“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”, so begins the epic tale, and so begins our exploration into economic chicanery and conservative policy.
We live in a nation that allows children and the elderly to go homeless and hungry while people who play with balls make millions. Our Veteran’s have to beg for care, while CEO’s deduct outrageous salaries and $500 lunches. We have a minimum wage under $10 per hour, but executives can make more than $100,000 per day, be subsidized and, according to conservatives, be “entitled” to our tax dollars. Republican’s will fight to defend those corporate “persons” and their entitlements, but not children, the elderly, or our Veteran’s.
What is going on? And more importantly, why do you feel so helpless, and hopeless, about changing it? We can change everything. It honestly isn’t that hard. We actually have ALL the power, as we proved in November. All the millions the Koch’s and others threw into our election, it didn’t mean a thing. We won. We reelected our President. And now we have an opportunity for real change. What are you waiting for?
A sign? A prophet? A messiah? Really? Do you want to know what I am waiting for? I am waiting for you. Because you are the one person I need most to help get this done.
What can we do? What can you do? Be engaged. We need to insist on real and meaningful tax reform. We have to stop the stupidity that any additional taxes will stop corporations from creating jobs. Corporations don’t create jobs. Demand creates jobs. Republican’s like to think that their supply-side, trickle-down economics creates jobs. It doesn’t. It has never created a single job. And how do I know that? I have 8 years of empirical data. Or as Republican’s call it, the Bush Administration.
They gave HUGE tax cuts to corporations. And Cheney even engineered the largest land and money scam by exempting his company from basic safety regulation. They managed the largest redistribution of wealth we have ever seen, giving millions to billionaires and billions to industries that make trillions. And the American public? They were too busy watching football or basketball to notice.
While you were perusing million-dollar commercials, the conservative machine was writing legislation to invade my uterus and torpedo economic reform. You see, they can’t allow our President to be successful; that would expose their dirty little secret. The Koch funded ALEC scripted NRA protected corporate persons who actually run the Republican Party aren’t going to “create jobs”, they are too busy bilking you for every dollar you have. Sure, watch the “game”, go shopping, ignore the facts, don’t worry about climate change and global warming, just watch the commercials which will explain to you why science is wrong and you should have another beer.
Can you imagine what would happen if millions of people called their legislators? What would our nation be like if instead of “Friday Night Lights” we “Enlightened Friday Nights”? Wow, imagine that!
And honestly, it isn’t as hard as you think. All it takes is a little effort. Go to a meeting. Make a phone call. Send a fax or email. How hard is that?
We have to realize, to remember, that WE are the government. That we have the power. And here is where we start, the 3 e’s. Education. Environment. Equality.
This is our country, it does not belong to “corporate” persons, it belongs to us. Taxes aren’t bad, they don’t hurt the economy. That is a fiction you have been sold by people who don’t want to pay taxes. You have been convinced you are powerless, that you should just shop and watch TV, well, I’m here to tell you, you aren’t, and you don’t have to.
We can change everything. Just by showing up. By speaking out. By how you spend your money. It really isn’t that hard.
And here is another myth: CEO’s, sports figures and movie stars deserve to be paid millions but you don’t. That is just crap. You have been manipulated, lied to and bamboozled into supporting this redistribution of wealth, and it is time to end it. Here is how, we return to a sane and reasonable corporate tax policy, one that does not reward and legalize embezzlement.
Instead of subsidizing corporate greed, let’s make it tax detrimental. I mean, ‘tis the season. Tax season that is. So, here we go, what happens if we limit the deduction for corporate executive salary to the Social Security wage base? How about instead of allowing executives to fly to New Orleans on a tax-deductible corporate jet to their tax deductible corporate sky-box in the tax subsidized sport stadium while eating and drinking their entitled tax-deductible hot wings and beer, we limit that? I mean, Republican’s are totally into limiting other stuff, like our access to health care and affordable education, why not to tax entitlements for millionaires?
Did you know the sale of multi-million dollar houses is way up? I’m guessing it has increased about the same amount as say, child poverty and homelessness. So today, while you watch those multi-millionaires throw a ball around and see the other multi-millionaires enjoying the game at your expense, just remember, this tax deductible extravaganza was brought to you by the authors of “A Tale of Two Economies” and funded by their corporate sponsors. So if you are in debt, don’t have health insurance, can’t afford to send your child to college, or wonder how you are going to retire, well, just ask a Republican, maybe today will be the day they can explain how giving millions to billionaires and billions to trillion-dollar industries but wanting you to work until you are 70 is in your best interest.
Enjoy the game. You can bet the millionaires are.