Thursday, January 29, 2015
25% Of Public Relies On The Network Telling The Most Lies
Politifact.com has updated their information regarding how truthful the pundits featured on the cable news networks were. Their latest figures are for the month of September of 2014. They examined the claims made by each networks pundits, and rated them as true, mostly true, half true, mostly false, false, and pants on fire (outrageously false). Their results are shown in the chart above.
It seems that nothing much has changed. Fox News is still the network featuring the pundits that tell the truth the least and tell falsehoods the most. CNN is the most reliable network when it comes to telling the truth and telling the fewest falsehoods -- and MSNBC falls between Fox and CNN. This explains why Fox viewers are the least informed viewers on the facts (as has been shown by several studies).
That would be bad enough, but a survey done last April by the Public Religion Research Institute of 1,538 adults in the U.S. shows an even more troubling fact. That survey shows that a shocking 25% of all Americans trust Fox News to give them accurate facts (the highest percentage of any news organization).
That's right. Fully one-quarter of the population trusts the network that lies the most to give them accurate information (see chart below).
Green Party Says DOJ Is Complicit In Police-Murder Coverup
It now looks like the Department of Justice is not going to take any action in the police murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. I'm not really surprised, but I am very disappointed. This basically gives racist policemen (and there are many in this country) the green light to murder minorities with impunity.
Here is the Green Party's response to this discouraging development, written by Green Party Shadow Cabinet member Marsha Coleman Adebayo on January 23rd:
With the New York Times' reporting that the Department of Justice has decided not to bring charges against former Ferguson, Missouri police officer, Darren Wilson and asserting that now DOJ is only working on the language of the decision, the Obama administration has become complicit in the murder of Michael Brown.
"We have waged a good fight since August 9th," said Hands Up Coalition Coordinator, Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo. "It was our Coalition staying here week in and week out, good weather and bad, with numbers growing every week that made them move so quickly. Still, at least we won't have to wait for over 2 yearslike Travon Martin's family continues to wait for findings in the investigation into Travon's killing by George Zimmerman in 2013. We smoked them out. Sadly, the DOJ decided in favor of killer cops. The families of John Crawford, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner and all the other victims around the country can let go of any illusions that DOJ is in their corner."
"Hiding behind feeble argument that the government needs to show that Darren Wilson intentionally denied Michael Brown his civil rights is chicken shit," said Kevin Berends, Director of Communications, No FEAR Coalition. "They didn't even have to go there. The Fourth Amendment guarantees that citizens need not be afraid of the government using excessive force. Michael Brown was unarmed. He had already been hit by a volley of shots before Darren Wilson unleashed the final burst. Just how dangerous did Wilson think Mike was after taking upwards of 5 rounds before Wilson fired the final head shots?"
The Times did not even mention the gross misuse of the Grand Jury system by St. Louis District Attorney Robert McCullough. "The DA had a conflict of interest. He stacked the jury, he manipulated witnessesin some cases with people he knew to be lying. He allowed no adversarial cross examination and then presented the findings as though they were arrived at justly," said Dr. Coleman-Adebayo. "And he stalled for three full months while decent people were getting beaten, shot, pepper sprayed, sound bombed and teargassedwhen he could have accomplished all he had to do in a single day's work by acknowledging that 16 people said Michael Brown's hands were up when he was murdered. It was not up to Bob McCullough to decide guilt or innocence in this case. It was up to him to let a jury decide. But that would have included Michael Brown's peers and McCullough couldn't risk exposing one of his goons to a fair trial."
DOJ could have intervened for any one of those egregious acts, but did not. "The Obama administration has innocent American blood on its hands. The entire process is gangrenous. Despite their promises to Michael Brown's family, the Ferguson community and the country, neither the president nor the attorney general have the moral courage to do what is right," said Eugene Puryear of #DC Ferguson and ANSWER Coalition National Organizer.
