BUCKNACKT'S SORDID TAWDRY BLOG
We should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive & well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate, bier or wein in hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WHOO-HOO, WHAT A RIDE!!!!!!"
NORTON META TAG
Showing posts with label Patriotic Millionaires. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Patriotic Millionaires. Show all posts
Exciting news! Today, Patriotic Millionaires, in partnership with Civic Media, is launching a new economic-centered live radio show and podcast. Tune into the first episode TODAY Monday, August 26th at 3pm CT / 4pm ET.
Maggie and the Millionaires TALK MONEYis a 30-minute show airing live statewide in Wisconsin and streaming nationally every weekday, Monday through Friday, through Election Day. As the 2024 election season kicks off in earnest -- and both candidates vie for the all-important working class vote -- join Maggie Daun and the Patriotic Millionaires for a daily deep dive into the one issue that matters most in a capitalist democracy: money. Money, money, money, money, money, money, money.
Maggie and her guest will unpack how the economy has been rigged against working people, what it means in the context of the day's news, and what we can do to fix it. The segment will feature a different guest each day -- including several of our Patriotic Millionaires, economists, and policy experts -- who will give listeners a fresh perspective and deeper understanding of America's rigged economic system and the power they have -- right now -- to fix it.
Stephen Prince, born, in his words, “a poor redneck from south Georgia,” became a multi-millionaire after starting National Business Products -- now known as Card Market, Inc. -- a gift card and in-store marketing material production company. The Gift Card Guy, Prince is the Vice Chair of Patriotic Millionaires, fighting to unrig the economy and build a better country for his children and grandchildren. Today, Stephen will explain exactly how the economy left so many behind and why, sometimes, $1,000 is worth more than $1 million.
All this week, Maggie will interview other experts and Patriotic Millionaires at 3pm CT/4pm ET:
Tuesday: Patriotic Millionaire Scott Ellis will explore “How Much is Too Much: Excessive Wealth and the $30 Million Success Project”
Wednesday: Tiffany Muller from End Citizens United will explore why “America Can't Have Both: It’s time to choose Concentrated Wealth or Freedom”
Thursday: University of Massachusetts Professor Bill Lazonick will discuss “How Billionaires Become Billionaires: Predatory Value Extraction and the Truth About Corporations”
Friday: Chuck Collins, heir to the Oscar Meyer fortune, will explain “Why you SHOULD take it personally: How Billionaire Wealth is Ruining YOUR Life”
It’s time to demand the economy working people in Wisconsin and all across America need. Through our new show, we will break down how to build that economy with a group of millionaires, economists, and policy experts who see how the system is rigged and want to fix it.
PRACTICAL PROGRESS: The Agenda Project Action Fund's actually
'brief' briefing on the most Important news from the Progressive
Movement.
TOP WONKS DEMAND A HIGHER MINIMUM WAGE -- The Economic Policy Institute published a letter on Tuesday signed by 75 economists urging Washington to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10, which would provide higher wages for 17 million Americans by 2016. Signers include Top Wonks Dean
Baker, Jared Bernstein, Alan Blinder, Heather Boushey, Arindrajit Dube,
Nancy Folber, Richard Freeman, Heidi Hartmann, Lawrence Mishel, Robert
Reich, John Schmitt, Heidi Shierholz, and Joseph Stiglitz. University of
Texas Chair in Government and Business Relations and Top WonkJames Galbraith recently made his case for a higher minimum wage, and elsewhere Assistant Professor of Economics at University of Massachusetts Amherst and Top WonkArindrajit Dube delved into the "Minimum Wages and the Distribution of Family Incomes." READ an analysis of the paper by CEPR Senior Economist and Top WonkJohn Schmitt HERE.
... A PATRIOTIC MILLIONAIRE SECONDS DEMAND FOR HIGHER MINIMUM WAGE ... Venture Capitalist and Patriotic MillionaireNick Hanauer spells out the capitalist's case for a 15 dollar minimum wage HERE ...
