The Republicans are waging war on the poor in America. And just like the war on women, they want to pretend it doesn`t exist.
But it's real. And millions of the most vulnerable Americans are being targeted.
Eric Cantor is complaining about poor Americans who don't pay income tax. But he leaves out all the tax that they do pay. The working poor have payroll taxes. Some pay about seven percent of their wages to Social Security and Medicare taxes. In every state except Vermont, the poor pay a higher percentage on state and local taxes. There are other taxes like sales taxes, property taxes and gas tax. But Eric Cantor still says taxes should go up on these Americans opposed to the super rich.
This war is not new. It has been going on for years. But it really stands out this week. In a span of a few days, Republicans chose to protect the rich by voting down the Buffett Rule in the Senate. Now, they are attacking the most vulnerable. It`s no surprise the Republicans have chosen this man as their standard bearer.
Romney tried to say he misspoke when he made that comment in February. But his policies prove, well, he was telling the truth. His economic plans puts money in the back pockets of the wealthiest Americans while raising taxes on people making less than $30,000 a year. Romney says he's 100 percent supportive of Congress and Paul Ryan`s budget plan.
The Ryan budget is the virtual battlefield map in the Republican war on the poor. Ryan`s plan is Robin Hood in reverse. It takes $5.3 trillion from programs benefiting low income people. It gives a $4.3 trillion tax cut to the wealthiest in this country.
Here are some of the cuts Republicans want to make so millionaires can get their money back -- $770 billion to Medicaid, $205 billion to Medicare, $1.6 trillion to the health care law, and nearly $2 trillion to other mandatory cuts.
This includes programs like welfare, federal pensions and food stamps. That's right. Gather that.
The Republicans are trying to make big cuts to the federal food stamp program. According to the Associated Press, the cuts would force 3 million people off food stamps next year.
These cuts are so unbelievably cruel, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is speaking out against them. In a statement, the bishops urge Congress to resist the proposed cuts in hunger and nutrition programs at home and abroad.
Well, House Speaker John Boehner was quick to brush off their concerns. Here is his response when asked if he understands the bishop`s moral argument.
You see, Boehner says that we have to cut these programs in order to save them. The architect, Paul Ryan, also dismissed the bishops today.
Not only is Ryan cold-blooded when it comes to the poor. He`s wrong when it comes to the bishops.
The spokesman for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops told Talking Points Memo, "Bishops who chair USCCB committees are elected by their follow bishops to represent all of the United States bishops on key issues on the national level. The letters on the federal budget were written by bishops serving in this capacity."
Republicans always try to link themselves with religion. They position themselves as the party of moral righteousness. But the only Republican religion, let`s face, is the almighty dollar.
It`s been five years since the federal minimum wage was raised. It was 10 years before that. Take a look at this chart.
If you work a minimum wage job, this is the how many hours in a week it takes for you to work to earn rent for a two bedroom apartment. In Texas, it's 88 hours. In Florida, it's 97 hours. In Virginia, it's 112 hours, on and on.
There is no lobby for the poor in this country. The only thing that they can rely on is a little bit of government assistance to keep their dignity and their opportunities alive.
Republicans want to take all of this away. Democrats need to advocate harder on behalf of the poor. President Obama gave it a shot in Ohio on Wednesday.
It's a start but it's not enough. There needs to be an advocate for the working poor in this country, like Ted Kennedy. The only way you can fight an attack like the Republican war on the poor is to attack back. Ted Kennedy knew how to do that. He hit back hard for the vulnerable in this country.
It`s time for the Democrats to step up and protect the poor from the assault of the Republicans.
Let me know what you think -- tweet me at @edshow and catch me on MSNBC at 8 p.m. ET tonight.
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You state, ‘working poor have payroll taxes.’
This gets rebated back to them. As does Soc Sec. The poor pay negative income taxes and their all in tax rate, including payroll taxes and excise, etc. And then post-transfers they end up with more than they pay in. They are being paid to be poor Americans. Incentivize something and you get more of it.
