
"Join the resistance to drain the swamp." (Photo: Y/Twitter)
'Government Sachs': Protesters Dressed as Swamp Creatures Launch Sit-In at Goldman HQ
Creative action calls out Trump's failure to "drain the swamp" just as new report finds that treasury secretary appointee Steve Mnuchin stands to personally gain $3.3 million in tax cuts from Trump tax plan
Over 50 people, some dressed as swamp creatures, have launched a days-long sit-in at Goldman Sachs headquarters in New York City to protest President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of former Goldman executives to his cabinet.
#GovernmentSachs Tweets |
"It's about highlighting the lie that was told to millions of people in this country, the lie that Trump was draining the swamp. If we really want the swamp to be drained, we have to do it ourselves and we're doing it by going to Goldman Sachs," Nelini Stamp of the Working Families party told Sarah Jaffe, writing at the Guardian.
Trump has nominated former partner Steve Mnuchin as treasury secretary, not to mention Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn for the top economic post at the White House.
Steve Bannon, Trump's top advisor, also once worked for the firm (before he worked to fuel white supremacist views via far-right website Breitbart) and current Goldman executive Dina Powell "was named a senior adviser," Bloomberg reports.
"Steven Mnuchin was called 'Mr. Foreclosure' at OneWest and Goldman Sachs," pointed out protest participant Jean Sassine, who lost his job in the 2008 recession, in an interview with Jaffe. "Do you want Mr. Foreclosure to be secretary of the treasury?"
"Join the resistance to drain the swamp," says the website for the action, calling on people to fight against "Government Sachs."
The protesters are staunchly maintaining their occupation--even camping out and sleeping in the cold rain--until Friday's inauguration, demanding action from Trump:
\u201cProtesters including @nycDSA members are camped outside #GovernmentSachs to protest capitalist domination of our government. Join them!\u201d— NYC-DSA \ud83c\udf39 (@NYC-DSA \ud83c\udf39) 1484756435
Meanwhile, on Wednesday a new analysis from Americans for Tax Fairness, a coalition of groups fighting for tax reform, shows Mnuchin stands to personally see an annual tax cut as high as $3.3 million under Trump's tax plan.
"Steven Mnuchin has stated that under Trump's tax plan '[t]here will be no absolute tax cut for the upper class,'" said Frank Clemente, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness, in a statement. "But that's at complete odds with the tax plans proposed by candidate Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan. At his confirmation hearing, Mnuchin should be grilled about how as treasury secretary he would fix those plans so that they meet his test. Given how much Mnuchin stands to personally gain from these tax plans, the public may view Mnuchin's confirmation as treasury secretary as akin to having the bank robber guard the bank."
Moreover, the coalition found that the if the GOP succeeds in repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Mnuchin will see his tax bill drop by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"The enormous tax breaks that will be given to Mnuchin and other wealthy Americans by repealing the ACA and enacting the Trump tax plan are a betrayal of working families," Clemente continued. "Mnuchin and his friends on Wall Street get a huge tax cut, but millions of families lose their healthcare."
"Mnuchin needs to answer the question: 'What will you do as Treasury Secretary to keep your pledge to working families that there 'will be no absolute tax cut for the upper class?'"
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. 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. The final deadline for our crucial Summer Campaign fundraising drive is just days away, and we’re falling short of our must-hit goal. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Over 50 people, some dressed as swamp creatures, have launched a days-long sit-in at Goldman Sachs headquarters in New York City to protest President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of former Goldman executives to his cabinet.
#GovernmentSachs Tweets |
"It's about highlighting the lie that was told to millions of people in this country, the lie that Trump was draining the swamp. If we really want the swamp to be drained, we have to do it ourselves and we're doing it by going to Goldman Sachs," Nelini Stamp of the Working Families party told Sarah Jaffe, writing at the Guardian.
Trump has nominated former partner Steve Mnuchin as treasury secretary, not to mention Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn for the top economic post at the White House.
Steve Bannon, Trump's top advisor, also once worked for the firm (before he worked to fuel white supremacist views via far-right website Breitbart) and current Goldman executive Dina Powell "was named a senior adviser," Bloomberg reports.
"Steven Mnuchin was called 'Mr. Foreclosure' at OneWest and Goldman Sachs," pointed out protest participant Jean Sassine, who lost his job in the 2008 recession, in an interview with Jaffe. "Do you want Mr. Foreclosure to be secretary of the treasury?"
"Join the resistance to drain the swamp," says the website for the action, calling on people to fight against "Government Sachs."