... AND A TOP REPUBLICANAGREES ... Silicon Valley tycoon and former publisher of the American Conservative Ron Unz says: "A large minimum wage hike would constitute an enormous, permanent economic stimulus package." SO WHO DOESN'T WANT TO RAISE THE MINIMUM?See Huff's story HERE. LADIES -- THIS MEANS YOU -- As the minimum wage debate heats up, Maria Shriver and the Center for American Progress (CAP) released the third Shriver Report, analyzing the realities of 42 million American women on the economic brink. President of Families and Work Institute Ellen Galinsky: "We know low-income women are the backbone of our economy and of their families
... What they need -- and what our economy needs -- are supportive,
flexible, Effective Workplaces, which benefit the employee, the
employer, and our nation as a whole." READ "A Woman's Nation Pushes Back from the Brink," TWEET #ShriverReport and WATCH an informational video HERE. THE GOVERNOR, THE BRIDGE, HIS WIFE, AND HER CHARITY -- As questions mount about NJ Gov. Tony Soprano, eh hem, Chris Christie's bridge closure our sources say Christie's wife is still sitting on more than half of the funds her charity raised for Sandy victims. SEE the Daily Agenda's original story HERE. Looks like using Sandy relief funds to produce self-serving tourism ads are just the tip of the iceberg. CNN broke last night that Port Authority created an executive position for a Christie ally. READ: "Christie: A Bully's Bully" over at The Nation. Huffington Post, MSNBC, Politico, and Roosevelt Institute also covered the story. PROGRESSIVES TO RALLY IN NYC -- January 21 is the fourth anniversary of Citizens United -- a ruling that paved the way for Super PACs to spend over 600 million dollars in the 2012 election alone. Fair Elections for New York and American Family Votes will be hosting Sen. Elizabeth Warren and NYS Attorney General Eric Schneiderman
to discuss taking on big money's power over the economy. Co-sponsors
include Americans for Campaign Reform, Brennan Center for Justice,
ColorOfChange, Common Cause/NY, CREDO, Democracy Matters, Demos,
Greenpeace, MoveOn.Org, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Sierra
Club, and more. FIND out event details and RSVPHERE.
MoveOn.Org, Demos, and the Democracy Initiative will also be hosting a
virtual teach-in on the anniversary discussing immediate grassroots
solutions on the 21st. Leaders from the Sierra Club, NAACP, and
Communications Workers of America will be featured. RSVP to WATCH it live HERE. 300+ DAYS WITHOUT REPRESENTATION -- North Carolina NAACP President Rev. Dr. William J. Barber slammed NC Govenor McCrory's recent Writ of Election decision
that would delay a special election in the state's 12th Congressional
District until November, leaving the seat empty: "While Congress
debates the Farm Bill, budget issues, immigration reform, historic
national security issues, and the future of Section 4 and 5 of the
Voting Rights Act itself, the 12th District -- comprised of citizens of
North Carolina from all walks of life" Black, Latino, White, poor and
rich; hard-working Democrats, Republicans, and Independents -- will be
without a voice." A STEP TOWARD FAIR DISCIPLINARY POLICIES -- Advancement Project Managing Director of Programs James Eichner lauded the Obama Administration's groundbreaking new legal guidelines for addressing racial discrimination
in public school discipline: "The DOJ/DOE guidance confirms what
advocates on the ground have been saying all along: there are stark
racial disparities in school discipline, and schools are needlessly
funneling children of color from the classroom to the criminal justice
system." FROM THE WONK WIRE ...
... CARBON CUTTING PROGRESS: Georgetown Climate Center of Georgetown Law Executive Director and Top WonkVicki Arroyostands by the EPA's newly proposed rules to cut carbon pollution from new power plants.
... FEAR CONQUERS ALL: Former Secretary of Labor and Top WonkRobert Reichexplains why fear is crux of low-wage workers' self-sabotage.
... FDL BOOK SALON -- This Sunday Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow and Top Wonk Michael Konczal will be hosting an online book salon featuring CEPR Co-Director and Top Wonk Dean Baker. They will be discussing Dean Baker's new book Getting Back to Full Employment. FIND out more HERE. Find more at www.TopWonks.org. ON OUR AGENDA ... PP congratulates Demos President Miles Rapoport on his next step as President and CEO of Common Cause. We second Demos' Board Chair Amelia Warren Tyagi's sendoff:
"In his 13 years as President, Miles has built Demos up to where it is
today: full of potential, and ready to take the next, exciting leap
forward." Demos will announce its new President in the coming weeks ...
our sources say Top WonkHeather McGee has been tapped for the top job. Check out our newsletter's site at PracticalProgress.org and join the Movement -- E-mail tips, news, and reactions to Hannah Hendler at hhendler@agendaproject.org.
