You can't pay for programs, services, the infrastructure of our nation, our military, etc…. this all meaning the civilized and free nation that we are, without a form of revenue. It is not possible. The tax breaks to the very wealthy, the tax breaks to mega-corporations, the subsidizing of big oil and corporate jets, etc. is suffocating our ability to grow the economy. The Republicans will tell us that 51% of the nation doesn't pay much of any taxes, and that over 30% of the tax revenue coming in is coming from the wealthy. What does that tell us? It tells us that over 51% of our nation is not making what they should be making. That 51% percent of the nation is not making enough to pay into a system necessary for their survival because they can't. It tells us that yes, even 15% of $350M would be more than 25-30% of $50k… indeed. And yes, the wealthy do already pay more, because they make an obscene amount of money in comparison. The wealth discrepancy is astounding, and the Republicans like to use it as a talking point to not raise taxes on the wealthy because they are the "job creators" and already pay enough. Well if that were so, 51% of the nation would be paying more in taxes because they would either have a job, have a better job, or actually make a living worthy of the work they are doing. Not just the big wigs on top collecting the profits from those that they are underpaying on the bottom. As well, where does this leave the middle and working class? It leaves them picking up the slack for the remaining 70% of revenue that is coming in for essential services. If you are making more, then yes you will be paying more, that's simple math. Imagine the revenue brought into the nation if the very wealthy paid more, and the corporate tax-breaks and unneeded oil subsidies were eliminated, as well as the bottom 51% paying their fair share as well… because they can. We could lower the deficit dramatically, and perhaps even balance the budget.
If they claim to be the "job creators" then create some jobs. This does not mean create jobs overseas to cut costs, this does not mean to create jobs that won't offer proper compensation and benefits… this means create jobs of actual worth where that 51% can pay more into our system as well. Tell your corporate cronies to stop hoarding their money, or try to get the best deal overseas, and actually create jobs here in the United States that will pay a fair wage or salary. Then we will all be paying our fair share. It is called "Shared Sacrifice" because we will all share in the sacrifice of paying for our unpaid wars, essential service, etc… The answer isn't in cutting programs essential to the very existence of many of our citizens, the answer lies in the privilege of being an American. If you have the privilege of living here in the US, share in the sacrifice of keeping our nation safe, educated, clean, well-functioning, and civilized. Freedom isn't free.
These deaths don't even take into account suffering among the Afghan population, which is logistically difficult for the media to cover. However, these deaths are riling the country, as raucous protests continue to take place over the killings of civilians.
As we pass this grim new milestone, the fate of the war remains unclear. Obama's troop drawdown is expected to leave twice as many American soldiers in Afghanistan by the end of 2012 than when he started his presidency, while a large majority of Americans want the war to end.
Of course we only cared when Bush was president. Now? ...
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Republicans are still peddling their fairy tale that more tax cuts for the rich will help. Democrats probably would like to engage in some economic pump-priming, but that is not going to happen, not with the House of Representatives firmly in the hands of the fiscal arsonists who are eager to score political points by trashing the economy, with the connivance of enough like-minded Senators.
Fact of the matter is, nobody gives a shit about the unemployed any more. The Republicans never have, of course. They didn't give a shit when a third of the country was out of work in the Great Depression. To them, it was a time to try and seize control of the government. Corporations are sitting on large piles of cash, the CEOs are raking in ginormous pay increases, but they are not hiring.
The wealthy and the corporations apparently have concluded that they don't need us. Any unrest would be met with by waves of paramilitary goons*, eager to please their masters by spilling blood. But why people in this country aren't getting royally hacked off that the wealthy and the CEOs have been making out like the thieves they are is beyond my understanding.
The system is wholly unfair. Executives and banksters chain-saw the shit out of businesses to make a short-term buck and nobody cares. One of those corporate butchers, Mitt Romney, had the gall to proclaim that his vast experience with trashing and looting companies makes him fit to be President, which would be like hiring Ted Bundy to run a girls' school.
Republicans hate unions to the point that they would have shuttered a goodly potion of the American manufacturing base in order to stab the United Auto Workers. They would have thrown a million or more people out of decent jobs in order to score some cheap political points How anyone can regard the Republican party as being composed of patriots is not comprehensible. But don't kid yourself, most of the Democrats are no better.
If you're looking for optimism, go elsewhere. In the words of River Tam: "Things are going to get much worse."
Massive unemployment, widespread foreclosures, gaping income disparity, eliminated social safety net, education only for the wealthy and permanent war - this is a recipe for a feudal economy in which the vast majority of people work as indigent serfs for parasitic lords.
That's what the GOP is working to create right here at home. And thanks to spineless, Wall-Street-cocksucking dems, they are damn close to succeeding.
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