The Hands Up Coalition DC will now take the fight to Congress. Holder had his chance to move the wheel of history toward justice, but was too timid, too polite, too weak. And the president was too intent on expressing his "Je Suis Charlie" to care about his own citizens dead and dying in the streets. What ever happened to "I am a man?" The president has to get Mr. Holder's replacement through confirmation hearings. That will be the next battleground.
The members of that committee are going to get an earful from their constituents on these issues. Not one more rubber stamp Attorney General running DOJ. They have much explaining to do about police brutality domestically and torture internationally. If Mr. Obama wants another AG, he's going to have to promise to bring justice to the murderer of Michael Brown and all other murdered Africans and Americans. And he will have to bring justice to those who injured the very soul and fiber of America with systematic torture domestically and abroad.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Rick Perry Is Right About Unemployment Numbers (& Wrong)
While he was there, he made a statement about the official unemployment numbers published each month by the Labor Department -- a statement that has been castigated by both Democrats and by political pundits.
Here is what Perry actually said at a breakfast meeting of the right-wingers:
"We've got the lowest participation rate since the late 1970s when Jimmy Carter was president. I'm talking about participation in the work force. That's of really great concern for me. I mean, who is it standing up for these people that I call the uncounted? They've lost hope that they can even get a job, so they're not even counted. When you look at the unemployment rate today, that's not the true unemployment rate, it's been massaged, it's been doctored."
I don't like Rick Perry very much. I am convinced that he was probably the worst governor the state of Texas has ever had -- much worse than George W. Bush. Perry was (and is) a right-wing opportunist, who did what he thought was good for his own career -- totally disregarding what was best for the citizens of Texas. And I think he would make a terrible president. That's why it pains me to say the following.
Rick Perry was right. The official unemployment rate is not the true unemployment rate, and the numbers have been "massaged" or "doctored" to make the unemployment rate look better to the public. The Labor Department leaves out millions of unemployed people from the official count each month because they have not looked for work in the last four weeks. They evidently assume these people no longer want a job, but the truth is that most of them would love to have a job if they just knew where to find one. They have just been turned down so often that they have given up hope.
The Labor Department calls these people "marginally attached" to the labor force, and no longer counts them as being unemployed. Last month the Labor Department estimated that there are around 2,260,000 of these "marginally attached" workers -- and that is undoubtably an undercount. And refusing to count these people as unemployed is definitely a "doctoring" of the unemployment statistics to make the government look better.
But Perry is also wrong. He inferred that this "doctoring" of the statistics is something done only by the Obama administration -- and something that no Republican president would do. And that inference is nothing less than an outrageous lie!
At least our last six presidential administrations have figured the unemployment statistics in exactly the same way (including the administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush). They have all figured the official unemployment rate by excluding the "marginally attached" from those counted as unemployed, and they have all done it for the same reason -- to make their administration look better on unemployment than it actually was.
President Obama is doing nothing that other presidents didn't also do, and Perry's inference that Obama is doing something different is just not true -- and it makes Perry look like a lying opportunistic creep (which he is).
(NOTE -- The caricature of Rick Perry above is by DonkeyHotey.)
(NOTE -- The caricature of Rick Perry above is by DonkeyHotey.)
Hillary Clinton Still Has The Nomination If She Wants It
Last week, the folks over at Rasmussen looked at the candidates running for the Republican presidential nomination. This week, the Rasmussen Poll did the same for the Democrats. Their poll was done on January 18th and 19th of a random national sample of 648 likely Democratic voters, and the survey has a margin of error of 4 points.
Like other surveys, this poll shows Hillary Clinton is the prohibitive favorite among Democrats, with 59% of Democrats saying they want her as the nominee. That's 47 points higher that second place finisher Elizabeth Warren (who had 12%). No other candidate finished in double digits.
There are still some of my brothers and sisters on the left who are trying to get Warren to run in the primaries -- even though she has repeatedly said she will not run (and has said she supports Clinton). But as this poll shows, even if Warren was to run, and got the votes of those supporting all other candidates (and the undecideds), she would still have only 41% support -- 18 points below Hillary Clinton.
