independentsforkerry.org

Following Tuesday’s vote by House Republicans to reject an extension of the payroll tax cut for the middle class passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in the Senate, Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester issued the following statement:

“In less than two weeks, 160 million Americans will be hit with a tax hike in the middle of the holiday season because House Republicans turned their backs on America’s working families and voted against extending a payroll tax cut for the middle class.

“Their inaction comes just days after Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Senate, including Sen. Lamar Alexander, worked together in the name of compromise to pass a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance benefits that provide a vital lifeline to millions of Americans who have lost their jobs as a result of the economic downturn.

“That bipartisan bill passed the Senate 89-10 – with the support of many conservative Republicans – and after this critical compromise, for House Republicans to say no and vote to raise taxes on 160 million hardworking Americans is simply extremism at its worst.

“It’s more and more clear that Tennessee’s Republican Congressmen are terrified of disappointing Tea Party extremists, even if the consequence is a tax increase on millions of working and middle-class families.

“This is a Republican-inflicted wound to our economic recovery.

“Republicans pay lip service to the middle class. But, when push comes to shove they will move heaven and earth to pass tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires and big corporations while raising taxes on 160 million middle class Americans.

“That’s a position for which they will pay a price with the American people.”

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TN Democratic Party News

Is Mike Gravel the challenger Ralph Nader was alluding to? Gravel says he will challenge Obama if he can raise 1 million dollars.

Despite speculation that President Barack Obama will face a primary challenge from disaffected liberals in 2012, no candidate has emerged. That may be about to change.

“Somebody should challenge Obama, there’s no question about it. He is what he is, and it’s not what we want,” former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel said in an interview with The Daily Caller. “I’d be happy to do it, but it takes money. Without enough money to be heard, you come off as somewhat foolish.”

Gravel said he will challenge Obama if there is sufficient financial backing.

“If [supporters] would put up million, I probably would run. And that would at least fund enough activity to get a message out,” Gravel said.

Read more…

Independent Political Report

Thom Hartmann points out what you’re not hearing in the media about the S&P downgrade:

Have you seen, anywhere, in any media, or even heard reported or repeated on NPR, the following sentence? “We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the act.”

It’s right there on Page 4 of the official Standard & Poors “Research Update” – the actual report on what they did and why – published on August 5th as the explanation for why they believe Congress – and even the Gang of Twelve – will be unable to actually deal with the US debt crisis.

Perhaps it’s just lazy – the bullet points at the beginning of the report don’t mention the Republicans or taxes, but instead just say, for example (part of one of six quick bullet-points): “[T]he downgrade reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenges…”

In order to figure out that one of the reasons why is that “Republicans in the Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues,” a hard-working reporter would have to read to page four of the eight-page report. It’s just too much effort for most reporters?

Although they do also mention this in the very first sentence of the report: “We lowered our long-term rating on the U.S. because we believe that the prolonged controversy over raising the statutory debt ceiling and the related fiscal policy debate indicate that further near-term progress containing the growth in public spending, especially on entitlements, or on reaching an agreement on raising revenues is less likely than we previously assumed and will remain a contentious and fitful process.” (Italics mine)

Or could it be that many reporters – and virtually all of the television talking heads – are themselves relatively high income-earners who don’t relish the idea of higher taxes?

Or could it be that reporters are afraid that if they report the actual language of the S&P Research Report, then Republicans will punish them by denying them “access” – i.e. refusing to show up on their programs – which is the career and show kiss-of-death for radio and TV programs that rely on big-name politicians to work?

Democratic Blog – News

Taxes haven’t been this low since 1958.
Reagan raised taxes in a recession, that’s how he got out of it.
The middle class have seen wages lowered for ten years, even more this month. The rich are wealthier than they have ever been.
Most commodity traders don’t pay taxes because of a loop hole among thousands of loopholes for the wealthy. If Bush’s tax policy created jobs, where are they?
Raise taxes now!

Raise taxes now — the elders of the economy say so

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — First it was Greenspan. Now one by one, other elders of the economy are speaking out against deficits, and they’re making the surprising argument for higher taxes.

Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan was first and has taken the most extreme position, arguing that all of the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 should be allowed to expire.

Greenspan, no fan of big government and an initial backer of the Bush tax cuts, allows that higher taxes now could lead to slower economic growth, but has said that chipping away at the deficit is more important.

Joining him — at varying degrees — are David Stockman, former budget director in the Reagan White House, and former Treasury Secretaries Robert Rubin and Paul O’Neill.