65% of Americans want it, all Americans will benefit from it, and more Patriotic Millionaires are stepping up and demanding it. Who's against it? The millionaires and billionaires who are greedy and self absorbed, unwilling to curb their lust for more wealth and power and the Congressmen and women they have bought out and control. The pressure continues to mount on Pres Obama to hold fast to his pledge not to extend the bush tax breaks for the rich and to close corporate welfare tax loopholes so the 2% pay their fair share. This update from Patriotic Millionaires and the Agenda Project and the NYT article follows, and for more on this see my earlier post Top Two Percent To GOP: Tax Us & Defense Execs Say Deeper DoD Budget Cuts, Higher Taxes OK 5&3DEZ12
http://bucknacktssordidtawdryblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/top-two-percent-to-gop-tax-us-defense.html
The measure of a society’s progress is not whether it can give more
to those who have more, but whether it can provide enough to those who
have less. - David Lim
I was delighted to open the New York Times this morning and see this article about all the NEW millionaires who have (finally!) joined the effort the Patriotic Millionaires started over two years ago to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans!! The Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength
launched their campaign during the 2010 lame duck session of congress
and have been aggressively demanding higher taxes (on themselves!) ever
since. We are so excited so many more millionaires are coming forward to
echo this important message.
If you have a chance, watch this GREAT VIDEO where the Patriotic Millionaires take their “Tax Me!” message right to John Boehner. If every millionaire in this country agreed with the last line of this video, we would be MUCH better off.
And, maybe just maybe that is happening. The
Patriotic Millionaires started with a few dozen people and now has over
200 members. Several of the people in the NYT’s story actually told me
personally two years ago that they didn’t think their taxes should go up
– but now they have seen the light! Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa
Claus!
The NYT's story shows that when Americans want
something they can make it happen. These Patriotic Millionaires have
wanted their taxes to go up for the good of the country since 2010 and
now, just two years later, they are going to succeed in making sure that
our country has enough money for the things we want and need.
Now we just have to convince the Republicans in
Congress. To that end, please call the Republicans in the House and ask
them to do what 65% of Americans – and hundreds of millionaires – want
them to do! Raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans!
The number to the House is 202-224-3121. To find the phone number for a specific Congress person, look HERE.
Lloyd C. Blankfein, of Goldman
Sachs, outside the White House. Administration officials have urged
business executives to support higher taxes on the wealthy.
A broad swath of the nation’s leading chief executives dropped its
opposition to tax increases on the wealthiest Americans on Tuesday,
while the White House quietly pressed Wall Street titans for their
support as well.
Before Tuesday’s about-face, the Business Roundtable had insisted that the White House extend Bush-era tax cuts
to taxpayers of all income brackets, but the executives’ resistance
crumbled as pressure builds to find a compromise for the fiscal impasse
in Washington before the end of the year.
“We recognize that part of the solution has to be tax increases,” David
M. Cote, chief executive of Honeywell, said on a conference call with
reporters. “That’s the only thing that allows a reasonable compromise to
be reached.”
Even as the Fortune 500 leaders announced their shift, the White House
continued to work behind the scenes to woo some of Wall Street’s most
powerful financiers — a group that had largely abandoned President Obama
in his bid for a second term after supporting him in 2008.
After seeking out corporate leaders from industrial companies last
month, the White House has intensified outreach to Wall Street in
December.
On Wednesday, several hedge fund managers, including Daniel Och, the
billionaire founder of Och-Ziff Capital Management, will meet with
Valerie Jarrett, a top adviser to the president, and members of the
White House economic team.
Last Monday, White House officials sat down with a more than half a
dozen top bankers and financiers, including Gary D. Cohn, president of
Goldman Sachs, and Greg Fleming, head of wealth management at Morgan
Stanley.
The differing strategies — highly public meetings with corporate America
and private arm-twisting with Wall Street — both appear to be aimed at
winning popular support for higher taxes on the wealthy. The trade-offs
being roundly fought over in Washington, like what government programs
may be cut and which entitlements may be spared, are less important in
this effort to muster highly compensated chieftains whose support for
tax increases will provide cover for Congressional Republicans wary of
being seen as too quick to compromise on higher tax rates.
What’s more, the political symbolism of some of the wealthiest
Americans’ saying they support higher taxes on the rich takes a bit of
the sting out of the idea of raising rates, for both Democrats and
Republicans. Indeed, by appealing to both camps and enlisting their
support, President Obama hopes to neutralize potential critics,
according to allies of the president on Wall Street.