The best way to help the poor is to follow Ben Franklin’s advice:
“I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I traveled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves¬, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves¬, and became richer.”--Benjamin Franklin, On the Price of Corn and Management of the Poor, November 1766.
‘The will of men is not shattered (by the welfare state), but softened, bent, and guided. Men are seldom forced by it to act, but they are constantly restrained from acting. Such a power does not destroy, but it prevents existence. It does not tyrannize, but it compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, until each nation is reduced to be nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd.’--Alexis de Tocqueville
Forcing one group of people (the successful middle class and wealthy) to take care of another group of people (the poor who are poor by bad life choices or bad luck and not the fault of the middle class or the rich) is tantamount to slavery and enslaving the middle class as they try to provide for their family so they can provide for someone else’s is morally repugnant. The Democrats need to stop their war on the lower middle class.
Kai
2009 D D - 55** D - 253
2007 R D - 51 D - 233
2005 R R - 55 R - 232
2003 R R - 54 R - 229
2001 R D* R - 221
1999 D R - 53 R - 223
1997 D R - 55 R - 228
1995 D R - 52 R - 230
1993 D D - 55 D - 258
1991 R D - 56 D - 267
1989 R D - 55 D - 260
1987 R D - 55 D - 258
1985 R R - 55 D - 253
1983 R R - 54 D - 269
1981 R R - 53 D - 242
1979 D D - 58 D - 277
1977 D D - 61 D - 292
1975 R D - 60 D -291
1973 R D - 56 D - 242
1971 R D - 54 D - 255
1969 R D - 57 D - 243
1967 D D - 64 D - 247
1965 D D - 68 D - 295
1963 D D - 66 D - 259
1961 D D - 64 D - 263
1959 R D - 65 D -283
1957 R D - 49 D - 232
1955 R D - 48 D - 232
1953 R R - 48 D - 221
1951 D D - 49 D - 235
1949 D D - 54 D - 263
1947
Under this plan, each American household could borrow $10 million from the Fed at zero interest. The more conservative among us can take that money and buy 10-year Treasury bonds. At the current 2 percent annual interest rate, we can pocket a nice $200,000 a year to live on. The more adventuresome can buy 10-year Greek debt at 21 percent, for an annual income of $2.1 million. Or if Greece is a little too risky for you, go with Portugal, at about 12 percent, or $1.2 million dollars a year. (No sense in getting greedy.)
Think of what we can do with all that money. We can pay off our underwater mortgages and replenish our retirement accounts without spending one day schlepping into the office. With a few quick keystrokes, we’ll be golden for the next 10 years." -By Sheila Bair
Federal taxes at the levels we now have are not conducive to growing the economy except for the top 2% and that second percentile is slowly finding out that they are not immune to the greed of the top 1%
Hey Ed, how much do you think that benefit is being subsidized by those of us who pay the real taxes? It strikes me as a hell of a deal to pay 7% (of a tiny amount) to get SS/Medicare.
Just compare the 25% income tax rate I pay for the income from my blood, sweat and tears, versus the 14% Romney pays from his "income" from his vulture capital days twenty years ago.
The rich aren't paying taxes? Really? Stop with the handful (literally) of hedge fund managers using carried interest as a loophole and start focusing on who really make up the true taxpayers. Those making between 100k-1M a year carry the vast tax burden in this country. My federal effective rate last year was 34%, federal alone. Tell me how I didn't pay my fair share again?
The government doesn't create jobs, period. It takes money from one group and gives it to another while burning off capital in the process due to poor efficiency. Look at the government jobs programs of the last three years. Green energy jobs? Cmon. Shovel ready jobs? Really? Where? Manufacturing rebound? Seriously?
This administration has done nothing, nothing to create jobs. They have scared every business owner and executive into doing nothing at best.