The White House and most Democrats have argued for keeping the tax cuts in place for most households, but letting them expire for those earning more than 0,000, about 2% of the country.

Extending the tax cuts for everyone would cost the government .7 trillion over 10 years. Taxing the high-earners would get back about 0 billion of that.

David Stockman joins Greenspan at the far end, saying the nation can’t afford to extend the tax cuts now. “You have to pay your bills. I say we can’t afford the Bush tax cuts,” Stockman told NPR this weekend.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/09/news/economy/elders_economy/index.htm

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The Democratic Republican: Politically Social

by R. Lee Wrights

BURNET, Texas (June 26) – There are several times in my life, more than I care to remember, that I have gone into debt. Who hasn’t? Sometimes I just made bad decisions. But every time I went into debt I alone was responsible for getting myself out of the hole. If you find yourself in a hole that is already too deep and you want to get out, the first thing any sane person does is stop digging. If you’re deep in debt, the first thing to do is — stop spending. That’s what responsible people do.

Apparently however, when someone is elected to office they forget or disregard this simple fact of life. They don’t remember what it’s like to live within their means and to balance a budget. They forget that the simplest, surest and only real way to get out of debt is to stop spending. The spectacle of the Republican and Democratic leaders in Washington D.C. purportedly struggling over the seemingly monumental issue of raising the debt ceiling illustrates just how far out of touch the president and Congressional leaders are with the basic economic realities faced by average Americans every day.

Even the name they use to identify the issue, “debt ceiling,” is an example of the way politicians manipulate words to mask reality. The debt ceiling is merely an artificial cap set by Congress on the amount of money the federal government can legally borrow. It was first set in 1917, but has been raised more than 100 times since then, proving that it’s really not a ceiling at all, not even a glass ceiling, but actually as “high as the sky.”

Amazingly, for nearly a century and a half, the United States survived and thrived without a debt ceiling. The federal government lived within its means; Congress had to approve every instance of government debt case-by-case. If the president wanted to spend more money than the federal government collected in taxes, he had to ask Congress for permission. In other words, the government operated just like any business or family.

Sadly, the same politicians who have bankrupted our county are morally and intellectually bankrupt as well. Not only do they lack the courage needed to repair the damage they’ve inflicted on our nation, both parties act like spoiled children each blaming the other for breaking open the cookie jar. In typical fashion, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has attempted to frighten the American people by telling Congress that raising the debt ceiling was essential “to protect the full faith and credit of the United States and avoid catastrophic economic consequences for citizens.”

The truth is we are heading into economic catastrophe anyway precisely because of the irresponsible actions and spending addiction of both Democrats and Republicans, and their unwillingness to address the real problem — unlimited, unrealistic and unsustainable spending for defense and entitlements. Trying to cure our economic ails by raising the debt ceiling is like trying to deal with an opiate addiction by prescribing more morphine. Borrowing more money will only make the problem worse. Remember, when you’re already too deep in a hole, stop digging!

The United States does not have to raise our debt ceiling. We simply must stop spending money. The truth is we cannot even begin to reduce our debt by slowing spending, lowering spending or even cutting spending. Nor can we “nickel-and-dime” our way out of the problem. We must stop the spending.

It’s easy and popular to go after programs like earmarks, subsidies, tax credits and foreign aid, but these are only a small part of the federal budget. We must stop spending on items that make up 60 to 75 percent of the federal budget — defense and entitlements. Until we elect leaders with the courage to address spending in these areas we’ll never be able to get the debt under control, let alone reduce it. One thing is certain, both for individuals and for our nation, we will never solve our debt problem by going even deeper into debt.

R. Lee Wrights, 53, a libertarian writer and political activist, is seeking the presidential nomination because he believes the Libertarian message in 2012 must be a loud, clear and unequivocal call to stop all war. To that end he has pledged that 10 percent of all donations to his campaign will be spent for ballot access so that the stop all war message can be heard in all 50 states. Wrights is a lifetime member of the Libertarian Party and co-founder and editor of of the free speech online magazine Liberty For All. Born in Winston-Salem, N.C., he now lives and works in Texas.

Lee Wrights for President
Contact: Brian Irving, press secretary
press@wrights2012.com
919.538.4548

Independent Political Report

Yes, you heard that right. The Greens will be playing in a softball game against supporters of the Libertarian Party. The event will be taking place, more specifically, in the San Fernando Valley.
…to raise awareness of…. OUR TWO PARTY DICTATORSHIP! We don’t need politicians this day, we need ball players! If you can run catch, [...]
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