The protesters are staunchly maintaining their occupation--even camping out and sleeping in the cold rain--until Friday's inauguration, demanding action from Trump:
\u201cProtesters including @nycDSA members are camped outside #GovernmentSachs to protest capitalist domination of our government. Join them!\u201d— NYC-DSA \ud83c\udf39 (@NYC-DSA \ud83c\udf39) 1484756435
Meanwhile, on Wednesday a new analysis from Americans for Tax Fairness, a coalition of groups fighting for tax reform, shows Mnuchin stands to personally see an annual tax cut as high as $3.3 million under Trump's tax plan.
"Steven Mnuchin has stated that under Trump's tax plan '[t]here will be no absolute tax cut for the upper class,'" said Frank Clemente, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness, in a statement. "But that's at complete odds with the tax plans proposed by candidate Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan. At his confirmation hearing, Mnuchin should be grilled about how as treasury secretary he would fix those plans so that they meet his test. Given how much Mnuchin stands to personally gain from these tax plans, the public may view Mnuchin's confirmation as treasury secretary as akin to having the bank robber guard the bank."
Moreover, the coalition found that the if the GOP succeeds in repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Mnuchin will see his tax bill drop by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"The enormous tax breaks that will be given to Mnuchin and other wealthy Americans by repealing the ACA and enacting the Trump tax plan are a betrayal of working families," Clemente continued. "Mnuchin and his friends on Wall Street get a huge tax cut, but millions of families lose their healthcare."
"Mnuchin needs to answer the question: 'What will you do as Treasury Secretary to keep your pledge to working families that there 'will be no absolute tax cut for the upper class?'"
Over 50 people, some dressed as swamp creatures, have launched a days-long sit-in at Goldman Sachs headquarters in New York City to protest President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of former Goldman executives to his cabinet.
#GovernmentSachs Tweets |
"It's about highlighting the lie that was told to millions of people in this country, the lie that Trump was draining the swamp. If we really want the swamp to be drained, we have to do it ourselves and we're doing it by going to Goldman Sachs," Nelini Stamp of the Working Families party told Sarah Jaffe, writing at the Guardian.
Trump has nominated former partner Steve Mnuchin as treasury secretary, not to mention Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn for the top economic post at the White House.
Steve Bannon, Trump's top advisor, also once worked for the firm (before he worked to fuel white supremacist views via far-right website Breitbart) and current Goldman executive Dina Powell "was named a senior adviser," Bloomberg reports.
"Steven Mnuchin was called 'Mr. Foreclosure' at OneWest and Goldman Sachs," pointed out protest participant Jean Sassine, who lost his job in the 2008 recession, in an interview with Jaffe. "Do you want Mr. Foreclosure to be secretary of the treasury?"
"Join the resistance to drain the swamp," says the website for the action, calling on people to fight against "Government Sachs."
The protesters are staunchly maintaining their occupation--even camping out and sleeping in the cold rain--until Friday's inauguration, demanding action from Trump:
\u201cProtesters including @nycDSA members are camped outside #GovernmentSachs to protest capitalist domination of our government. Join them!\u201d— NYC-DSA \ud83c\udf39 (@NYC-DSA \ud83c\udf39) 1484756435
Meanwhile, on Wednesday a new analysis from Americans for Tax Fairness, a coalition of groups fighting for tax reform, shows Mnuchin stands to personally see an annual tax cut as high as $3.3 million under Trump's tax plan.
"Steven Mnuchin has stated that under Trump's tax plan '[t]here will be no absolute tax cut for the upper class,'" said Frank Clemente, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness, in a statement. "But that's at complete odds with the tax plans proposed by candidate Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan. At his confirmation hearing, Mnuchin should be grilled about how as treasury secretary he would fix those plans so that they meet his test. Given how much Mnuchin stands to personally gain from these tax plans, the public may view Mnuchin's confirmation as treasury secretary as akin to having the bank robber guard the bank."
Moreover, the coalition found that the if the GOP succeeds in repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Mnuchin will see his tax bill drop by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"The enormous tax breaks that will be given to Mnuchin and other wealthy Americans by repealing the ACA and enacting the Trump tax plan are a betrayal of working families," Clemente continued. "Mnuchin and his friends on Wall Street get a huge tax cut, but millions of families lose their healthcare."
"Mnuchin needs to answer the question: 'What will you do as Treasury Secretary to keep your pledge to working families that there 'will be no absolute tax cut for the upper class?'"