The only way she could even come close to Clinton is to savagely attack her in the primaries to take some of her supporters away -- something I don't think Warren would be willing to do, even if she could be convinced to run (which I don't believe will happen). And all that would do is weaken the Democratic nominee for the general election, and make it possible for an extremist Republican to have a chance of winning the White House.
In fact, Rasmussen looked at what would happen if only Clinton and Warren were running for the Democratic nomination (see the chart below). Warren's percentage would rise (22%), but so would Clinton's (62%) -- which means if Warren got every single undecided vote, she would still wind up 28 points behind Clinton.
I urge my progressive sisters and brothers to give up this quixotic quest to draft Elizabeth Warren. Take her at her word that she doesn't want to run, and has no intention to do so. Hillary Clinton is our best chance to keep a right-wing extremist out of the White House -- and that is extremely important for the future of this country and its citizens. And Hillary is a liberal -- much more liberal than her husband. Give her a chance -- and once she is elected, we can join together and put pressure on her to uphold progressive values and put progressive policies in place.
Palin Tops Herself With Her Newest "Word Salad"
Sarah Palin is once again making noises like she wants to run for the Republican nomination for president, and to further that ambition, she spoke to the right-wing Iowa Freedom Summit in Des Moines last Saturday. But Palin, who is famous for her "word salads", topped even her previous efforts and left everyone confused as to just what the hell she was talking about.
I don't know if she was drunk, high, or just incredibly stupid, but I hope she does get in the race for the GOP nomination. Her inclusion in the Republican field of candidates would taint the whole group, and help expose them for the buffoons they really are. Here is an excerpt from her Iowa speech:
"Things must change for our government. Look at it. It isn’t too big to fail. It’s too big to succeed! It's too big to succeed, so we can afford no retreads or nothing will change with the same people and same policies that got us into the status quo. Another Latin word, status quo, and it stands for, ‘Man, the middle-class everyday Americans are really gettin’ taken for a ride.’ That's status quo, and GOP leaders, by the way, y'know the man can only ride ya when your back is bent. So strengthen it. Then the man can't ride ya, America won't be taken for a ride, because so much is at stake and we can't afford politicians playing games like nothing more is at stake than, oh, maybe just the next standing of theirs in the next election."
Bernie Says The U.S. Has Seven Deficits To Overcome
The Republicans like to talk about the budget deficit, so they can continue cutting programs that help hurting Americans keep their heads above water. Those Republicans aren't really serious about budget-cutting though, because they turn around and spend every dollar they take from hurting Americans to give the rich more tax breaks or to pad the bank accounts of the corporations in the military-industrial complex.
But the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), is serious about deficits. And in his recently released report on what he thinks the next budget must accomplish, he lists seven deficits that must be addressed. Here is how he describes those seven deficits:
1.The Jobs Deficit. While the economy is doing much better than six years ago, unemployment
remains much too high. Real unemployment is not the widely-reported 5.6 percent. Counting
those who are underemployed and those who have given up looking for work, real
unemployment is 11.2 percent. Even more disturbingly, youth unemployment is close to 17
percent and African-American youth unemployment is over 30 percent.
Even if we were to average as many new jobs per month as we did in 2014 – the best such figure since 1999 – the labor market will not have recovered to 2007 levels until August 2017.
If we are truly serious about addressing the 40-year decline of the American middle class, we need a major federal jobs program. There are a number of approaches which can be taken, but the fastest way to create jobs is to rebuild our crumbling roads, bridges, airports, railways, and water systems and to substantially reduce the infrastructure deficit.
2. The Infrastructure Deficit. Our infrastructure is collapsing, and the American people know it. Every day, motorists across the United States drive over bridges that are in disrepair and on roads with unforgiving potholes. They take railroad and subway trains that arrive late and are overcrowded. They see airports bursting at the seams. They worry that a local levee could fail in a storm.
