The past two weeks have been a "Where's Waldo" moment for President Obama.
He's been largely a bystander while tens of thousands of American workers, joined by students, and community allies, marched in Madison's snow and freezing temperatures, and slept on the floors of the capitol to defend their most fundamental right to freedom of assembly and a collective voice.
On Monday, the President told U.S. governors, "I don't think it does anybody any good when public employees are denigrated or vilified or their rights are infringed upon."
But the President never addresses the heart of the problem, a clear statement of who is responsible for the crisis -- the corporate class and the right, aided by those like President Obama, who enable them. That's the giant elephant in the room that remains missing in the 'blame the workers' paradigm so often repeated by politicians and mainstream media alike.
Many of us recall the pledge made by candidate Barack Obama in Spartanburg, S.C. on November 3, 2007 when he declared:
"Understand this. If American workers are being denied their right to organize and collectively bargain, when I'm in the White House, I'll put on a comfortable pair of shoes myself. I'll walk on that picket line with you as President of the United States because Americans deserve to know that somebody is standing in their corner."
We're waiting. Nurses, who have been on the ground every day in Madison and at support rallies across the country, will buy his shoes.
Standing with the embattled workers would be an important symbol (and might even get more of the media to show up). But we need far more from this administration -- and for that matter from the Democratic leadership on Capitol Hill.
We need a clear message that public workers and union members in general did not cause the economic crisis or unbalanced budgets. Public pensions did not spark a meltdown on Wall Street. It wasn't workers exploiting tax loopholes or off shoring their bank accounts that depleted public treasuries.
Over the past three decades there has been a massive shift of federal revenues. Individuals now account for nearly five times the federal tax receipts as do corporations, numbers that were roughly equal when Ronald Reagan took office.
The states are no better. Overall, taxes on individuals produce about four times the revenues for states that corporations do. In Wisconsin, the ratio is about five to one -- and that was before Gov. Walker gave corporations $117 million in tax cuts in January to create his current "I need to break the unions" $137 million deficit.
It's well and right for the President to criticize "an assault on unions," as he did in an initial statement two weeks ago.
But he undercuts that message by conceding the Republican and tea party rhetoric about the "tough fiscal situation we are in" while calling for even lower corporate taxes, and making deals to extend tax cuts for the wealthy, and expressing sympathy for governors, like Walker, who want to put their entire burden on workers and the poor.
Every time you hear the President or any other politician call for "shared sacrifice," think about this:
• Corporate taxes as a percent of the gross domestic product are at historical lows.
• Corporate profits per employee are the highest on record. At $1.6 trillion, third quarter corporate profits were the highest figure ever recorded since record keeping began 60 years ago.
• The top 1% of the population had 17.1% of total after tax income in 2009, the highest figure for at least 30 years.
• A one-time 14% surcharge on the super-rich would more than pay for the $1.6 trillion budget deficit projected for 2011 (according to the National Nurses United's research arm, the Institute for Health and Socio-Economic Policy).
• And, finally, workers' wages have been stagnant or falling for at least 30 years.
What more and more people are saying in Madison and elsewhere is that this is not about public workers. It's about politicians funded by far right zealots like the Koch brothers who want to privatize all publicly owned institutions in the U.S. and shift even more resources to Wall Street.
Let's recall it was the finance sector, especially the big banks, not workers, who created the economic crisis in the states and nationally through wild economic speculation concentrated in the mortgage industry.
The 'Deficit Hawks' on the far right are exploiting that crisis to push severe cuts in federal and state spending to 'balance the budget' on the backs of those that can least afford it -- people of color, women, the long term unemployed and the millions caught in the mortgage debacle -- when their real goal is to engage in a private sector hostile takeover of federal and state government. At the same time, they are pushing more tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy which adds to the debt.
The real issue is a responsibility crisis. Those responsible for the economic crisis are being rewarded and workers are being asked to sacrifice.