President Obama’s supporters cited the example of Frederick W. Smith,
the chief executive of FedEx. Last week, Mr. Smith signaled he was not
angered by higher tax rates for the wealthiest individuals, a
centerpiece of President Obama’s plan to reduce the deficit and a key
sticking point for Republicans in Congress.
“If people who didn’t support the president believe the president is
acting reasonably, they’re going to put pressure on the other side,”
said Marc Lasry, a longtime supporter of the president who runs Avenue
Capital. “You need both sides to be reasonable.”
For example, Mr. Lasry invited the real estate tycoon Barry Sternlicht, a
onetime Obama supporter who raised money for Mitt Romney in the last
election cycle, to the White House last week. Mr. Lasry, who has $13
billion under management, including $1.3 billion of his own money, is
among a small group of Wall Street figures who stuck with the president
before the election, even as those like Mr. Sternlicht deserted him.
This core group met with President Obama on Nov. 16, and included Tony
James, president of the Blackstone Group, as well as Roger Altman, a
Democratic stalwart who is executive chairman of Evercore Partners, and
Robert Wolf, a longtime UBS executive who recently began his own firm,
32 Advisors.
Also in attendance were Blair W. Effron, co-founder of Centerview
Partners, and Mark T. Gallogly, a Blackstone veteran who founded
Centerbridge Partners in 2005.
To be sure, most executives genuinely fear the consequences of the
automatic spending cuts and tax increases if a compromise is not found
by Jan. 1, but the efforts by big business to press politicians in
Washington could also pay large dividends in the future.
While most business leaders now say they are willing to support
increases in tax rates for individuals as well as cuts in entitlement
spending, their stance in favor of lower corporate tax rates could
actually benefit their bottom lines in the long run.
For now, however, the focus is on reaching a deal by end of the year
rather than a broad tax overhaul. At the White House, the outreach
effort is being led by Ms. Jarrett, and she has been joined in the
meetings with executives and bankers by Timothy F. Geithner, the
secretary of the Treasury; Jeffrey Zients, the head of the Office of
Management and Budget; and Gene Sperling, director of the National
Economic Council.
The White House arranged calls on Dec. 3 and on Monday for chief
executives who attended the earlier sessions with the president,
updating them on the negotiations and reiterating the need for their
support. Among the participants were Lloyd C. Blankfein, the chief
executive of Goldman Sachs; Randall Stephenson, the chief executive of
AT&T, and Marriott’s chief executive, Arne Sorenson.
Some chief executives, like Mr. Blankfein, who have been relatively
outspoken in recent weeks about the need for tax increases, are viewed
as relative liberals in the business community.
But others who reversed course Tuesday, like Doug Oberhelman of
Caterpillar, are seen as more conservative politically and suggest an
important shift in the political landscape in terms of tax policy.
Another more conservative executive who signed a letter to Congress and
the president from the Business Roundtable was Rex W. Tillerson, the
chief executive of Exxon.
“Compromise will require Congress to agree on more revenue — whether by
increasing rates, eliminating deductions, or some combination thereof —
and the administration to agree to larger, meaningful structural and
benefit entitlement reforms and spending reductions that are a fiscally
responsible multiple of increased revenues,” said the letter, signed by
more than 100 chief executives.
Besides Mr. Cote, several other prominent chiefs joined the call with
reporters organized by the Business Roundtable, including Andrew N.
Liveris of Dow Chemical, Jeffrey R. Immelt of G.E. and Alexander Cutler
of Eaton.
Small businesses also appear anxious about the fiscal impasse. On
Tuesday, the National Federation of Independent Business reported that
its Small Business Optimism Index had one of its steepest declines ever
in November.
The net percentage of business owners who said they expected better
economic conditions in six months — that is, the share that expected
improvement minus the share that expected deterioration — was negative
35 percent. That is the worst outlook since the federation began
collecting this data on a monthly basis in 1986.
Bill Dunkelberg, the chief economist at the federation, attributed the
pessimism to the stalemate in Washington, higher health care costs and
“the endless onslaught of new regulations.”
PATRIOTIC MILLIONAIRES are increasing their pressure on the gop leadership to increase the taxes on the top 2% of the population, the wealthiest in the nation. This update from the Agenda Project, and the letter follows.... Today, dozens of millionaires joined the Patriotic Millionaires' call for higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans.
