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Where Do We Go From Here?
Dec 29, 2008
When Barack Obama is sworn in as president of the United States on
Jan. 20, he will inherit a series of problems more severe than at any
time since the Great Depression. Here are just a few of the issues that
he, the Congress and all Americans must confront:
The middle
class is continuing its steep decline with unemployment soaring, and
millions of people in danger of losing their homes, savings and health
insurance. The dream of a college education is fading away for many
working families as college costs go up while incomes go down. This
year, as a result of the economic downturn, the bailout of Wall Street,
ongoing tax breaks for the very rich and the war in Iraq, our nation
will have a record-breaking deficit and a huge $10.4 trillion dollar
national debt.
As a result of Wall Street greed, recklessness
and dishonesty, our entire financial system is in danger of collapsing.
The taxpayers of this country have seen trillions of their dollars
placed at risk in the largest bailout in world history.
Our
health care system is disintegrating. Despite spending far more per
capita than any other country, 47 million Americans have no health
insurance, even more are underinsured and we pay the highest prices in
the world for prescription drugs.
We are currently involved in
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan which cost us not only the lives and
well-being of our soldiers, but over $10 billion a month. These wars
are also stretching the Army and our National Guard to the breaking
point.
Despite the reality of global warming we have not broken
our dependency on fossil fuel and foreign oil, and have made only
slight advances in moving toward energy efficiency and sustainable
energy.
Those are some of our problems. There are solutions. Where do we go from here?
The
very good news is that we are finally seeing the end of the most
incompetent and reactionary administration in the modern history of
this country. It is my hope and expectation that, in very short order,
President Obama will begin moving this country in a very different
direction from where Bush has led us, and I look forward to working
with him in that effort. The time is long overdue for the U.S.
government to begin representing the needs of our middle-class and
working families, and not just the greedy, the wealthy and the powerful.
Here are some of the initiatives that I will be fighting for as soon as the new Congress reconvenes in January:
- A
major economic recovery program which invests at least $400 billion in
each of the next two years to create millions of good-paying jobs
rebuilding our infrastructure and moving us toward energy independence,
sustainable energy and energy efficiency. In Vermont and throughout the
country our roads and bridges are crumbling, our water systems and
wastewater plants need major repair and older schools need to be
modernized. Millions of homes and buildings are wasting huge amounts of
energy and need to be properly weatherized, and we must be aggressive
in improving and expanding our public transportation. Further, we now
have the opportunity to create many new jobs by advancing such
renewable technologies as wind, solar, geothermal and biomass. - An
investigation as to how the greed and recklessness of Wall Street
financiers caused the greatest financial collapse since the 1920s.
Those who are responsible for this debacle must be held accountable,
and not be allowed to walk away with huge fortunes while the middle
class bails them out. Most importantly, we must build a new financial
system which discourages short-term and reckless profiteering and
re-establishes proper governmental safeguards and regulations. - Legislation
to provide health care to every man, woman and child as a right of
citizenship. In addition, we need to greatly expand our primary health
care capabilities by educating and sending more doctors, nurses,
dentists and other health professionals into rural areas and other
medically underserved parts of our country. - An orderly
process to bring our troops home from Iraq as soon as possible. We also
need a national conversation about the best way to proceed in
Afghanistan.
Vermonters often ask me whether I am
pessimistic about the future of our country. My honest answer is that I
am not. Difficult times often bring out the best in people. Now, in
this moment of great national crisis, I am confident that with new
national leadership and strong grass-roots participation we can come
together and create the kind of nation that all of us know America can
be.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 after serving 16 years in the House of Representatives. Sanders ran to become the Democratic Party presidential nominee in both 2016 and 2020 and remains the longest-serving independent member of Congress in American history. Elected Mayor of Burlington, Vermont in 1981, he served four terms. Before his 1990 election as Vermont's at-large member in Congress, Sanders lectured at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and at Hamilton College in upstate New York.
When Barack Obama is sworn in as president of the United States on
Jan. 20, he will inherit a series of problems more severe than at any
time since the Great Depression. Here are just a few of the issues that
he, the Congress and all Americans must confront:
The middle
class is continuing its steep decline with unemployment soaring, and
millions of people in danger of losing their homes, savings and health
insurance. The dream of a college education is fading away for many
working families as college costs go up while incomes go down. This
year, as a result of the economic downturn, the bailout of Wall Street,
ongoing tax breaks for the very rich and the war in Iraq, our nation
will have a record-breaking deficit and a huge $10.4 trillion dollar
national debt.
As a result of Wall Street greed, recklessness
and dishonesty, our entire financial system is in danger of collapsing.
The taxpayers of this country have seen trillions of their dollars
placed at risk in the largest bailout in world history.
Our
health care system is disintegrating. Despite spending far more per
capita than any other country, 47 million Americans have no health
insurance, even more are underinsured and we pay the highest prices in
the world for prescription drugs.
We are currently involved in
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan which cost us not only the lives and
well-being of our soldiers, but over $10 billion a month. These wars
are also stretching the Army and our National Guard to the breaking
point.
Despite the reality of global warming we have not broken
our dependency on fossil fuel and foreign oil, and have made only
slight advances in moving toward energy efficiency and sustainable
energy.
Those are some of our problems. There are solutions. Where do we go from here?
The
very good news is that we are finally seeing the end of the most
incompetent and reactionary administration in the modern history of
this country. It is my hope and expectation that, in very short order,
President Obama will begin moving this country in a very different
direction from where Bush has led us, and I look forward to working
with him in that effort. The time is long overdue for the U.S.
government to begin representing the needs of our middle-class and
working families, and not just the greedy, the wealthy and the powerful.
