Just when it seemed that all of Washington had lost its values and its connection with the American people, a bolt of hope has arrived. It is the People's Budget put forward by the co-chairs of the 80-member Congressional Progressive Caucus. Their plan is humane, responsible, and most of all sensible, reflecting the true values of the American people and the real needs of the floundering economy. Unlike Paul Ryan's almost absurdly vicious attack on the poor and working class, the People's Budget would close the deficit by raising taxes on the rich, taming health care costs (including a public option), and ending the military spending on wars and wasteful weapons systems.
There are now four budget positions on the table. Far to the right is Paul Ryan's plan, an artless war on the poor that would take a meat-cleaver to Medicaid (health care for the poor), food stamps, support for child care, the environment, and the rest of government other than the military, Social Security, and Medicare (that is, until 2022, when the slashing would begin on Medicare coverage as well). Ryan would keep taxes below 20 percent of GDP (specifically, 19.9 percent of GDP in 2021), at the cost of destroying entitlements programs and other civilian spending.
Then there is President Obama's budget, which is really a muddled proposal in the center-right of the political spectrum. It would keep most of the Reagan-era and Bush-era tax cuts in place. Like the Ryan proposal, Obama's tax proposals would keep total taxes at around 20 percent of GDP. The result is a major long-term squeeze on vital programs such as community development, infrastructure, and job training. Also, Obama's plan never closes the budget deficit, which remains as high as 3.1% of GDP in 2021.
In the progressive middle is the People's Budget. Like Ryan's plan, the People's Budget would cut the budget deficit to zero by 2021, but would do so in an efficient and fair way. It would close the budget deficit by raising tax rates on the rich and giant corporations, while also curbing military spending and wrestling health care costs under control, partly by introducing a public option. By raising tax revenues to 22.3 percent of GDP by 2021, the People's Budget closes the budget deficit while protecting the poor and promoting needed investments in education, health care, roads, power, energy, and the environment in order to raise America's long-term competitiveness. The People's Budget thereby achieves what Ryan and Obama do not: the combination of fairness, efficiency, and budget balance.
The fourth position is the public's position. The Republicans often say that they want Congress to respect the voice of the people. The voice of the people is crystal clear. In one opinion survey after the next, the public says that the rich and the corporations should pay more taxes. The public says that we should tamp down runaway health care costs through a public option, one that would introduce competition to drive down bloated private health insurance costs. The public says that we should get out of Iraq and Afghanistan and reduce Pentagon spending. (Just yesterday, Defense Secretary Gates let loose the predictable Pentagon canard that we should stay in Iraq if the Iraqi government asks for it. Better yet, we should respond to what the American people are asking for: to bring our troops home).
The fact is that the People's Budget is the public's position. That's why it is truly a centrist initiative, at the broad center of the U.S. political spectrum. Ryan reflects the wishes of the rich and the far right. Obama's position reflects the muddle of a White House that wavers between its true values and the demands of the wealthy campaign contributors and lobbyists that Obama courts for his re-election. Many Democrats in Congress have also gone along with the falsehood that deficit cutting means slashing spending on the poor and on civilian discretionary programs, rather than raising taxes on the rich, cutting military spending, and taking on the over-priced private health insurance industry. Only the People's Budget speaks to the broad needs and values of the American people.
The current budget negotiations have been a dialogue among the wealthy. The big debate has focused on which programs for the poor should be axed first. There has been no discussion of raising taxes on the rich, and quite the contrary, the White House and the Republican leadership agreed to further tax cuts last December. Obama has repeatedly expressed regret at slashing community development, energy support for the poor, and other programs, but he is not fighting the trend, only regretting it.
Most of Washington has stopped listening to the people. Campaigns are now so expensive that most politicians do anything to court the favor of the rich. Yet ultimately the public will prevail. Twice before in American history -- during the Gilded Age of the 1880s and in the 1920s, just before the Great Depression -- big corporate money effectively owned Washington. But in both eras great progressive leaders (including the two Roosevelts, Theodore and Franklin) came along to restore the true meaning of American democracy: a government truly of the people, by the people, and for the people. With public protests against government by the rich now spreading in Wisconsin, Ohio and beyond, and with the launch of the People's Budget by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, a great national movement to restore American democracy has begun.
Follow Jeffrey Sachs on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jeffdsachs
If that doesn't work, the c0rporate-owned media will make it a choice between a far-right approach and a so-called "centrist" approach...
George H.W. Bush’s 1st budget FY 1990:
DOD 23.1%
HHS 14.0%
Barak Obama’s 1st budget FY 2010:
DOD 19.3%
HHS 24.7%
Source of stats: Office of Management and Budget Historical Tables, Table 4.2
We have gone from 14.0% spending for HHS in FY 1990 to a whopping 24.7% for 2010. "Curb military spending"? DOD has declined from 23.1% to 19.3% for FY 2010.
Jeffrey Sachs stated Mr. Ryan’s plan is an “artless war on the poor..." The historical tables of the USA’s budget shows exactly why social services need to have a “meat-cleaver” put to them.
