The ongoing battles in the streets and capitols in Madison, Columbus, Lansing, Indianapolis, and other American cities make it clear that the lines are no longer just drawn, they are exposed.
There are two Americas. One where Wall Street gets bailouts, and another where public schools and safety net programs get slashed.
Where the wealthy elite get tax cuts extended and estate taxes removed, while working people see their retirement plans, health coverage, pay, and bargaining rights gutted. Where people who rob banks go to prison, but bankers who rob people get bonuses and bailouts.
The lesson in the uprisings can be heard in the voices ringing out from the hundreds of thousands marching in the snow, sleeping in the Capitol, and jamming the streets.
It wasn't public workers or high school students or single mothers on Medicaid who plundered public treasuries or caused the meltdown on Wall Street. Talk of shared sacrifice is hollow when all the blame and concessions are forced on working families and those who can afford it the least.
The attack on collective bargaining and unions was always part of a larger game for politicians like Scott Walker, other governors, many in Congress, and their legion of corporate sponsors, to escalate the transfer of our nation's wealth and resources to the bankers and the other elites.
Our challenge as a nation -- the vast majority of Americans who built this country and strive to sustain it -- is to transform the storyline of who is to blame for this crisis, and how to solve it. And to change, once and for all, our priorities to become a more just society.
Nurses in particular know this well. Their voices are heard in every community, their social responsibility profound. Their refrain is "we brought you into the world, now we are going to fight for you, for your quality of life, for your children, for our future."
It's time for a Main Street Contract for the American People.
Every American should be entitled to:
• Jobs at living wages, with a new national policy based on re-investing in America.
• A good, affordable education.
• Guaranteed health care for all.
• A secure retirement, with the ability to retire in dignity.
• Decent shelter and protection from hunger.
• The right to collectively organize.
• A just taxation system where corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share.
• Restoring the promise of our founding -- life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all.
If it sounds like the Second Bill of Rights envisioned by President Franklin Roosevelt, that's just a reminder of how far we as a nation still have to go, how far our democracy has been hijacked and corrupted, and how imbalanced our priorities have become.
The American people, not Wall Street, deserve their own economic renewal package. It's time to reclaim our country. And we will.
For more, visit Protests In The USA.
Follow Rose Ann DeMoro on Twitter: www.twitter.com/NationalNurses
Yes, we want "A just taxation system where corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share." But, shouldn't we want the rest of us to pay our fair share too? By the way, what is our fair share? I certainly don't know what my "fair share" is, or should be. I expect it should be enough to diminish the accumulated national debt so today's children won't suffer in their future, but what would that fair share be, and would Ms DeMoro be willing to pay it?
Stand out line of the whole article. That sums up EVERYTHING.
I totally agree it is time to "transform the storyline of who is to blame for this crisis, and how to solve it". I think the WI Senate and Gov. just gave us a push.
As a long-time, former CNA member, now AzNA member, I'm ready!
"OBAMA, there are two Americas. One where OBAMA gives Wall Street bailouts, and another where OBAMA allows public schools and safety net programs to get slashed.
Where OBAMA gives the wealthy elite extended tax cuts and OBAMA removes estate taxes, while working people see OBAMA gut their retirement plans, health coverage, pay, and bargaining rights. Where people who rob banks go to prison, but OBAMA gives bankers who rob people bonuses and bailouts."
...There, isn't that a much better read?
They are clearly telling us; 'this is the way it is, and if you don't like it, tough!'.
You seem to side with the conservatives; why?
If the Federal government had sent the bailout money directly to the states to assist local banks and troubled homeowners, state legislatures would not be forced into the draconian measures now on the table.
The second is that the author appears to have forgotten how states get the revenue to pay their employees in the first place. That money belongs to the taxpayer who gets it from working, investing and/or starting a business. The more money they get to keep, the more they spend, and the less they successfully and legally circumvent the basic tax rules.
It is axiomatic that the higher your tax rates, the lower your GDP.
You are right about the ideology, which is why the concept of a contract makes sense.
and falling into poverty is a great educational experience.
As a nurse, what's so sickening for me is to see is how badly some of our veterans are being treated; they've done their part and made many sacrifices on behalf of our nation. Yet just last week I cared for a disabled Vietnam war vet who was a resident at a substandard for-profit long term care facility that. This patient arrived in the intensive care unit dying of sepsis, pneumonia, and malnourishment...a victim of a stroke, with little ability to speak. His only living family member, a sister, was too far away to be his advocate. There was no place near her home where he could be transferred because of insurance contracts.
There doesn't seem to be much talk of a deficit when it comes time to extend funding to keep soldiers in Iraq, or Afganistan...for what purpose are they there, whose interests do they serve, and at what cost? There's simply no excuse for governors like Walker or any politician who wants to bust unions and cut Medicaid and Social Security. A strong labor movement and public works program got us out of the great depression. Some cuts won't heal. We've got to draw the line here and now; STOP the CONcessions!
These professions are supposed to be public service, but unions are formed to oppose the very public their members are supposed to be serving.
So, child labor laws, overtime pay, and other such advances oppose the 'public'.
The decline in our actual wages and economy mirrors the decline in union membership.
Meanwhile, the strongest public union (Congress) gets all of the perks. So, they can vote themselves raises, benefits, and live like royalty.
Let me fix your last sentence:
These Senators and Representatives are supposed to be public service, but once elected oppose the very public their members are supposed to be serving.
Excuse me, I meant to say, Omaha, Nebraska.
Home of Warren "If there's an American resource, it's my resource" Buffett.
who ever they must have no ties or loyalties to LARGE MONEY,.