Should the Bush-era tax cuts for the top 2 percent be extended? At a time when this country has (a) a $13.7 trillion national debt and
(b) the most unequal distribution of income and wealth of any major
country, I disagree with Republicans who believe that we should be
providing, over a 10-year period, $700 billion in tax breaks for the
wealthiest people in our country. For people earning more than $1
million a year, this would amount to an average tax break of about
$100,000 a year. With the top 1 percent already earning 23.5 percent of
all income in this country, which is more than the bottom 50 percent
makes, that would be morally unfair and economically unwise.
What should we do with Social Security? Many of my Republican
colleagues will be telling you that Social Security "is going bankrupt,"
that it needs to be privatized or, at the very least, that Social
Security benefits should be cut and the retirement age raised to 70. In
my view, this is wrong, wrong, wrong. The Social Security trust fund
today has a $2.6 trillion surplus, has not contributed one nickel to our
national debt, and can pay out every benefit owed to every eligible
American for the next 29 years. Social Security has been enormously
successful for the last 75 years in its goal of lowering poverty among
seniors, the disabled, widows and orphans. Our job must be to strengthen
Social Security to make sure that it is there for our kids and
grandchildren. One way to do that is to lift the cap on income that is
subject to Social Security payroll taxes (now at $106,800) as we did
with Medicare.
How do we create the jobs we need to rebuild the middle class? During the eight years of President Bush, this country lost nearly five
million manufacturing jobs, contributing to a net loss of over 600,000
private sector jobs. Median family income declined by about $2,200.
Millions of American workers were forced to work longer hours for lower
wages, while millions more were driven out of the middle class and into
poverty. The only people who did well under Bush were the very wealthy
with almost all new income going to the top 2 percent. In fact, the top
400 wealthiest families in the country saw their incomes more than
double.
Amazingly, my Republican colleagues want to go back to the exact same
policies that created this disastrous record. Despite the fact that we
have the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any major
country, they want to continue "trickle-down economics" and provide more
tax breaks for the rich. Despite the fact that millions of good paying
jobs were outsourced to China, India, Mexico and other low-wage
countries, they want to expand unfettered free trade. Despite the fact
that deregulation allowed the crooks on Wall Street to sell worthless
products and plunge our economy into the worst economic downturn since
the 1930s, many of them want to repeal the recently passed financial
reform law and allow the huge banks to continue doing anything they
want. Despite the fact that small business is our engine for job growth,
almost all Republicans voted against a recently passed bill which will
provide $30 billion in affordable loans to small businesses across the
country and provided $12 billion in small business tax relief.
Needless to say, my views are different. I will support tax policy that
benefits the struggling middle class, not the very rich. Further,
instead of providing tax breaks for millionaires, we should invest in
our crumbling infrastructure (roads, bridges, water systems, broadband,
rail and energy, etc.) so that we can create millions of new jobs as we
rebuild our country. I will continue my efforts to reform our trade
policy so that we move towards fair trade, not unfettered free trade.
American companies need to be reinvesting in the United States, not just
China and other low-wage countries. I will fight for stronger
regulation of Wall Street, not weaker. We must never again be put in the
position of having to bail out "too-big-to-fail" financial entities.
Instead of providing billions in corporate welfare to large companies,
we should increase our support for small businesses that are creating
jobs in the United States of America.
What about deficit reduction? Under President Bush the national
debt almost doubled because of the war in Iraq, tax breaks for the rich,
a Medicare Part D prescription drug bill written by the drug companies
and the Wall Street bailout. None of these initiatives were paid for. I
voted against all of them. Now, with a $13.7 trillion national debt, my
Republican colleagues suddenly have become very concerned about the
deficit. Their solution: major cuts in programs that benefit working
families - including Social Security, education, health care and the
environment. I disagree. We must move toward a balanced budget, but we
should do it in a way that is fair. It is absurd that large corporations
and wealthy individuals are avoiding about $100 billion a year in taxes
by stashing their money in tax havens in the Cayman Islands or Bermuda.
It is wrong that in 2005 one-quarter of all large corporations, earning
a trillion in revenue, paid nothing in taxes. It is laughable that last
year, while Exxon-Mobil, the most profitable corporation in history,
made $19 billion in profits, they not only paid nothing in taxes - they
got a $156 million refund from the IRS. Further, we need to take a hard
look at waste in all agencies of government - including the Defense
Department's $700 billion budget.
These are tough times for our country. Reintroducing the failed policies
of the past will be a disaster for the American middle class. We need
ideas and legislation that benefit all Americans, not just those with
wealth, power and political influence.
