IN BERNIE SANDERS FOR PRESIDENT IN 2012!

America desperately needs Bernie.

[Ganja Ninja]

27. +1000

[kentuck]

28. Sounds like class warfare?

Which we need.

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

29. Signed, kicked and recommended nt

[LiberalAndProud]

30. 44945

[LiberalAndProud]

31. 45733

[eShirl]

32. Dear The Rich: Your Bill Is Now Come Due. Signed, We The People.

[WillyT]

33. Done !!! - K & R !!!

:kick:

[drm604]

34. Signed

and put on Facebook.

[hulka38]

35. You pretty much have to be an indy to say that these days.

[democracy1st]

36. K & R

[w4rma]

37. 50%? They need to pay 100% of any deficit reduction plan. (nt)

[Fool Count]

38. Why the hell only 50%? The rich have enough dough to cover

100% of the deficit. After the deficit is taken care of, more should be taken from them
to restore the workers' wellbeing too.

[napi21]

39. If you missed Bernie' speech yeaterday, here' a link t the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcZ-msu27ew

[LiberalAndProud]

40. 49114

[Electric Monk]

41. k&r

[LiberalAndProud]

42. 50970

[Utopian Leftist]

43. And it's about damn time, too!

52723 signed the letter

Why would any progressive NOT sign on for this?

[DirkGently]

44. It's so not-even-slightly-crazy, it just might work.

[bbinacan]

45. They don't have enough to cover the debt. n/t

[defendandprotect]

62. The $120 billion in tax cuts for the rich which Obama extended would be enough -- !!

[bbinacan]

90. Won't cover the deficit or the debt. n/t

[valerief]

46. Too bad the most important thing in the world is for rich people to get richer.

I still love you, Bernie!

[PuffedMica]

47. Not only do the rich need to pay their fair share, they need to make up for their free ride

The tax breaks for the rich need to stop and be paid back with interest.

[defendandprotect]

64. How about for destruction of the planet -- and animal life -- harm done to humans?

You know what capitalism and its exploittion of nature has cost us?

We could have forgotten all the BS about "working" and "bus-i-ness" and

watched apples grow on trees -- and preserved nature -- and still had a planet

to live on!!

[PuffedMica]

48. K&R

[whirlygigspin]

51. 60987

up by 10k since I last checked

[LiberalAndProud]

49. 60907

[dogmoma56]

50. the richest 5% hold 72% of Americas financial wealth 10 times the bottom 80% >link>>

http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html

the richest 1% holds 43% of the nations Financial wealth-6 times what the bottom 80% holds, the richest 5% hold 72% of Americas financial wealth 10 times the bottom 80%, top 20% holds 93% while the bottom 80% only holds 7% of America's financial wealth. 44% of Americans couldn't get $2000 together if their lives depended on it.

http://doggo.tripod.com/doggchrisdomin.html this is where the Tea Party wants to take us...

TOO Rich to Regulate.! wealth/power is proof of gods favor of a man, thus it's a sin to tax/regulate them. and the poor are being punished by god so it is a sin to help them or not torment them whenever possible. :think:...Hey, that sounds just like the GOP's platform

the government is infested with C st, Doug Coe Theocratic Fascists AKA: the Dominionists.. the GOP is Theocratic Cargo Cult of Wall Street gambling addicts, OCD psychotic narcissistic wealth/power hoarders.. they are mentally ill and out of control.

[dhill926]

52. done.........n/t

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

53. I recommend, but Bernie has to explain how Obama can get the House to go along with tax hikes

Cantor had a hissy fit and walked out of the talks when the issue of taxes came up.

I love you, Bernie, but you need to explain how we get the president to deal with these wingnuts who are hellbent on destroying this president!!

[defendandprotect]

65. No -- the president has to explain where he's been since '08 ...

evidently somewhere where issues of citizen suffering -- homelessnes --

needed medical care -- jobs -- unemployment -- dangers of nuclear reactors --

stupidity of oil drilling -- and the farce of "clean coal"

JUST DIDN'T COME UP!! ????

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

81. YES!! Again, tell me how we get past the Congress! n/t

[Jakes Progress]

87. Now tell me how many speeches, proposals, and press confernces

has the president had to explain why this is necessary and right? Tell me how many pitched battles he has had with the republican and blue dogs?

Show me where he has said he would even want to do this.

[defendandprotect]

88. Obama tossed his mandate in the garbage and created this problem ...

the GOP were in flames and going down --

Obama resurrected them --

If you believe it's normal that the Dems lose when they have majority control and

they lose when they have minority control -- but vice versa for Repugs -- then

you need your BS meter turned waaaaay up -- !!


