The Revolutionary Moment - There's $1 Trillion on The Table, Let's Take It!

For years, we've been told by the government and by the pundits that there is no money for national healthcare, no money for schools, no money for the levees, no money to fix bridges, no money for a decent public transportation system, no money to fully fund social security, and no money to alleviate the needs of the poor. Now, the President and Congress have told us, "Wait a second folks, there's a trillion we can play around with to bail out the Wall Street firms which have been bleeding you for years."

True, the Democrats are trying to tweak this corporate give-away. The Democrats, after all, are good at tweaking. But, we don't need an improvement on a plan hatched by the Bush Administration as a last grab for the rich - a grab which follows the trillions which have already gone to the rich in the way of tax breaks and the war in Iraq, a war which has shifted masses amount of taxpayer monies to arms manufacturers and unscrupulous military contractors.

Instead, now that we know there is a $1 trillion out there for the taking, we must insist that the needs of the working and middle class people in this country be taken care of, and taken care of now. The choice is stark - we can insist that this money go to solve basic human needs and benefit us as a society, or we can watch that money go to the rich bankers who got is into the mess we're in. And, if the latter course is taken, you can be guaranteed that there will be no money left over for social programs. As Naomi Klein properly predicted, even social security will be in jeopardy.

So, we need to act and act fast. My modest proposal is for a massive demonstration in Washington. Every woman, man and child able and willing should leave their jobs, leave their schools and march to Washington where we tell Congress: You have seven days to sign legislation that will

*guarantee us national health care;
*fully fund our public schools;
*fully fund social security;
*fully fund medicare;
*fund assistance for mortgage holders and renters;
*fund a decent public transportation system;
*fund our nation's infrastructure;
*fund alternatives to fossil fuels.

And, we're not leaving Washington until you do this.

What happens with these "bailout" monies is, quite frankly, as important, and possibly more important, than who is elected president. As Obama himself said yesterday, if those monies are spent, the next president will have few resources left to deal with other problems of concern. Sadly, he and Biden, while scratching their heads about the "bailout" now in play, and saying that it deserves serious consideration, have not expressed any ideas for an alternative. Therefore, folks, we can't depend on Obama and the Democrats to solve this issue for us. We can't wait until November for this issue to come and go. It will be too late by then.

We must seize this moment now and turn this situation to our advantage while Bush and his rich patrons are in retreat and begging for handouts. We must say, "No handouts for the rich." Instead, "Give us Social Justice!"

Update: I just saw on the DailyKos that there is a protest against the corporate bailout on WallStreet tomorrow (Thursday). Here are the details:

When: 4pm, Thursday, September 25.
Where: Southern end of Bowling Green Park, in the plaza area
What to bring: Banners, noisemakers, signs, leaflets, etc.
Why: To say we won't pay for the Wall Street bailout
Who: Everyone!

Comments

[Pdsatx]

"Revolutionary." Interesting choice of words, Dan. "Social justice" is a rather pregnant choice of words, as well.... How's that "principled" stand against the Colombian FTA going?

Che Guevara still hanging on your office wall?

[mjc]

This is a statement made a few days ago which is the exact same proposal of 4or5 months ago. The proposal was ignored earlier and given the tight connection with WallSt and investmentbanks and Congress will probably not go far this week.

We need some kind of an entity like the old HOLC, the Homeowners Loan Corporation. To be prepared we should start working on the legislation now to try to get something like that up and going so we can have one place in the government to do these mortgage modifications and try to replicate the success that we had 70 years ago. Senator Clinton

[WASanford]

So, you're asking us to become "bonus marchers" like those WW1 soldiers who were trying to get the date of their bonus’s moved from 1945 to the 1932 because the Great Depression had left them jobless. If my memory of history is correct, that turned into a debacle for everyone concerned. Perhaps we should even build a “Hoover Ville” encampment on the Anacostia Flats as those earlier marchers did in 1932.

But we’ve already had an effect on Congress. I’ve e-mailed and called everyone I could think of who might be involved in approving this nightmare. I’m also carefully watching what’s going on in congress. I’ve already seen so much of this that I can no longer remember who said what, but in one hearing, a senator said that he had thousands of phone calls on this proposal and not one of them was positive and if memory serves me, he’s a Republican.

But we can’t and shouldn’t assume that we’ve won. Right now we need to have congress under constant scrutiny and keep those cards and letters coming in folks. And when you have a few spare minutes, call your representative and your senators and let them know you’re watching and concerned. Don’t let them give our future away!

[charon]

Absolutely. The only bailout, if any, should be to help holders of fraudulent mortgages. Laws could be passed to prohibit any ballooning of payments, and financial assistance could be offered to those who are having trouble paying due to disemployment or illness. Much cheaper. The rest of the money should be reserved social programs that have been starved under bushco, including healthcare, energy research, pollution reduction, housing, and so forth.

I know two people personally who have lost homes when their mortgages ballooned from $1500 to $2500 and from $1600 to $2600, respectively. They could afford the lower rates, but the balloons killed them financially, and both made around $60,000/year. Stop the balloons, and they could still have paid the original amount, and would have gladly to have stayed in their homes.