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Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
In the 2012 elections, the American people voted for strengthening our economy and putting people back to work. "We're all in this together" defeated "You're on your own." Or so we thought.
In the 2012 elections, the American people voted for strengthening our economy and putting people back to work. "We're all in this together" defeated "You're on your own." Or so we thought.

It seems that since Nov. 6, many politicians forgot that the people they represent used their voice at the polls to stand up for working families and the programs they rely on. Democratic lawmakers should resist any "grand bargain" on the budget that protects the wealthy at the expense of the rest of us.
There's a palpable sense of urgency being manufactured inside the beltway to rush lawmakers into striking a budget deal, but a grand bargain is neither inevitable nor necessary.
The best way to solve America's debt crisis is to fix our revenue crisis, and we can do that quickly by ending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent and creating jobs to get our economy moving again.
Working families cannot afford any more cuts when wages are stagnant and poverty is increasing. Economic growth has been too slow, consumer demand is too weak, and average families are tightening their belts while corporate profits are soaring to historic highs.
By pursuing this bargain, Congress is having the wrong discussion about the wrong policy prescriptions at the wrong time.
By pursuing this bargain, Congress is having the wrong discussion about the wrong policy prescriptions at the wrong time. The truth is that the people hawking a "compromise" are wealthy corporate CEOs hiding behind the "Fix the Debt" campaign. A recent Institute for Policy Studies report found that 63 publicly held companies whose CEOs are pushing these bad deals stand to gain as much as $134 billion in windfalls if one of their proposals are approved. It's time those corporations ante up and pay their fair share.
If we allow the Bush tax cuts for earners of $250,000 and above to simply expire, we save $1 trillion over 10 years and make a critical dent in our federal deficit. Instead of cutting the jobs and entitlements of working class Americans, we need to ask the wealthy to pay a little bit more.
We can't let corporate America undo the results of the election. Working people won't take that lying down. And Democrats should hold their ground.
The grand bargain is a grand swindle.
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 |
In the 2012 elections, the American people voted for strengthening our economy and putting people back to work. "We're all in this together" defeated "You're on your own." Or so we thought.

It seems that since Nov. 6, many politicians forgot that the people they represent used their voice at the polls to stand up for working families and the programs they rely on. Democratic lawmakers should resist any "grand bargain" on the budget that protects the wealthy at the expense of the rest of us.
There's a palpable sense of urgency being manufactured inside the beltway to rush lawmakers into striking a budget deal, but a grand bargain is neither inevitable nor necessary.
The best way to solve America's debt crisis is to fix our revenue crisis, and we can do that quickly by ending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent and creating jobs to get our economy moving again.
Working families cannot afford any more cuts when wages are stagnant and poverty is increasing. Economic growth has been too slow, consumer demand is too weak, and average families are tightening their belts while corporate profits are soaring to historic highs.
By pursuing this bargain, Congress is having the wrong discussion about the wrong policy prescriptions at the wrong time.
By pursuing this bargain, Congress is having the wrong discussion about the wrong policy prescriptions at the wrong time. The truth is that the people hawking a "compromise" are wealthy corporate CEOs hiding behind the "Fix the Debt" campaign. A recent Institute for Policy Studies report found that 63 publicly held companies whose CEOs are pushing these bad deals stand to gain as much as $134 billion in windfalls if one of their proposals are approved. It's time those corporations ante up and pay their fair share.
If we allow the Bush tax cuts for earners of $250,000 and above to simply expire, we save $1 trillion over 10 years and make a critical dent in our federal deficit. Instead of cutting the jobs and entitlements of working class Americans, we need to ask the wealthy to pay a little bit more.
We can't let corporate America undo the results of the election. Working people won't take that lying down. And Democrats should hold their ground.
The grand bargain is a grand swindle.
In the 2012 elections, the American people voted for strengthening our economy and putting people back to work. "We're all in this together" defeated "You're on your own." Or so we thought.

It seems that since Nov. 6, many politicians forgot that the people they represent used their voice at the polls to stand up for working families and the programs they rely on. Democratic lawmakers should resist any "grand bargain" on the budget that protects the wealthy at the expense of the rest of us.
There's a palpable sense of urgency being manufactured inside the beltway to rush lawmakers into striking a budget deal, but a grand bargain is neither inevitable nor necessary.
The best way to solve America's debt crisis is to fix our revenue crisis, and we can do that quickly by ending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent and creating jobs to get our economy moving again.
Working families cannot afford any more cuts when wages are stagnant and poverty is increasing. Economic growth has been too slow, consumer demand is too weak, and average families are tightening their belts while corporate profits are soaring to historic highs.
By pursuing this bargain, Congress is having the wrong discussion about the wrong policy prescriptions at the wrong time.
By pursuing this bargain, Congress is having the wrong discussion about the wrong policy prescriptions at the wrong time. The truth is that the people hawking a "compromise" are wealthy corporate CEOs hiding behind the "Fix the Debt" campaign. A recent Institute for Policy Studies report found that 63 publicly held companies whose CEOs are pushing these bad deals stand to gain as much as $134 billion in windfalls if one of their proposals are approved. It's time those corporations ante up and pay their fair share.
If we allow the Bush tax cuts for earners of $250,000 and above to simply expire, we save $1 trillion over 10 years and make a critical dent in our federal deficit. Instead of cutting the jobs and entitlements of working class Americans, we need to ask the wealthy to pay a little bit more.
We can't let corporate America undo the results of the election. Working people won't take that lying down. And Democrats should hold their ground.
The grand bargain is a grand swindle.