HAVING BEEN ELECTED TO the high public office of blogger, I feel it's my responsibility to the nation, from time to time, to explain to those who have only been elected to positions in the federal government exactly how to do their jobs.
So, to Obama, Pelosi, and Reid, I say:
The big issue right now is fiscal responsibility: the growing deficit and the national debt.
In spite of the fact that Republicans, historically, have never balanced the budget as well as Democrats, they are intent on making the deficit their issue, and on "solving" it through the same failed mechanism—lowering taxes for wealthy corporations and wealthy people.
This, of course, will mean raising taxes and lowering services for the middle class.
We all know by now—and so do they, in their hearts—that giving more money to people who already have way more than they can spend will not improve the economy or create jobs or increase tax revenues.
Call them on it.
Go to the American People.
Start, right now, making the case loud and clear that the entire Republican fiscal platform is exactly what it is—a policy designed to eliminate government support for the middle class and to raise middle class taxes.
And back it up with legislation.
Put together a tax reform law that does three things:
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Raises tax rates on the super-wealthy and corporations by
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taking tax rates on the wealthy back to the Reagan era, and
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taking taxes on corporations even further back—to the golden age of the fifties, when America was the most powerful nation in the world.
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Gives a sizable tax cut to the middle class—one that Republicans wouldn't dare to match, because it would be impossible without raising taxes on their real base.
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Keeps enough of the money from the increases on corporations and the wealthy in the budget to help reduce the deficit without Draconian cuts to programs the American people like.
Keep it simple and dramatic—make it easy to understand, and don't let it get cluttered with exemptions or complex provisions—any fine-tuning can be done later.
Introduce the law in the House and the Senate—with big speechs from all three of you— demanding that Republicans not obstruct it, and explaining that this kind of tax reform will accomplish three things:
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It will bring much needed tax relief to the middle class, building on the sizeable tax cut the Obama administration already gave to the middle class in its first two years.
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It will provide a stimulus to the economy, by
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putting money in the hands of the people who will go out and spend it,
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creating demand, and
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giving investors the incentive they need to invest some of that cash they've been sitting on or moving overseas—moving it into jobs, right here in America.
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It will strengthen our democracy, and restore a healthy balance of power in our nation by:
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putting some brakes on the upward trickle of money and power from the middle class who produce the wealth to the corporations and super-wealthy who accumulate it,
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reducing the ability of corporations and the super-rich to buy elections, lobbyists, and political influence by giving the middle class resources to donate where they see fit,
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freeing the middle class from worries about their budget, so they can concentrate on building up their families, their communities, and educating themselves to vote in their own interests,
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giving the middle class the resources they need to not constantly be at the mercy of the corporations they deal with daily.
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Then push for it, and don't stop pushing for it, until you get it passed.
Next time: the rest of the strategy...