This morning 25 of the country's most successful LGBT millionaires
sent a letter to Senator Mitch McConnell, Speaker John Boehner,
Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, urging
Congress to allow tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to expire on
schedule at the end of the year. You can see their inspiring letter at www.FiscalPride.org.
CEOs from some of the country's
largest businesses agreed. Top defense executives like David
Langstaff, CEO of TASC, said: "[Income tax rates] need to go up some . .
. it's a fairness issue." Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein said, "If
we had to lift up the marginal rate, I would do that." Some emphasized
that raising marginal rates would not hurt jobs. FedEx Chairman and CEO
Fred Smith said the notion that it would was "mythology."
"Americans everywhere know we have to do this," said Patriotic
Millionaire Dan Berger. "Now if we can just get Grover Norquist's
groupies to put their pledge to the country ahead of their pledge to
him, we just might get somewhere."
What a great holiday gift,
EP
To learn more about the Patriotic Millionaires, visit patrioticmillionaires.org. For press inquiries, please contact Rachael Wall at 212-481-8302 or rwall@agendaproject.org.
December 5, 2012
The Honorable John Boehner
Speaker of the
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Republican Leader
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Democratic Leader
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Speaker Boehner, Senator Reid, Senator McConnell, and Representative Pelosi:
We are successful LGBT Americans who now or in the past have earned an annual income of $1,000,000 or more.
America has been good to us: it has provided
the foundation and opportunity to succeed. We want that same
opportunity and possibility for all Americans, but we are concerned
about the future of our community and our country.
At the end of this year, a series of deadlines
will require our leaders to make important decisions that will have a
huge impact on the economy -- and on the LGBT community. If Congress
fails to act, across-the-board cuts to vital programs will be triggered
even as taxes go up on the middle class.
For LGBT Americans, this "fiscal cliff" isn't
just an abstract concept. A report released by the Center for American
Progress, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, and a coalition of
23 national LGBT organizations outlines the real and lasting impact it
would have.
Across-the-board cuts would compromise LGBT
health by reducing programmatic funding used to address the health care
needs of gay and transgender Americans, impair the federal government's
ability to investigate claims of workplace discrimination, and remove
critical resources from government agencies working to prevent bullying
and school violence.
At the same time, higher tax rates would
further endanger middle class and working class members of our
community. LGBT Americans have lower levels of income than other
Americans, according to a recent Gallup report, and face additional
economic obstacles caused by the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and
the lack of federal workplace protections.
In the recent election, many of us contributed
significantly to re-elect the President, and we support the President's
vision of a country in which everyone has a fair shot and does his or
her fair share.
We urge Congress to work with President Obama to
avoid the fiscal cliff with a balanced approach, and to preserve the
middle class tax cuts while allowing tax cuts for the best off to
expire. It's the right thing to do.
Sincerely,
The Honorable Bruce W. Bastian
Tim Gill
Terry Bean
Mel Heifetz
Paul Boskind
Glenn Johnson & Michael Melancon
David Bohnett
Kathy Levinson
Roberta Conroy
Terrence Meck
Bill Derrough
Charles Myers
Karen K. Dixon & Nan Schaffer
Suze Orman & Kathy Travis
Joe Falk
Laura Ricketts
Dale Frederiksen & Bob Page
Sarah Schmidt
Nanette Gartrell, MD & Dee (Diane) Mosbacher MD, PhD
PRESIDENT OBAMA is calling on all Americans to e mail or tweet or call their Representative and Senators in Congress and demand the middle class tax cuts be extended and the tax cuts for the rich and corporations end. As the President has said, 98% of individuals and 97% of small businesses will not see a tax increase if the middle class tax cut is extended, and no American's taxes will go up on the first $250,000 of income. DEMOCRACY IS NOT A SPECTATOR SPORT, so it is vital that everyone contact your Representative http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ and your Senators http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm or tweet at hashtag my2k and express your views on extending the middle class tax cuts and ending the tax cuts for the wealthy. Here is the transcript of President Obama's remarks on this issue on 28NOV12, followed by statements by Patriotic Millionaires and top fiscal policy wonks on eliminating the tax cuts for the rich. Here is a transcript of President Obama’s remarks on middle-class tax cuts delivered on Nov. 28, 2012.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: It would be good for
our children’s future, and I believe that both parties can agree on a
framework that does that in the coming weeks. In fact, my hope is to get
this done before Christmas. But the place where we already have, in
theory at least, complete agreement, right now, is on middle class
taxes. And as I’ve said before, we’ve got two choices.
