I spent a good part of the past few days in and around the state capitol here in Madison. The energy, as many diaries have suggested, is strong. But it needs to continue. Thank you to everyone in and out of Wisconsin for many words and actions of support. The Democratic Senators of WI are still across the state border (the WI form of filibuster) and appear committed to staying that way until Gov. Walker will negotiate. At this time, Gov. Walker has not returned their phone calls. What happens in and around the state capitol is of crucial importance to show our support for the Democratic Senators, as they are and will be even more so, under attack. Thank you for your support!!
Last night in the capitol rotunda a spirited group of several hundred people (who were very well fed by Ian's pizza and other food donations) kept up the energy with speeches, drumming, dancing, and sharing information. Anyone who wanted to speak was given the mic and shared something about themselves and why they were there. Many teachers, students, and state workers spoke, talking about why the right to collectively bargaining is so fundamental and can not be taken away. The 19-year old "MC" told the story of how that right was first won in Wisconsin in 1911, when workers went on strike and the demonstrators were fired upon and seven people were killed. These rights are hard fought, and hard to protect, especially now.
When it was my moment to speak I said I am a recent graduate from the University of Wisconsin, having finished my PhD there in May. I got a job and started paying my student loans back and it looks like I will for the next 20 or 30 years. I am not alone, and many others have it far worse than I do.
But I wanted to ask a simple question--WHEN will their greed end? Unless we stand up for basic rights, decency, and fairness, when will their greed end??
It won't. That is why this demonstration of resistance is so crucial. WE must put an end to it.
When I say "their" I mean the top 2% of income earners, the politicians they have essentially bought, and the allies they have conned into their lies about what is going on in the country.
I am thinking about what happened in December in the U.S. Senate. The Republicans filibustered a bill that would extend the Bush tax cuts to 99% of income earners. They filibustered that. Why? To protect the wallets of the millionaires and billionaires in this country. Now, those same Republicans are crying about the "budget deficit." They hypocrisy reaks.
The same thing basically happened in Wisconsin. Gov. Walker and the Republicans essentially gave huge tax breaks to the richest Wisconsinites and now they cry about the (non-existent) budget crisis, and demand that workers give up their right to collectively bargain. As if the right to collectively bargain and defend ourselves from abusive working conditions and be treated like sweatshop workers would balance the budget.
My father is one of these Republicans. He says he sees "both sides of the issue." He believes, along with many other Republicans, that we can't get out of a budget crisis, or grow the economy, or fix any other social problem by "soaking the rich." His assumption is that the richest Americans earned what they make, that they did it on their own, that they hire workers, and they might leave the country if their sensitive feelings are hurt by higher taxes. Taxing the rich is "redistribution," and therefore even unethical.
What???????
You know, listening to the speakers in the Capitol Rotunda in Madison I heard some very good and powerful responses to those claims.
BUT I DO NOT HEAR A STRONG ENOUGH RESPONSE TO THOSE CLAIMS ELSEWHERE.
What I want to hear, from Obama, from Democratic Representatives at the state and federal level--in their campaigns and especially once they're in office--is a powerful rebuttal to those claims. Because, as we can see from recent elections and actions, those arguments are WINNING (although the recent demonstrations are perhaps starting to change that).
But I want to hear that taxing the richest 1 and 2% of Americans is NOT REDISTRIBUTION. It is asking them to pay their FAIR SHARE. No one would be rich in this country without the publicly financed investments that have been made that created the BUSINESS CLIMATE that makes it possible to get rich.
Take infrastructure--public spending on roads, highways, ports, airports, canals, etc. Without this spending many millionaires and billionaires could not have made the money they have. And make no mistake about it--we all use these resources--but the rich use them far more than the rest of us. How many trucks does Walmart have on the roads? And do they spend a dollar more than you do for highway construction? Not enough.
How about our system of law enforcement--police officers, the court system and judges, regulations on Wall Street and elsewhere. This is publicly financed. But who benefits the most? The rich do, make no mistake about it. They use these resources to protect themselves and their interests. They have a team of lawyers that make very heavy use of the court systems, and usually win. Without regulation on Wall Street capitalism would not last a day.
What about foreign policy--the U.S. Embassies in every country, the diplomats, the military bases, and the wars being fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. Who is paying for all of this? We are. But who is getting rich from it? The executives of Exxon-Mobile, Halliburton--not you. What would be fair is probably if Halliburton wrote a check to finance the entire Iraq war. They have made billions of dollars, but then finance the campaigns of Republicans who do all in their power to avoid higher taxes on the rich.
Taxes on the rich in this country is at historically low levels--now they want to take away basic rights of the middle class--and social spending?
Even social spending on things like Badgercare in the WI and WIC and food stamps and other subsidies for the poor and working class--I would argue even that is allowing the rich to get richer. It is easiest for the rich to make this out to be redistribution. But do not underestimate the power of a populace with "buy in" to the government--the stability--that creates the business climate that makes it possible for the rich to get rich. I have been to countries without that public "buy in" of the government. It is not easy for businesses to make money in many of these countries. Subsidies to the poor make it possible for the rich to get rich. They should absolutely pay for it.
Then there is education. I brought up the fact earlier that I will be paying student loans for 20+ years. But make no mistake about it---college tuition is a regressive tax. The educated workforce in the US creates the business climate that makes it possible for corporations like google, microsoft, facebook, etc. to make their billions. They should be paying more than they do for the education system--including higher education--in this country.
And don't forget about research and development, the public money that goes into investing in new inventions. That money might be in the form of NASA or the military, or federal grants to universities. That money has produced things like the internet, cell phones, computers, medical breakthroughs, etc. that have made it possible for a select few to get rich. And the rich don't want to pay taxes? What is that about? Of course, there are also failed experiments. Investment in experiments that ultimately failed. It only makes sense that those who most directly benefited from the successful government investments on r&d should pay for those as well. Of course, they balk.
Not only are the richest Americans greedy--they are f-ing ungrateful bastards!!!!
Then there are the obvious examples--the bailouts of the auto industry, the bank bailouts, the direct subsidies to oil companies and companies that ship jobs overseas. I don't even have to say anything about that. The rich need to pay up for that. Don't tell me about budget deficits and even bring up "social security" or "medicare" in the same sentence.
The right wing has clearly gone too far. They are so greedy they do not even want to spend on the basic elements that make it possible to get rich in this country. They want to take their money and run. Burn the bridge behind them. We CANNOT let them get away with it.
I love the fact that the Democratic Senators of WI took off for the border. But I am not happy they've already made an offer to the Republicans that WI workers pay double what they pay for health insurance and their pensions. Why give up the debate without making the argument?
I want to hear these arguments, because I can tell you that my Republican dad, aside from me, has NEVER heard them before.
Taxing the rich to balance the budget is not redistribution, it is making them pay their fair share. In certain booming economies in Europe and Asia the rich pay more than 50% in income tax (and I think income tax, rather than corporate tax is the way to go--corporations merely move to states that offer greater incentives and tax breaks, individuals must pay federal taxes if they live in--and benefit from the business climate of--the United States). Given everything I said above, that sounds more than reasonable.