Look to the Koch Bros funding of the DLC which was harbored within the party for 20

years, infiltrating the party -- and moving its agenda and its candidates to the right --

including its presidential candidates.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

89. What mandate? Blue Dogs and DLCers in the Senate doesn't make it a mandate!

[defendandprotect]

93. Obama had a huge mandate in the vote -- the backing of the public - a bully pulpit and

political strength he refused to use --

Same on many other issues --

and when he couldn't get away with absolute pretense then he resorted

to back room deals -- as in Big Pharma and the private H/C industry!

Universal health care was too live a wire -- 76% and more of the public wanted

government-run health care -- MEDICARE FOR ALL -- to allow it to become any more

political. Single payer had to be taken "off the table" before it even came into view!



PS: "and DLC'ers in the Senate" -- whoa ... that's Koch Bros. funded DLC --

When did any Democrat, including Obama, ever complain about that situation of Koch Bros.

infiltrating the party?


:nuke:

[grahamhgreen]

54. After all - They were the ones that created it!

[LiberalAndProud]

55. 62460

[and-justice-for-all]

56. Kick and Rec.

[AlecBGreen]

57. signed

63,000+

[Luciferous]

58. Signed yesterday, but K&R

[TheKentuckian]

63. Hit it already but I'm not happy with 50% at all.

They had the party, they can pay the piper.

In fact, since they have the vast majority of the resources why the fuck is anyone looking at us?

[myrna minx]

66. K&R n/t

[Anakin Skywalker]

67. The rich got us into this deficit by getting us into wars from which they PROFITED greatly!

[pacalo]

68. Done. Husband signed, too. )

[applegrove]

69. I remember talking to some conservatives online just as the war in Iraq was getting off the ground.

I asked them what their Bush government had asked them to sacrifice in what he claimed was "a time of war". They froze (if one can do so online). They fumbled around for a bit. Then one of them mentioned some volunteer work they had done. I cannot believe they still don't get it. Sacrifice is where it's at. It gives you the feeling that "we're all in this together".

[butterfly77]

70. Kicked&Recommended...

[Zorra]

71. Done. Over 65,000 now. nt

[McCamy Taylor]

73. The rich OWN the deficit.

Great idea making the richest Americans help the rest of us pay off the federal deficit. Because the rich own the deficit. They are the ones who made it happen.

Exhibit 1: Republican Presidents since Nixon have raised the federal deficit while Democrats have lowered it. That includes St. Ronnie.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_by_U.S._presidential_terms

Exhibit 2: The surplus Clinton left us became a huge deficit under Bush (the darling of the rich). According to Paul Krugman, tax cuts for the rich now have us $2 trillion in debt. That is $2 trillion the rich need to pay back---with interest. Military spending helped us sink another $1 trillion. Defense contractors like Halliburton ought to help with that one. The recession was engineered by the banks, Bush and politicians like Phil Gramm, and therefore they are responsible for trillions more.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/09/opinion/09krugman.html?_r=1&src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FB

[Bryn]

75. K&R

done!

[Tuesday Afternoon]

76. signed. k&r

:patriot:

[Paper Roses]

77. Signed with the hope that it will mean something to the decision

makers in DC. Somehow, I doubt it. I used to think my vote and my voice meant something...now not so much.

[AC_Mem]

78. K&R

Signed and will pass on!

Annette

[Clear Blue Sky]

79. Absolutely. 70% tax on any income over $1M.

[avebury]

80. Why don't they the make the arguement

that a large chunk of the deficit is due to taking taxes paid in by the poor and middle class citizens the the Republicans have turned around and give out to Corporations and the 1-2% Uber Wealthy has tax breaks, loop holes, and reduced tax rates. In other words, a large chunk of the deficit is money that went into the pockets of the Uber Wealthy and Corporations.

[paparush]

82. Tweets of Bernie's wiener in 3..2...1

The powers that be can't let this crazy talk get any traction.

[mod mom]

83. k&r since I already signed the petition. Go Bernie!

[somone]

84. Done

[Jakes Progress]

85. What a radical idea. What a Democratic idea.

Why must it come from someone not funded by the DLC?

[FreeBillClinton]

86. Rec'd and signed

[Buns_of_Fire]

91. Done & K'd & (tried to) R

If I could afford it, I'm move to Vermont just so I could legitimately say he's MY Senator.

[whirlygigspin]

92. now at 81,638

kick