Here are some of the initiatives that I will be fighting for as soon as the new Congress reconvenes in January:
- A
major economic recovery program which invests at least $400 billion in
each of the next two years to create millions of good-paying jobs
rebuilding our infrastructure and moving us toward energy independence,
sustainable energy and energy efficiency. In Vermont and throughout the
country our roads and bridges are crumbling, our water systems and
wastewater plants need major repair and older schools need to be
modernized. Millions of homes and buildings are wasting huge amounts of
energy and need to be properly weatherized, and we must be aggressive
in improving and expanding our public transportation. Further, we now
have the opportunity to create many new jobs by advancing such
renewable technologies as wind, solar, geothermal and biomass. - An
investigation as to how the greed and recklessness of Wall Street
financiers caused the greatest financial collapse since the 1920s.
Those who are responsible for this debacle must be held accountable,
and not be allowed to walk away with huge fortunes while the middle
class bails them out. Most importantly, we must build a new financial
system which discourages short-term and reckless profiteering and
re-establishes proper governmental safeguards and regulations. - Legislation
to provide health care to every man, woman and child as a right of
citizenship. In addition, we need to greatly expand our primary health
care capabilities by educating and sending more doctors, nurses,
dentists and other health professionals into rural areas and other
medically underserved parts of our country. - An orderly
process to bring our troops home from Iraq as soon as possible. We also
need a national conversation about the best way to proceed in
Afghanistan.
Vermonters often ask me whether I am
pessimistic about the future of our country. My honest answer is that I
am not. Difficult times often bring out the best in people. Now, in
this moment of great national crisis, I am confident that with new
national leadership and strong grass-roots participation we can come
together and create the kind of nation that all of us know America can
be.
Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 after serving 16 years in the House of Representatives. Sanders ran to become the Democratic Party presidential nominee in both 2016 and 2020 and remains the longest-serving independent member of Congress in American history. Elected Mayor of Burlington, Vermont in 1981, he served four terms. Before his 1990 election as Vermont's at-large member in Congress, Sanders lectured at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and at Hamilton College in upstate New York.
When Barack Obama is sworn in as president of the United States on
Jan. 20, he will inherit a series of problems more severe than at any
time since the Great Depression. Here are just a few of the issues that
he, the Congress and all Americans must confront:
The middle
class is continuing its steep decline with unemployment soaring, and
millions of people in danger of losing their homes, savings and health
insurance. The dream of a college education is fading away for many
working families as college costs go up while incomes go down. This
year, as a result of the economic downturn, the bailout of Wall Street,
ongoing tax breaks for the very rich and the war in Iraq, our nation
will have a record-breaking deficit and a huge $10.4 trillion dollar
national debt.
As a result of Wall Street greed, recklessness
and dishonesty, our entire financial system is in danger of collapsing.
The taxpayers of this country have seen trillions of their dollars
placed at risk in the largest bailout in world history.
Our
health care system is disintegrating. Despite spending far more per
capita than any other country, 47 million Americans have no health
insurance, even more are underinsured and we pay the highest prices in
the world for prescription drugs.
We are currently involved in
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan which cost us not only the lives and
well-being of our soldiers, but over $10 billion a month. These wars
are also stretching the Army and our National Guard to the breaking
point.
Despite the reality of global warming we have not broken
our dependency on fossil fuel and foreign oil, and have made only
slight advances in moving toward energy efficiency and sustainable
energy.
Those are some of our problems. There are solutions. Where do we go from here?
The
very good news is that we are finally seeing the end of the most
incompetent and reactionary administration in the modern history of
this country. It is my hope and expectation that, in very short order,
President Obama will begin moving this country in a very different
direction from where Bush has led us, and I look forward to working
with him in that effort. The time is long overdue for the U.S.
government to begin representing the needs of our middle-class and
working families, and not just the greedy, the wealthy and the powerful.
Here are some of the initiatives that I will be fighting for as soon as the new Congress reconvenes in January:
- A
major economic recovery program which invests at least $400 billion in
each of the next two years to create millions of good-paying jobs
rebuilding our infrastructure and moving us toward energy independence,
sustainable energy and energy efficiency. In Vermont and throughout the
country our roads and bridges are crumbling, our water systems and
wastewater plants need major repair and older schools need to be
modernized. Millions of homes and buildings are wasting huge amounts of
energy and need to be properly weatherized, and we must be aggressive
in improving and expanding our public transportation. Further, we now
have the opportunity to create many new jobs by advancing such
renewable technologies as wind, solar, geothermal and biomass. - An
investigation as to how the greed and recklessness of Wall Street
financiers caused the greatest financial collapse since the 1920s.
Those who are responsible for this debacle must be held accountable,
and not be allowed to walk away with huge fortunes while the middle
class bails them out. Most importantly, we must build a new financial
system which discourages short-term and reckless profiteering and
re-establishes proper governmental safeguards and regulations. - Legislation
to provide health care to every man, woman and child as a right of
citizenship. In addition, we need to greatly expand our primary health
care capabilities by educating and sending more doctors, nurses,
dentists and other health professionals into rural areas and other
medically underserved parts of our country. - An orderly
process to bring our troops home from Iraq as soon as possible. We also
need a national conversation about the best way to proceed in
Afghanistan.
Vermonters often ask me whether I am
pessimistic about the future of our country. My honest answer is that I
am not. Difficult times often bring out the best in people. Now, in
this moment of great national crisis, I am confident that with new
national leadership and strong grass-roots participation we can come
together and create the kind of nation that all of us know America can
be.
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