For many years we have underfunded the maintenance of our nation's physical infrastructure. That has to change. It is time to rebuild America. Investing $1 trillion over five years to modernize our country's physical infrastructure would create and maintain at least 13 million good-paying jobs that our economy desperately needs. We need to get this done.
For most of our history, the United States proudly led the world in building innovative infrastructure – from a network of canals, to the transcontinental railroad, to the interstate highway system. We launched an ambitious rural electrification program, massive flood control projects, and more.
Even if we were to average as many new jobs per month as we did in 2014 – the best such figure since 1999 – the labor market will not have recovered to 2007 levels until August 2017.
If we are truly serious about addressing the 40-year decline of the American middle class, we need a major federal jobs program. There are a number of approaches which can be taken, but the fastest way to create jobs is to rebuild our crumbling roads, bridges, airports, railways, and water systems and to substantially reduce the infrastructure deficit.
2. The Infrastructure Deficit. Our infrastructure is collapsing, and the American people know it. Every day, motorists across the United States drive over bridges that are in disrepair and on roads with unforgiving potholes. They take railroad and subway trains that arrive late and are overcrowded. They see airports bursting at the seams. They worry that a local levee could fail in a storm.
For many years we have underfunded the maintenance of our nation's physical infrastructure. That has to change. It is time to rebuild America. Investing $1 trillion over five years to modernize our country's physical infrastructure would create and maintain at least 13 million good-paying jobs that our economy desperately needs. We need to get this done.
For most of our history, the United States proudly led the world in building innovative infrastructure – from a network of canals, to the transcontinental railroad, to the interstate highway system. We launched an ambitious rural electrification program, massive flood control projects, and more.
These innovations grew our economy, gave our businesses a competitive advantage, provided
our workers a decent standard of living, and were the envy of the world. Sadly, that is no longer
the case. The World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report for 2015 ranks our
country’s overall infrastructure just 12th in the world.
Almost one-third of our roads are in poor or mediocre condition, and more than 40 percent of urban highways are congested. One of nine bridges is structurally deficient, and nearly a quarter are functionally obsolete. Transit systems face major unfunded repairs, while 45 percent of American households lack access to any transit at all.
Our nation’s rail network is largely antiquated, even though our energy-efficient railroads move more freight than ever and Amtrak’s ridership has never been higher. Our crowded airports still rely on 1960s radar technology.
More than 4,000 of our dams are “deficient” and nearly nine percent of our levees are likely to fail during a major flood. Many drinking water systems are nearing the end of their useful lives, and wastewater treatment plants often fail during heavy rains. We rank 16th in the world in terms of broadband Internet access, which has serious implications for commerce, education, telemedicine, and public safety. We even underfund the parks that preserve our nation's heritage and natural wonders for future generations.
The United States now spends just 2.4 percent of GDP on infrastructure, less than at any point in the last 20 years. Europe spends twice that amount, and China spends close to four times our rate. We are falling further and further behind, and the longer we wait, the more it will cost us later.
To get our infrastructure to a state of good repair by 2020, the American Society of Civil Engineers says we must invest $1.6 trillion more than what we now spend. Deteriorating infrastructure does not magically get better by ignoring it. It is time to rebuild America.
3. The Income Deficit. Millions of workers are working longer hours for lower wages. Since 1999, median family income has gone down by nearly $5,000, after adjusting for inflation. In fact, Americans in their prime working years, ages 25 through 50, are making less today than they did in the 1960s.
Most of the jobs that are being created today pay less than most of the jobs that were lost during the financial crisis. While those with limited educational attainment have faced the most serious loss in pay – real median earnings for male high school graduates plummeted by almost 50 percent from 1969 through 2009 – workers in every category of educational attainment have seen their real wages decrease since the recession.
There are two major policies that can be immediately taken to increase the income of American workers. First, we must raise the minimum wage to a livable wage. In the year 2015, no one in America who works full time should be living in poverty.
