Make the Wealthy Pay to Save the USA
For the past few months, we've been witnessing an inspiring, genuinely grass-roots rebellion of average Americans against corporate/financial profiteers savaging our collective well-being for their narrow, private gain.
It's most powerful manifestation came in Wisconsin, where tens of thousands demonstrated outrage over atrociously arrogant, callously cruel Republican efforts to eviscerate organized labor.
For the past few months, we've been witnessing an inspiring, genuinely grass-roots rebellion of average Americans against corporate/financial profiteers savaging our collective well-being for their narrow, private gain.
It's most powerful manifestation came in Wisconsin, where tens of thousands demonstrated outrage over atrociously arrogant, callously cruel Republican efforts to eviscerate organized labor.
As welcome as this explosion of populist protest has surely been, its amorphous spontaneity and incomplete cohesion evince a weakness that needs correction.
Much greater unity is required, stronger links between separate communities and regions are necessary, and a national people-before-profits agenda has to be drawn up, disseminated, and implemented.
In the interim -- as an effective programmatic counter to constant rape by marauding monopolists is being formulated -- it's crucial to put forward an overriding progressive theme, expressed tersely in strong language well suited for street chants and bumper stickers, that every fair-minded citizen possessing a good heart can immediately, enthusiastically embrace.
That's why "Make the wealthy pay to save the USA!" should figure prominently in everything we say or write about the profound systemic injustice under which increasing multitudes of our fellow citizens -- and we ourselves -- painfully suffer.
Most adult Americans are either workaday wage-earners or worked-a-lifetime retirees. They're the folks to whom 'government of the people, by the people, and for the people' should properly apply.
It's in clear furtherance of their welfare and common good that elected officials are duty-bound to constructively act, as our societal first priority. But just the opposite is happening.
Crony capitalist speculators who tanked our economy through their enormous greed and malfeasance are being shielded by conservative extremists like Scott Walker, Paul Ryan, and the Tea Party.
They would rather decimate collective bargaining, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid before eliminating unfair tax loopholes and havens for billionaires.
Constantly putting Wall Street ahead of Main Street is simply wrong. It's also as socially unsustainable as similarly unfair practices were when ancient empires fell.
Appropriately taxing the mega rich and corporation -- together with ending ill-advised wars and curbing costly militarism -- could fix the deficit moving forward.
Our country's been damaged long enough by those who treasonously owe primary allegiance to the Almighty Dollar.
As mass poverty and deprivation worsen, while fat cats unconscionably rake in more stolen booty, no reasonable person can fail to agree with what's just been stated.
More importantly, no conservative can present a countering argument without clearly exposing the elitist, self-serving social irresponsibility that Republicans are afflicted with as if by a diabolical moral disease that's completely contrary to both Golden Rule Christian teachings and key American ideals that they hypocritically profess to cherish.
We can't lose if we gather in growing numbers in all venues of public expression to relentlessly speak (shout) these words with an insistent, unified voice:
Make the wealthy pay to save the USA!
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 |
For the past few months, we've been witnessing an inspiring, genuinely grass-roots rebellion of average Americans against corporate/financial profiteers savaging our collective well-being for their narrow, private gain.
It's most powerful manifestation came in Wisconsin, where tens of thousands demonstrated outrage over atrociously arrogant, callously cruel Republican efforts to eviscerate organized labor.
As welcome as this explosion of populist protest has surely been, its amorphous spontaneity and incomplete cohesion evince a weakness that needs correction.
Much greater unity is required, stronger links between separate communities and regions are necessary, and a national people-before-profits agenda has to be drawn up, disseminated, and implemented.
In the interim -- as an effective programmatic counter to constant rape by marauding monopolists is being formulated -- it's crucial to put forward an overriding progressive theme, expressed tersely in strong language well suited for street chants and bumper stickers, that every fair-minded citizen possessing a good heart can immediately, enthusiastically embrace.
That's why "Make the wealthy pay to save the USA!" should figure prominently in everything we say or write about the profound systemic injustice under which increasing multitudes of our fellow citizens -- and we ourselves -- painfully suffer.