If
Congress does nothing, every family in America will see their taxes
automatically go up at the beginning of next year. Starting January 1st,
every family in America will see their taxes go up.
OBAMA: A
typical middle-class family of four would see its income taxes go up by
$2,200, that’s $2,200 out of people’s pockets. That means less money for
buying groceries, less money for filling prescriptions, less money for
buying diapers.
(LAUGHTER)
It means a tougher choice
between paying the rent and paying tuition, and middle-class families
just can’t afford that right now. By the way, businesses can’t afford it
either.
Yesterday I sat down with some small business owners who
stressed this point. Economists predict that if taxes go up on middle
class next year, consumers will spend nearly $200 billion less on things
like cars, and clothes, and furniture, and that obviously means fewer
customers, that cuts into business profits, that makes businesses less
likely to invest, and hire which means fewer jobs and that can drag our
entire economy down.
Now, the good news is, there’s a better
option. Right now, as we speak, Congress can pass a law that would
prevent a tax hike on the first $250,000 of everybody’s income.
Everybody’s. And that means that 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent
of small businesses wouldn’t see their income taxes go up by a single
dime. Ninety-eight percent of Americans, 97 percent of small businesses
would not see their income taxes go up by a single dime.
Even the
wealthiest Americans would still get a tax cut on the first $250,000 of
their income. So it’s not like folks who make more than $250,000 aren’t
getting a tax break, too. They are getting a tax break on the first
$250,000 just like everybody else. Families and small businesses would,
therefore, be able to enjoy some peace of mind heading into Christmas
and heading into the new year.
And it would give us more time
than next year to work together on a comprehensive plan to bring down
our deficits, to streamline our tax system, to do it in a balanced way,
including asking the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more so we can
invest in training, education, science, and research.
Now, I
know some of this may sound familiar to you because we talked a lot
about this during the campaign. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody.
This was a major debate in the presidential campaign, and in
Congressional campaigns all across the country, and a clear majority of
Americans, not just Democrats, but also a lot of Republicans, and a lot
of independents, agreed we should have a balanced approach to deficit
reduction that doesn’t hurt the economy and doesn’t hurt middle-class
families.
And I’m glad to see, if you’ve been reading the papers
lately, that more and more Republicans in Congress seem to be agreeing
with this idea that we should have a balanced approach.
So if
both parties agree we should not raise taxes on middle- class families,
let’s begin our work with where we agree. The Senate’s already passed a
bill that keeps income taxes from going up on middle-class families.
Democrats in the House are ready to vote for that same bill today. And,
if we can get a few house Republicans to agree as well, I’ll sign this
bill as soon as Congress sends it my way. I’ve got to repeat, I’ve got a
pen, I’m ready to sign it.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
So
-- so my point here today is to say, let’s approach this problem with
the middle class in mind, the folks who are behind me, and the millions
of people all across the country who they represent.
You know,
the American people are watching what we do. Middle- class families,
folks working hard to get into the middle class, they are watching what
we do right now. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned, when the
American people speak loudly enough, lo and behold, Congress listens.
You
know, some of you may remember that a year ago, during our last big
fight to protect middle-class families, tens of thousands of working
Americans called and Tweeted and e-mailed their representatives asking
them to do the right thing. And sure enough, it worked. The same thing
happened earlier this year when college students across the country
stood up and demanded that Congress keep rates low on their student
loans. Congress got the message loud and clear and they made sure that
interest rates on student loans did not go up.
So the lesson is
that when enough people get involved, we have a pretty good track record
of actually making Congress work. And that’s important because this is
our biggest challenge yet, and it’s one that we can only meet together.
So
in the interest of making sure that everybody makes their voices heard,
last week we asked people to tell us what would a $2,000 tax hike mean
to them. Some families told us, it would make it more difficult to send
their kids to college. Others said it would make it tougher for them to
cover the cost of prescription drugs. Some said it would make it tough
for them to make their mortgage.
Lynn Lion (ph) from Newport News
-- where’s Lynn, there she is -- she just wants to see some cooperation
in Washington. She wrote, “Let’s show the rest of the world that we’re
adults, and living in a democracy we can solve our problems by working
together.” So that’s what this debate’s all about and that’s why it’s so
important, that as many Americans as possible send a message that we
need to keep moving forward. So today I’m asking Congress to listen to
the people who sent us here to serve. I’m asking Americans all across
the country to make your voice heard. Tell members of Congress what a
$2,000 tax hike would mean to you. Call your members of Congress. Write
them an e- mail. Post it on their Facebook walls. You can Tweet it by
using the hashtag “my2k”. Not y2k.