Raising the minimum wage wouldn’t just be good for low-wage workers and their families. It is good for our economy and for our budget. Raising the minimum wage to at least $10.10 would reduce government spending on Medicaid, public housing, nutrition assistance and other income-
Almost one-third of our roads are in poor or mediocre condition, and more than 40 percent of urban highways are congested. One of nine bridges is structurally deficient, and nearly a quarter are functionally obsolete. Transit systems face major unfunded repairs, while 45 percent of American households lack access to any transit at all.
Our nation’s rail network is largely antiquated, even though our energy-efficient railroads move more freight than ever and Amtrak’s ridership has never been higher. Our crowded airports still rely on 1960s radar technology.
More than 4,000 of our dams are “deficient” and nearly nine percent of our levees are likely to fail during a major flood. Many drinking water systems are nearing the end of their useful lives, and wastewater treatment plants often fail during heavy rains. We rank 16th in the world in terms of broadband Internet access, which has serious implications for commerce, education, telemedicine, and public safety. We even underfund the parks that preserve our nation's heritage and natural wonders for future generations.
The United States now spends just 2.4 percent of GDP on infrastructure, less than at any point in the last 20 years. Europe spends twice that amount, and China spends close to four times our rate. We are falling further and further behind, and the longer we wait, the more it will cost us later.
To get our infrastructure to a state of good repair by 2020, the American Society of Civil Engineers says we must invest $1.6 trillion more than what we now spend. Deteriorating infrastructure does not magically get better by ignoring it. It is time to rebuild America.
3. The Income Deficit. Millions of workers are working longer hours for lower wages. Since 1999, median family income has gone down by nearly $5,000, after adjusting for inflation. In fact, Americans in their prime working years, ages 25 through 50, are making less today than they did in the 1960s.
Most of the jobs that are being created today pay less than most of the jobs that were lost during the financial crisis. While those with limited educational attainment have faced the most serious loss in pay – real median earnings for male high school graduates plummeted by almost 50 percent from 1969 through 2009 – workers in every category of educational attainment have seen their real wages decrease since the recession.
There are two major policies that can be immediately taken to increase the income of American workers. First, we must raise the minimum wage to a livable wage. In the year 2015, no one in America who works full time should be living in poverty.
Raising the minimum wage wouldn’t just be good for low-wage workers and their families. It is good for our economy and for our budget. Raising the minimum wage to at least $10.10 would reduce government spending on Medicaid, public housing, nutrition assistance and other income-
support programs by more than $7 billion a year. The taxpayers of this country should not have
to subsidize the low wages that some of the largest employers in this country pay.
Second, we have got to expand overtime protections for millions of workers. Overtime protections are vital to helping middle class workers and our economy. Too many Americans are working longer and harder without anything in their paychecks to show for their efforts. These long hours are straining middle class workers and their families.
Since the 1960s, median earnings for individuals in their prime working years have dropped even while salaried workers have increased the hours they spend on the job. Strengthening overtime protections will help millions of middle class families.
Current regulations fail to protect the majority of the workforce. Today, the salary threshold that determines who is automatically eligible for overtime coverage is so low that earning as little as $455 a week ($23,660 a year) could result in being exempted from overtime pay. Only 11 percent of salaried workers earn less than the current overtime threshold, a drastic departure from the past when most workers earned overtime pay.
In 1975, 65 percent of American salaried workers were under the income threshold.
Raising the income threshold to at least $56,680 a year for overtime will make approximately 24 million salaried workers eligible for overtime pay. These are middle-class workers who have been working longer hours but without additional compensation. More money in the hands of working people would mean that those workers could then go out and make purchases that would help create more jobs.
4. The Equality Deficit. The skyrocketing increase in income and wealth inequality is the great moral, economic, and political issue of our time. It must to be addressed by the Budget Committee.
The United States is the richest country on the face of the earth. Yet, there are almost as many Americans living in poverty today than at any time in our nation’s history, the middle class is disappearing and we have the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any major country in the world.