Most adult Americans are either workaday wage-earners or worked-a-lifetime retirees. They're the folks to whom 'government of the people, by the people, and for the people' should properly apply.
It's in clear furtherance of their welfare and common good that elected officials are duty-bound to constructively act, as our societal first priority. But just the opposite is happening.
Crony capitalist speculators who tanked our economy through their enormous greed and malfeasance are being shielded by conservative extremists like Scott Walker, Paul Ryan, and the Tea Party.
They would rather decimate collective bargaining, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid before eliminating unfair tax loopholes and havens for billionaires.
Constantly putting Wall Street ahead of Main Street is simply wrong. It's also as socially unsustainable as similarly unfair practices were when ancient empires fell.
Appropriately taxing the mega rich and corporation -- together with ending ill-advised wars and curbing costly militarism -- could fix the deficit moving forward.
Our country's been damaged long enough by those who treasonously owe primary allegiance to the Almighty Dollar.
As mass poverty and deprivation worsen, while fat cats unconscionably rake in more stolen booty, no reasonable person can fail to agree with what's just been stated.
More importantly, no conservative can present a countering argument without clearly exposing the elitist, self-serving social irresponsibility that Republicans are afflicted with as if by a diabolical moral disease that's completely contrary to both Golden Rule Christian teachings and key American ideals that they hypocritically profess to cherish.
We can't lose if we gather in growing numbers in all venues of public expression to relentlessly speak (shout) these words with an insistent, unified voice:
Make the wealthy pay to save the USA!
For the past few months, we've been witnessing an inspiring, genuinely grass-roots rebellion of average Americans against corporate/financial profiteers savaging our collective well-being for their narrow, private gain.
It's most powerful manifestation came in Wisconsin, where tens of thousands demonstrated outrage over atrociously arrogant, callously cruel Republican efforts to eviscerate organized labor.
As welcome as this explosion of populist protest has surely been, its amorphous spontaneity and incomplete cohesion evince a weakness that needs correction.
Much greater unity is required, stronger links between separate communities and regions are necessary, and a national people-before-profits agenda has to be drawn up, disseminated, and implemented.
In the interim -- as an effective programmatic counter to constant rape by marauding monopolists is being formulated -- it's crucial to put forward an overriding progressive theme, expressed tersely in strong language well suited for street chants and bumper stickers, that every fair-minded citizen possessing a good heart can immediately, enthusiastically embrace.
That's why "Make the wealthy pay to save the USA!" should figure prominently in everything we say or write about the profound systemic injustice under which increasing multitudes of our fellow citizens -- and we ourselves -- painfully suffer.
Most adult Americans are either workaday wage-earners or worked-a-lifetime retirees. They're the folks to whom 'government of the people, by the people, and for the people' should properly apply.
It's in clear furtherance of their welfare and common good that elected officials are duty-bound to constructively act, as our societal first priority. But just the opposite is happening.
Crony capitalist speculators who tanked our economy through their enormous greed and malfeasance are being shielded by conservative extremists like Scott Walker, Paul Ryan, and the Tea Party.
They would rather decimate collective bargaining, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid before eliminating unfair tax loopholes and havens for billionaires.
Constantly putting Wall Street ahead of Main Street is simply wrong. It's also as socially unsustainable as similarly unfair practices were when ancient empires fell.
Appropriately taxing the mega rich and corporation -- together with ending ill-advised wars and curbing costly militarism -- could fix the deficit moving forward.
Our country's been damaged long enough by those who treasonously owe primary allegiance to the Almighty Dollar.
As mass poverty and deprivation worsen, while fat cats unconscionably rake in more stolen booty, no reasonable person can fail to agree with what's just been stated.
More importantly, no conservative can present a countering argument without clearly exposing the elitist, self-serving social irresponsibility that Republicans are afflicted with as if by a diabolical moral disease that's completely contrary to both Golden Rule Christian teachings and key American ideals that they hypocritically profess to cherish.
We can't lose if we gather in growing numbers in all venues of public expression to relentlessly speak (shout) these words with an insistent, unified voice:
Make the wealthy pay to save the USA!