Here's what we'd like to hear the President say:
Bringing the deficit into balance requires a just rebalancing of the responsibility of the corporate elite and the rich. As a start, corporate profits need to be fairly taxed. Taxes on the rich need to be increased not decreased, and wages should be raised to a living wage, which would raise tax revenues and workers' ability to purchase goods and services in the long term.
Until then, we'll continue to say this President is missing in action.
Follow Rose Ann DeMoro on Twitter: www.twitter.com/NationalNurses
Yes ... as one of you wrote ... Americans voted for the Republicans and Tea Partiers who want to give corporate giants big tax cuts ... and Yes ... as one of you wrote ... it does seem a bit illogical to put blame on President Obama
But ... the Democratic Party is very much supporting corporate giants also by catering to the desires of special interests in so very many ways. And I've seen comments posted at many blogs and many e-mails that blame Obama.
It seems that Democrats are putting a gun to their own heads. It's the individual citizens who are Democrats who are placing blame on Obama! Where in the world is the party for the people? Aren't the Dems supposed to be the party of the people? May be then the party could get support from its own members.
Neither President Obama, nor the Democratic Party, supported and promoted and educated and lead the American people to establish Improved Medicare for All via single-payer health care when they had a chance to do so in the 111th Congress (2009 and 2010).
This particular example of health care is very clearly in the hands of the people to educate themselves and be unified in their actions.
"Millions of informed citizens communicating: more power than the opposition’s media and lobbyists.
http://www.mforall.org/p/200
Bob Haiducek, Bob the Health and Health Care Advocate
May be our president can walk on the picket line for that ... Ha Ha
As if the Secret Service would allow that ! Especially since this MESS and their tea drinking fools, think it is just dandy to talk about "shooting Obama".
The larger point is being overridden by the silly commentary over the President, when he is the best proponent of the Labor Unions, and has spoken out in their favor.
He is not stupid, neither is he not a great politician. He knows how LABOR has helped him and how important they will be in 2012.
It is only that this MESS of Republicans fear labor, that you see these governors take them on. They are trying to crush the middle class with their slash and burn antics. And if one thing is certain, the labor movement is what stands between all of us getting crushed or the Republican ideologues win and we go down the tubes, and become serfs to the rich.
My optimistic self wants to believe that the world is a complicated place and he is negotiating a troubled political and social landscape, while trying to deliver the goods in an adverse environment. While I don't denigrate his accomplishments, my gloomier side argues that he just wants to win in 2012, regardless the cost to principles, regardless the price to the party, or to the voters who put him in office. I ask myself, isn't the point of ascending to a leadership position, as powerful as POTUS, to lead? So, why doesn't he speak out directly to the people a la Teddy Roosevelt, for example?
Because he is far superior to any Republican, I will vote for the President again, and work for his campaign again and contribute again, but absent some reversal in his behavior it won't be with the same fervor and optimism as in 2008. I will be grateful for, but not expect, change.
Think about Bush leaving him with a crashed economy, the likes not seen since FDR, and FDR had his enemies and they were of the wealthy.
Think about Bush leaving him with two wars, not paid for, and huge tax breaks for the wealthy, which ADDED TRILLIONS to the deficits,
Think about Bush leaving him, having lost 8 MILLION jobs and this with the help of the Republicans from 2000-2007. Obama's first three months were trying to stop the bleeding of 700,000 a month, and finally saw an uptick in job creation, the direct help of the Stimulus. It has slowly rising since.
And finally, Obama is faced with the Mid East throwing off despots, but which way will this go ? Will they usher in democracy, elect mullahs, or get other worse Anti American despots. Then you have to reckon with an insane man in Libya, oil rich nation. Thank goodness he doesn't have nuclear weapons like Pakistan, which could go either way.
A cute logo or icon never hurts either.
Same goes for all public servants, postman, police, fireman, trashman etc..
I listen to progressive talk radio. The callers from WI do not want the president there. This is their grassroots movement and they do not want him to steal their thunder. I have heard they are wondering why the DNC isn’t running ads for their support. Many unions supported them in elections and where is the support for them? MIA.
So I wrote the the DNC yesterday and asked. I encourage all to do the same.
www.democrats.org