Today, the top 0.1 percent own almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent, and one family owns more wealth than the bottom 40 percent of Americans. Since the Wall Street crash of 2008, 95 percent of all new income has gone to the top one percent.
Today, the richest 400 Americans own more than $2.3 trillion in wealth, more than the bottom 150 million Americans combined. Over the past decade, the net worth of the top 400 billionaires in this country has doubled – increasing by an astronomical $1 trillion. Meanwhile, nearly half of Americans have less than $10,000 in savings and have no idea how they will ever be able to retire with dignity.
Second, we have got to expand overtime protections for millions of workers. Overtime protections are vital to helping middle class workers and our economy. Too many Americans are working longer and harder without anything in their paychecks to show for their efforts. These long hours are straining middle class workers and their families.
Since the 1960s, median earnings for individuals in their prime working years have dropped even while salaried workers have increased the hours they spend on the job. Strengthening overtime protections will help millions of middle class families.
Current regulations fail to protect the majority of the workforce. Today, the salary threshold that determines who is automatically eligible for overtime coverage is so low that earning as little as $455 a week ($23,660 a year) could result in being exempted from overtime pay. Only 11 percent of salaried workers earn less than the current overtime threshold, a drastic departure from the past when most workers earned overtime pay.
In 1975, 65 percent of American salaried workers were under the income threshold.
Raising the income threshold to at least $56,680 a year for overtime will make approximately 24 million salaried workers eligible for overtime pay. These are middle-class workers who have been working longer hours but without additional compensation. More money in the hands of working people would mean that those workers could then go out and make purchases that would help create more jobs.
4. The Equality Deficit. The skyrocketing increase in income and wealth inequality is the great moral, economic, and political issue of our time. It must to be addressed by the Budget Committee.
The United States is the richest country on the face of the earth. Yet, there are almost as many Americans living in poverty today than at any time in our nation’s history, the middle class is disappearing and we have the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any major country in the world.
Today, the top 0.1 percent own almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent, and one family owns more wealth than the bottom 40 percent of Americans. Since the Wall Street crash of 2008, 95 percent of all new income has gone to the top one percent.
Today, the richest 400 Americans own more than $2.3 trillion in wealth, more than the bottom 150 million Americans combined. Over the past decade, the net worth of the top 400 billionaires in this country has doubled – increasing by an astronomical $1 trillion. Meanwhile, nearly half of Americans have less than $10,000 in savings and have no idea how they will ever be able to retire with dignity.
The Wall Street Journal reported on January 7, 2015 that more than three out of five Americans
don’t have enough savings to cover a $500 emergency expense. In other words, one unforeseen
car accident, one trip to the emergency room, one lost job could throw their lives into economic
turmoil.
While the rapid rise in income and wealth inequality is morally repugnant, it also is causing tremendous damage to the economy. About 70 percent of the economy is dependent on Americans buying goods and services. Since 1999, however, the typical middle-class family has seen its income go down by nearly $5,000 after adjusting for inflation. That’s $5,000 less to spend in restaurants, grocery stores, clothing shops, theatres, pharmacies and other businesses each and every year. When the middle class has less money to spend, businesses hire fewer workers, cut wages, eliminate pensions, and ship more jobs overseas.
While the middle class is collapsing and poverty is increasing, the wealthiest people in this country are doing phenomenally well. In 2013, the top 25 hedge fund managers made more than $24 billion, enough to pay the salaries of more than 425,000 public school teachers. We have got to reverse this trend and expand the middle class.
Among other things, it is time to make sure that the wealthiest Americans and most profitable corporations pay their fair share in taxes. Each and every year, millionaires, billionaires and profitable corporations are avoiding $100 billion in taxes by stashing their cash in the Cayman Islands and other offshore tax havens. Some of the largest, most profitable corporations in this country are not paying any federal income taxes. We cannot allow that to continue. Further, because of tax loopholes, multi-millionaires on Wall Street often pay a lower effective tax rate than teachers or police officers. This is absurd.