(LAUGHTER)
“my2k,” we
figured that would make it easy to remember. And, I want to assure the
American people I’m doing my part. I’m sitting down with CEOs, I’m
sitting down with labor leaders, I’m talking to leaders in Congress. You
know, I -- I am ready, and able, and willing, and excited to go ahead
and get this issue resolved in a bipartisan fashion so that American
families, American businesses have some certainty going into next year,
and we can do it in a balanced and fair way, but our first job is to
make sure that taxes on middle- class families don’t go up, and since we
all theoretically agree on that we should get that done.
(APPLAUSE)
If we get that done, a lot of the other stuff is gonna be a lot easier.
So
in light of just sort of spreading this message, I’m going to be
visiting Pennsylvania on Friday to talk with folks at a small business
there that are trying to make sure that they’re filling their Christmas
orders. And I’ll go anywhere, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get this
done. It’s too important for Washington to screw this up.
Now’s
the time for us to work on what we all agreed to, which is let’s keep
middle class taxes low. That’s what our economy needs, that’s what the
American people deserve, and if we get this part of it right, then a lot
of the other issues surrounding deficit reduction in a fair and
balanced and responsible way are going to be a whole lot easier, and if
we get this wrong, the economy is going to go south, it’s going to be
much more difficult to balance our budgets and deal with our deficits
because if the economy is not strong, that means more money is going out
on things like unemployment insurance, and less money is coming in in
terms of tax receipts, and it actually just makes our deficit worse.
So
we really need to get this right. I can only do it with the help of the
American people, so tweet -- what was that again? My2k -- tweet using
the hashtag my2k or email, post it on a member of Congress’ Facebook
wall, do what it takes to communicate a sense of urgency. We don’t have a
lot of time here. We’ve got a few weeks to get this thing done.
We could get it done tomorrow. Now, optimistically, I don’t think we’re going to get it done tomorrow.
(LAUGHTER)
But
I tell you, if everybody here goes out of their way to make their
voices heard and spread the word to your friends and your family, your
coworkers, your neighbors, then I am confident that we will get it done,
and we will put America on the right track, not just for next year, but
for many years to come.
Alright? Thank you very much everybody.
(APPLAUSE)
END http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/president-obamas-remarks-on-middle-class-tax-cuts-on-nov-28-2012-transcript/2012/11/28/f3b347b6-3979-11e2-b01f-5f55b193f58f_print.html
The Patriotic Millionaires and Top Wonks
are dominating the fiscal debate following the election. The Agenda
Project is delighted to be amplifying the voices of top experts and
wealthy Americans who are putting the needs of regular Americans at the
front of this critical public policy debate - which is exactly where
they should be.
Patriotic Millionaire and Filmmaker Abigail Disney (NY) pushes for higher taxes on wealthy Americans as part of the fiscal cliff negotiations on MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell.Abigail Disney says:“…Small
provisions – letting these tax cuts lapse just for the 2%, getting
capital gains taxes back to where they were under the Clinton
Administration, and taxing dividends like ordinary incomes…Those things
will get us to almost a trillion dollars over ten years...I can’t
imagine how anybody can look at this situation we’re in…If my life is
not going to be materially affected in a bad way by a tax increase, why
would I object?"
Top Wonk and President and Founder of Kynikos AssociatesJim Chanos (NY) explains how to dodge the fiscal cliff on Bloomberg’s "Street Smart Fiscal Cliff Summit." Jim Chanos says:“[The
Fiscal Cliff] is not an asteroid…it is something of our own making.
This is something we did, we can undo it… No deal is better than a bad
deal. We are still the greatest country in the world…We can print money
to pay our debt and we are the world's reserve currency.”
Patriotic Millionaire and Managing Partner of InterMedia Partners Leo Hindery (NY) juxtaposes progressive and conservative views on the fiscal cliff on Bloomberg TV.Leo Hindery says:"The
fiscal cliff is highly nuanced, trading back and forth, my philosophy
verses yours...There is what is called cutters and growers. In the
past, the progressives, of which I am one, have been too much about the
spending side, spending for growth. And the cutters, the
conservatives, have been too much weighed towards just slashing for
slashing's sake. It’s going to take a confluence. There
are three or four great things you could do that wouldn’t add to the
deficit that would create jobs. [For example the] infrastructure bank,
the manufacturing renaissance, some tax reform that would incite that
manufacturing renaissance..."