“Reduce baseline Defense spending by reducing strategic capabilities, conventional
forces, procurement, and R&D programs.” In today’s very dangerous world, to call this progressive budget anything but national suicide is an understatement. They seem to be talking unilateral disarmament more than a serious budget.
It is clear, Mr. Sachs, that based on historical facts of the decline in DOD percentage and the rise of HHS, you failed to take a serious look at what you wrote and the “progressive budget” you endorsed. HHS spending must have a "meat-cleaver" put to it for national survival.
The liberal talking point of “curb military spending” falls flat on the factual ears.
I wish we would pull out of the wars. We will accomplish nothing and we should stop hoping we can bring "democracy" to these types of nations used to anarchy. The cost in lives, injuries and $ is atrocious.
Defense spending is not what is driving the USA to bankruptcy. "Superfunction" Human Resources in the US budget is 69% of the entire budget, far more than triple what Defense spending is. I mentioned HHS spending that is more than Defense spending but that is just part of the overall HR spending. Clearly, HR spending is the single largest component of why we have a 1.645 TRILLION deficit and over a $14 trillion debt.
This is not a liberal thing or conservative thing, it is simply fact--what is driving us to bankruptcy is the rising trend and huge budgets for HHS, and HR, the 69% of budget monstrosity--and growing due to the aging of the population.
Source of stats: Historical Tables, Office of Mangement and Budget
1. Fair tax - A national sales tax of 27% with a rebate to families based on the number of people in the household to cover necessities of life. Eliminate the IRS, income tax, capital gains tax, social security and medicare withholdings tax, estate tax, and corporate tax. Under this plan, the wealth would pay more because they spend more. Collections would be much easier. The amount you pay would not be determined by the quality of your CPA or lawyer.
2. Eliminate all of Obama's czars
3. Eliminate the Department of Energy
4. Eliminate the Department of Education
5. Ban all lobbyist
6. 25% tariff on all goods from China with a 5% annual increase until they stop manipulating their currency
7. Withdraw from Afghanistan - The Russians were there for a decade and could not win
8. Take over the Iraq oil fields and only leave after we have collected the money we spent on the war.
9. Stop defending South Korea until they agree to pay us and remove their unfair trade practices.
10 Raise the social security retirement age to 75
11. stop providing services to illegal aliens
12, Open all areas of the US to energy exploration
13. Reform tort law so that the party or the attorney from the side that loses pays all legal expenses for both the plaintiff and defendant.
14. Reduce dependence on foreign oil by encouraging all commercial and government vehicles be converted to run on natural gas. The US has more natural gas than any other country in the world.
15. End aid to foreign countries. The government will give money to foreign countries after a natural disaster but if a citizen is a victim of a natural disaster they will only loan money.
16. End farm subsidies for products no one wants or uses.
17. End all green energy subsidies. The free market works when the time comes that an alternative energy source is available and less expensive than fossil fuels the market will demand that product.
Our country was on much more solid footing when our GDP relied on productivity by the middle class, not gaming the financial system.
I am involved in a business that manufactures medical devices. We were considering opening a factory in the US but elected not to because of the cost. We can manufacture this device in Asian and ship it to the US for $1200 per unit. To make exactly the same item in the US, it costs $2500 per unit.
This increase will taxes only on securities held for 18 months or longer. That will discourage long term saving and investing.
You have to start from a position of rediculousness if you want to have room to compromise.
I therefore propose the taxpayers budget for 2012.
Raise the tax rate for those earning more than $150,000.00 a year to 96%.
Immediately eliminate all tax expenditures and carveouts from the tax laws.
Implement an automatic transaction tax on wallstreet traders and money changers of 25% of each transaction, across the board.
Legalize Marijuana throughout the United States and commit to spreading the legalization to all other countries.
End the war on DRUGS and Pardon all former drug offenders expunging any drug felonies from their records.
Pay reparations to former drug inmates reflecting their wrongful incarceration.
Ban divorce and require all republicans to adopt a child from a broken home to solve the homeless problem.
Require that all citizens contribute to the energy problem by installing solar panels on their homes and tieing in to the grid for distributive generation efficiency.
The government GSEs will need to finance these at the prime lending rate.
Make medicare optional for all citizens. Everybody in, Nobody out.
Private insurance is not banned but is also NOT Subsidized by public money.
Unionize Congress. Require all Congressmen and Senators to join a union and pay union dues.
I think that should be a good starting place.
Haha I do.
1) Government can't create jobs. Yes, it can. By creating a position and funding the salary for that position, government can most definitely create a job.
2) Businesses have a goal of making money. This is precisely the issue. Businesses are in it to make money. Not jobs, not infrastructure, not good will, not social justice. They are in it for the money. Profits will always come second to people, in the eyes of business.
3) The Stimulus did, in fact, create jobs. If you don't believe me, go look up the youtube videos of Republican politicians taking credit for creating X-many new jobs in their states/districts. Where do you think that money came from?