5. The Retirement Deficit. There is a retirement crisis in America today that has got to be addressed. Today, only one out of five workers in America has a traditional defined benefit that guarantees income in retirement. Nearly half of all Americans have less than $10,000 in savings.
The percentage of senior citizens living in poverty is going up. In 2011, the official senior poverty rate was 8.7 percent. Last year, the official senior poverty rate was 9.5 percent.
In addition, according to the Census Bureau’s more comprehensive measure of poverty (which takes a closer look at the out-of-pocket medical costs of seniors), the poverty rate is even worse. According to this Supplemental Poverty Measure from the Census Bureau, the real senior poverty rate is closer to 14.6 percent. In other words, one out of seven seniors last year could not afford to meet their most basic needs.
At a time when the elderly poverty rate is going up and millions of Americans lack the necessary income to retire in dignity we must expand and strengthen Social Security. Social Security is the most successful social program in American history. It shouldn't be privatized, its benefits shouldn't be cut, and the retirement age shouldn't be raised.
While the rapid rise in income and wealth inequality is morally repugnant, it also is causing tremendous damage to the economy. About 70 percent of the economy is dependent on Americans buying goods and services. Since 1999, however, the typical middle-class family has seen its income go down by nearly $5,000 after adjusting for inflation. That’s $5,000 less to spend in restaurants, grocery stores, clothing shops, theatres, pharmacies and other businesses each and every year. When the middle class has less money to spend, businesses hire fewer workers, cut wages, eliminate pensions, and ship more jobs overseas.
While the middle class is collapsing and poverty is increasing, the wealthiest people in this country are doing phenomenally well. In 2013, the top 25 hedge fund managers made more than $24 billion, enough to pay the salaries of more than 425,000 public school teachers. We have got to reverse this trend and expand the middle class.
Among other things, it is time to make sure that the wealthiest Americans and most profitable corporations pay their fair share in taxes. Each and every year, millionaires, billionaires and profitable corporations are avoiding $100 billion in taxes by stashing their cash in the Cayman Islands and other offshore tax havens. Some of the largest, most profitable corporations in this country are not paying any federal income taxes. We cannot allow that to continue. Further, because of tax loopholes, multi-millionaires on Wall Street often pay a lower effective tax rate than teachers or police officers. This is absurd.
5. The Retirement Deficit. There is a retirement crisis in America today that has got to be addressed. Today, only one out of five workers in America has a traditional defined benefit that guarantees income in retirement. Nearly half of all Americans have less than $10,000 in savings.
The percentage of senior citizens living in poverty is going up. In 2011, the official senior poverty rate was 8.7 percent. Last year, the official senior poverty rate was 9.5 percent.
In addition, according to the Census Bureau’s more comprehensive measure of poverty (which takes a closer look at the out-of-pocket medical costs of seniors), the poverty rate is even worse. According to this Supplemental Poverty Measure from the Census Bureau, the real senior poverty rate is closer to 14.6 percent. In other words, one out of seven seniors last year could not afford to meet their most basic needs.
At a time when the elderly poverty rate is going up and millions of Americans lack the necessary income to retire in dignity we must expand and strengthen Social Security. Social Security is the most successful social program in American history. It shouldn't be privatized, its benefits shouldn't be cut, and the retirement age shouldn't be raised.
Before Social Security was established 80 years ago, about half of our elderly population lived in
poverty. Social Security also provides dignified support for millions of widows, widowers,
orphans, and people with disabilities.
Since it was established, Social Security has paid every nickel it owed to every eligible American, in good times and bad. As corporations over the last 30 years destroyed the retirement dreams of millions of older workers by eliminating defined-benefit pension plans, Social Security was there paying full benefits. When Wall Street greed and recklessness caused working people to lose billions in retirement savings, Social Security was there paying full benefits. It is time to expand Social Security.