Top Wonk and Former Chief Economist of the IMF Simon Johnson(MA) tackles historic and contemporary deficit crises in his recent book White House Burning and briefs PBS on the fiscal cliff. Simon Johnson says:“Watch
out for the coming hysteria on the so-called 'fiscal cliff.' In the
post-election commentary, you will hear numerous voices – definitely on
the right but also on the left – arguing that we could not possibly
increase taxes this year or next, as this will push our economy back
into recession. Do not believe them – this is just the latest
disinformation put out by people who agree with Grover Norquist that the
real goal of politics should always and everywhere be to reduce taxes
and shrink the size of government. It is exactly such policies that
have brought us to our current economic predicament.”
Patriotic Millionaire and Angel Investor Ron Garret (CA) explains the intersection between higher taxation and growth on Fox Business' After The Bell.Ron Garret says:“There
is this myth that raising taxes on rich people is a jobs killer. It is
simply not true. If you go and look at the historical data, the
periods where the United States has been at its most prosperous, has
almost exactly coincided with periods when the top marginal tax rates
have been the highest.”
Top Wonk and Economic Policy Institute Economist Heidi Shierholz(DC) stresses the need to extend unemployment insurance before the start of the fiscal slope on January 1st in her extensive new report. Heidi Shierholz says:“Federally
funded extended unemployment insurance (UI) benefits are set to expire
at the end of this year. These benefits serve two very useful public
purposes. Most obviously, they provide a lifeline to the long-term
unemployed and their families during the deepest and longest economic
downturn since the 1930s. Less understood but equally crucial, the UI
benefit extensions boost spending in the economy and thereby create
jobs. We find that continuing the extensions through 2013 would generate
spending that would support 400,000 jobs. If this program is
discontinued, the economy will lose these jobs.”
ABOUT THE PATRIOTIC MILLIONAIRES
The Patriotic Millionaires
first came together two years ago during the lame duck session of
Congress to urge the President to let the Bush tax cuts expire for
people making more than $1 million per year. Since then, the Patriotic Millionaires have advocated for higher taxes on the wealthy across the country and have generated 100+ million media impressions.
Today, Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strengthconsists of more than 200 members including:
former Google employees David desJardins, David Watson and Frank
Jernigan; Founder of Ask.com Garrett Gruener, CEO of NuCompass
Mobility Services Frank Patitucci, Founder of Schottenfeld Group
Richard Schottenfeld, Managing Partner of InterMedia Partners Leo
Hindery, former AOL Executive Charlie Fink, Filmmaker Abigail Disney,
CEO of iControl Systems Tal Zlotnitsky, Partner at Berger &
Montague Daniel Berger, Angel Investor Ron Garret, Managing Partner of T2 Partners LLC Whitney Tilson, and scientist Morris Pearl, among others.
TopWonks.org
is a single source, multimedia directory of over 160 knowledgeable
policy experts committed to inellectual innovation and analytical rigor.
The Top Wonks include:BROOKSLEY BORN former Chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, JOSEPH STIGLITZ Professor at Columbia University and former Vice President and Chief Economist for the World Bank, JAMES GALBRAITH former Director of the Joint Economic Committee of the US Congress, ANNE SIMPSON Head of Corporate Governance, California Public Employee’s Retirement System (CALPERS), JEFFREY SACHS Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, NOURIEL ROUBINI Founder and Manager of Roubini Global Economics, ROBERT REICH former United States Secretary of Labor, and SIMON JOHNSON former Chief Economist of the IMF among others.
*To learn more about the Top Wonks, visit www.topwonks.org
which features full professional profiles, multiple policy areas, up to
the minute expert tweets on trending major policy issues, over 400 high
resolution videos, over 70 conference and speaking podcasts, published workers, 70 areas of expertise complete with an interactive and fluid filter page, over 800 major news outlet's op-eds and a downloadable e-book.
.
ABOUT THE AGENDA PROJECT
The Agenda Project
is a public policy organization that aims to build a
powerful, intelligent, well-connected political movement capable of
identifying and advancing rational, effective ideas in the public debate
and in so doing ensure our country’s enduring success. The Agenda
Project is responsible for Top Wonks and The Patriotic Millionaires.
