SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"We need to fight to make government an instrument of the common good, not the special interests," the platform, crafted by Campaign for America's Future, concludes. (Photo: Molly Adams/Flickr/cc)
Demanding 'Fundamental Restructuring of the Economy,' Progressives Embrace Bold New Agenda
"We need a political movement that fights to take back our government from those who have corrupted and subverted it."
Feb 23, 2018
Arguing that only a positive and truly transformative economic agenda will be sufficient to overcome the Republican congressional majority and President Donald Trump, scores of progressive leaders this week endorsed a bold 11-point platform that calls for Medicare for All, tough Wall Street regulation, and a ban on corporate money in elections.
"If the Democrats don't start talking about a fundamental restructuring of the economy, either they will lose, or when they win, they will fail."
--Roger Hickey, Campaign for America's Future
"We will resist Trump. But resistance is not enough," reads the introduction to the platform, unveiled by Campaign for America's Future (CAF). "We therefore pledge that: We will fight for good jobs, sustainable prosperity, and economic justice. We will work to build a movement that can make that agenda a reality."
In introducing the ambitious platform--which has already earned the backing of more than 70 prominent progressives, including author Naomi Klein and Our Revolution president Nina Turner--CAF is looking to chart a path that reaches far beyond the centrist and incrementalist approach favored by the current Democratic leadership.
"The elites have failed us," the platform reads. "We need a political movement that fights to take back our government from those who have corrupted and subverted it."
Roger Hickey, co-director of CAF and one of the architects of the platform, said in an interview with the Huffington Post that this objective cannot be achieved by those who are merely anti-Trump.
"There's a large number of people who think all we need to do is oppose Trump, who think all we need to do is find an attractive candidate who runs on the platform of 'I'm not Trump,'" Hickey noted. "If the Democrats don't start talking about a fundamental restructuring of the economy, either they will lose, or when they win, they will fail."
Here are the 11 planks of the agenda, which supporters believe can both turn out the Democratic base and win over millions of non-voters:
- Jobs for All--Created by Rebuilding America
- Invest in a Green Economy
- Empower Workers to Reduce Inequality
- Opportunity and Justice for All--With Focus on Communities Harmed by Racism
- Guarantee Women's Economic Equality
- High-Quality Public Education--Pre-K to University
- Medicare for All--and Shared Economic Security
- Make Corporations and Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share
- A Global Economic Strategy for Working People
- Close Wall Street's Casino
- Rescue Democracy from the Special Interests
"We need to fight to make government an instrument of the common good, not the special interests," the platform concludes. "That requires a powerful, unified movement for economic justice that will take back our democracy."
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 |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Arguing that only a positive and truly transformative economic agenda will be sufficient to overcome the Republican congressional majority and President Donald Trump, scores of progressive leaders this week endorsed a bold 11-point platform that calls for Medicare for All, tough Wall Street regulation, and a ban on corporate money in elections.
"If the Democrats don't start talking about a fundamental restructuring of the economy, either they will lose, or when they win, they will fail."
--Roger Hickey, Campaign for America's Future
"We will resist Trump. But resistance is not enough," reads the introduction to the platform, unveiled by Campaign for America's Future (CAF). "We therefore pledge that: We will fight for good jobs, sustainable prosperity, and economic justice. We will work to build a movement that can make that agenda a reality."
In introducing the ambitious platform--which has already earned the backing of more than 70 prominent progressives, including author Naomi Klein and Our Revolution president Nina Turner--CAF is looking to chart a path that reaches far beyond the centrist and incrementalist approach favored by the current Democratic leadership.
"The elites have failed us," the platform reads. "We need a political movement that fights to take back our government from those who have corrupted and subverted it."
Roger Hickey, co-director of CAF and one of the architects of the platform, said in an interview with the Huffington Post that this objective cannot be achieved by those who are merely anti-Trump.
"There's a large number of people who think all we need to do is oppose Trump, who think all we need to do is find an attractive candidate who runs on the platform of 'I'm not Trump,'" Hickey noted. "If the Democrats don't start talking about a fundamental restructuring of the economy, either they will lose, or when they win, they will fail."
Here are the 11 planks of the agenda, which supporters believe can both turn out the Democratic base and win over millions of non-voters:
- Jobs for All--Created by Rebuilding America
- Invest in a Green Economy
- Empower Workers to Reduce Inequality
- Opportunity and Justice for All--With Focus on Communities Harmed by Racism
- Guarantee Women's Economic Equality
- High-Quality Public Education--Pre-K to University
- Medicare for All--and Shared Economic Security
- Make Corporations and Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share
- A Global Economic Strategy for Working People
- Close Wall Street's Casino
- Rescue Democracy from the Special Interests
"We need to fight to make government an instrument of the common good, not the special interests," the platform concludes. "That requires a powerful, unified movement for economic justice that will take back our democracy."
Arguing that only a positive and truly transformative economic agenda will be sufficient to overcome the Republican congressional majority and President Donald Trump, scores of progressive leaders this week endorsed a bold 11-point platform that calls for Medicare for All, tough Wall Street regulation, and a ban on corporate money in elections.
"If the Democrats don't start talking about a fundamental restructuring of the economy, either they will lose, or when they win, they will fail."
--Roger Hickey, Campaign for America's Future
"We will resist Trump. But resistance is not enough," reads the introduction to the platform, unveiled by Campaign for America's Future (CAF). "We therefore pledge that: We will fight for good jobs, sustainable prosperity, and economic justice. We will work to build a movement that can make that agenda a reality."
In introducing the ambitious platform--which has already earned the backing of more than 70 prominent progressives, including author Naomi Klein and Our Revolution president Nina Turner--CAF is looking to chart a path that reaches far beyond the centrist and incrementalist approach favored by the current Democratic leadership.
"The elites have failed us," the platform reads. "We need a political movement that fights to take back our government from those who have corrupted and subverted it."
Roger Hickey, co-director of CAF and one of the architects of the platform, said in an interview with the Huffington Post that this objective cannot be achieved by those who are merely anti-Trump.
"There's a large number of people who think all we need to do is oppose Trump, who think all we need to do is find an attractive candidate who runs on the platform of 'I'm not Trump,'" Hickey noted. "If the Democrats don't start talking about a fundamental restructuring of the economy, either they will lose, or when they win, they will fail."
Here are the 11 planks of the agenda, which supporters believe can both turn out the Democratic base and win over millions of non-voters:
- Jobs for All--Created by Rebuilding America
- Invest in a Green Economy
- Empower Workers to Reduce Inequality
- Opportunity and Justice for All--With Focus on Communities Harmed by Racism
- Guarantee Women's Economic Equality
- High-Quality Public Education--Pre-K to University
- Medicare for All--and Shared Economic Security
- Make Corporations and Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share
- A Global Economic Strategy for Working People
- Close Wall Street's Casino
- Rescue Democracy from the Special Interests
"We need to fight to make government an instrument of the common good, not the special interests," the platform concludes. "That requires a powerful, unified movement for economic justice that will take back our democracy."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.