6. The Education Deficit. Today, too many Americans cannot go to college, not because they are unqualified, but because they cannot afford it. Millions of others who do graduate from college are drowning in debt. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the total amount of outstanding student loan debt in the United States has tripled in the last ten years, and has now reached $1.2 trillion.
More graduates than ever before are being forced to take out student loans, and the loans are getting larger and larger. Average student debt for a graduate of a four-year college is now roughly $33,000. This level of student debt is causing enormous financial strain on families across the United States, and is likewise undermining the ability of our economy to recover.
The situation has become so dire that the Federal Reserve and the Department of the Treasury have both issued warnings that these high levels of student loan debt are driving down consumer demand, and are having a significant, negative impact on economic growth.
We must act, not just to help today’s graduates who are suffering under high debt burdens, but for the millions of young people in this country who see a college degree as unattainable, for no reason other than the fact that their families cannot afford to pay.
7. Trade Deficit. Our trade deficit in fiscal year 2014 was $493 billion, which includes a $332 billion trade deficit with China. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cumulative trade deficit since the start of fiscal year 1995 is $8.7 trillion. That is a massive amount of wealth and demand transferred out of the United States. From less than 1.5 percent of GDP in 1996, the trade deficit had soared to 6.0 percent of GDP in 2006. Since then the trade deficit has declined, owing both to a weaker dollar and a declining demand for imports during the recession and recovery. At $493 billion in 2014 – larger than the budget deficit – the trade deficit still is a huge sum that is spent to generate demand abroad rather than here at home. In a weak labor force, a trade deficit that high represents millions of jobs lost.
Simply put, our trade policies have failed. Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China has led to the loss of more than 3.2 million American jobs. The North American Free Trade Agreement has led to the loss of nearly one million jobs. The Korea Free Trade Agreement has led to the loss of some 60,000 jobs.
Since it was established, Social Security has paid every nickel it owed to every eligible American, in good times and bad. As corporations over the last 30 years destroyed the retirement dreams of millions of older workers by eliminating defined-benefit pension plans, Social Security was there paying full benefits. When Wall Street greed and recklessness caused working people to lose billions in retirement savings, Social Security was there paying full benefits. It is time to expand Social Security.
6. The Education Deficit. Today, too many Americans cannot go to college, not because they are unqualified, but because they cannot afford it. Millions of others who do graduate from college are drowning in debt. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the total amount of outstanding student loan debt in the United States has tripled in the last ten years, and has now reached $1.2 trillion.
More graduates than ever before are being forced to take out student loans, and the loans are getting larger and larger. Average student debt for a graduate of a four-year college is now roughly $33,000. This level of student debt is causing enormous financial strain on families across the United States, and is likewise undermining the ability of our economy to recover.
The situation has become so dire that the Federal Reserve and the Department of the Treasury have both issued warnings that these high levels of student loan debt are driving down consumer demand, and are having a significant, negative impact on economic growth.
We must act, not just to help today’s graduates who are suffering under high debt burdens, but for the millions of young people in this country who see a college degree as unattainable, for no reason other than the fact that their families cannot afford to pay.
7. Trade Deficit. Our trade deficit in fiscal year 2014 was $493 billion, which includes a $332 billion trade deficit with China. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cumulative trade deficit since the start of fiscal year 1995 is $8.7 trillion. That is a massive amount of wealth and demand transferred out of the United States. From less than 1.5 percent of GDP in 1996, the trade deficit had soared to 6.0 percent of GDP in 2006. Since then the trade deficit has declined, owing both to a weaker dollar and a declining demand for imports during the recession and recovery. At $493 billion in 2014 – larger than the budget deficit – the trade deficit still is a huge sum that is spent to generate demand abroad rather than here at home. In a weak labor force, a trade deficit that high represents millions of jobs lost.
Simply put, our trade policies have failed. Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China has led to the loss of more than 3.2 million American jobs. The North American Free Trade Agreement has led to the loss of nearly one million jobs. The Korea Free Trade Agreement has led to the loss of some 60,000 jobs.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)