Sen. Bernie Sanders: It’s Time To Declare Independence From The 1 Percent
Source: Rawstory
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has an Independence Day message for Americans: Liberate yourself from the political dominance of the wealthy.
In a statement released on Saturday, the potential 2016 president candidate urged Americans to remember the profound vision embodied in the Declaration of Independence.
Today, while the very rich become richer, the poor become poorer and the middle class disappears, the top 1% owns more wealth than the bottom 90%, and 95% of all new income goes to the top 1%, he said.
Today, while it is projected that 60% of the electorate will not vote in the next national election because they dont see much to vote for, the top 1% will be spending hundreds of millions to elect candidates to make them even richer, Sanders continued.
Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/07/05/sen-bernie-sanders-time-to-declare-independence-from-the-1-percent/
ladjf
(17,320 posts)silvershadow
(10,336 posts)I hope he has a plan.
zonkers
(5,865 posts)colsohlibgal
(5,275 posts)As in stop the perpetual war machine and going back to a progressive income tax system - to give Warren Buffett his wish, that he pay a higher income tax rate than his secretary. I also believe he's talked about instituting a VAT tax like other nations have.
There is more but of course he can't do any of it unless people engage, learn, and get out and vote. In fact I'm in favor of making voting easy and maybe mandatory - and we wouldn't be the 1st nation to do that.
Rod Beauvex
(564 posts)I also support mandatory voting, but this seems to anger alot of otherwise progressive people. I also thing voting should be easier, and, more importantly, we should have plurality voting, where you can vote for as many candidates as you want. Some states have these.
grahamhgreen
(15,741 posts)Duval
(4,280 posts)One of my first posts here was my belief in mandatory voting, and I caught some flack for it.
marions ghost
(19,841 posts)I posted about the voting system in Australia and was told that it was basically un American and unworkable here.
Mandatory voting gets everyone voting--even young people--and takes away so many abuses that we put up with. But you have to trust the people administering it. We have a lot less trust that our govt works for us than in Australia.
LoisB
(7,203 posts)but I might be wrong. I, too, support it. I don't know how anyone can NOT vote.
Dark n Stormy Knight
(9,760 posts)AndyTiedye
(23,500 posts)A value-added tax just drives up the cost of everything and hits poor people hardest.
If you only tax "luxury" goods then you will get into a whole lot of arbitrary decision$ about what is and what is not a luxury,
and like the sales tax, it would gradually expand to cover pretty much everything anyway, as it has in Europe.
grahamhgreen
(15,741 posts)Dustlawyer
(10,495 posts)The Root Cause of our problem is the 1%'s control over our politicians, and correspondingly, our government, courts and media through campaign donations. It is legalized bribery!
I am calling for We the People to get off of our asses and plan to march/protest to get the money out of our political process! I want it to take place in cities around the country on September 13th, through the election. The big money will be flowing, political ads running, the media fawning, and us out there pointing it out through Peaceful massive (hopefully) protest!
OWS did a lot of good: saving people's homes from the Big Banks and changing the discussion to inequality during the last Presidential election. I believe though, that they had too many issues for the low info, short attention span audience. With this focused protest we have a good chance of getting:
Publicly Funded National, State, and Local elections, money is not speech, and corporations are not people!
The momentum from our protest will hopefully spur passage of the Constitutional Amendments require to make these changes since our politicians won't. Since the Networks use our airwaves under license they can be required to donate the ad time, no additional ads can be bought by anyone, including the candidate. Rich and poor have the same opportunity! After we accomplish this, then we can bust up the media oligarchy and require truth in the news. We can bust up the Big Banks and revamp our regulatory agencies with taxes paid for by the industries they regulate. But I am getting ahead of myself. I say we focus on getting the money out of the elections 1st. The more money a candidate raises this Fall, the more we point out their record of being a corporate stooge!
Without their own politicians, things can be made much more fair and we would get our Representatives back. They would have time for us because there would no longer be endless fundraisers. Currently, they only answer to donors.
This is not a Democrat or Republican issue so we can garner support from everywhere. I am attending my local Democratic Party meeting on the 14th where I will start on my local protest. I will get with local unions and hold my nose and try the Republicans as well (more of them here).
I am not tech savvy, connected, famous..., but I am fed up and committed. I believe there are many more like me who have been waiting for someone to come up with a plan.
I WILL WAIT NO LONGER!
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13th IS THE BEGINNING - PLEASE HELP SPREAD THE WORD AND DO WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP!!!!! WE CAN DO THIS!!!
yurbud
(39,405 posts)Broadcast ads should be free and allotted on some basis of demonstrated public support.
Likewise, the revolving door between Wall Street and government should be welded shut, and between regulators and other industries.
Likewise, companies should not be able to choose their own auditors or drug and product testing labs.
Dustlawyer
(10,495 posts)September 13th, the Day it all starts! Spread the word and hit the streets, we want the $ out of our elections and the Lobbyists out on their asses!
AndyTiedye
(23,500 posts)and they're not done yet. The current Supreme Court will overturn any attempt to regulate campaign contributions (including any existing ones they haven't gotten around to yet).
There are only two ways in which this can happen, either of which may take many years:
1. The retirement of at least one of the Felonious Five, which must happen during a Democratic administration WITH enough votes in the Senate to override the inevitable Replublican filibuster.
2. A Constitutional amendment. This requires a 2/3 vote in both House and Senate. Is that even mathematically possible before 2017? How do we overcome the gerrymandering in the House, which turned an overall popular vote landslide for Democrats in the House in 2012 into a solid win for the Rapuglicans? We would also have to take back 16 even more heavily-gerrymandered state legislatures.
Dustlawyer
(10,495 posts)There is a huge wellspring of discontent in this country that is growing daily. These few elections since Citizens United and the recent SCOTUS decisions have really heated up the discontent level. I view this midterm election as an opportunity to tap into that discontent and put pressure on the politicians. At the end of the day the campaign money is to keep their butts in D.C. If they start to see the Big Money donors as a liability, they may shift our way. It depends on how many people get off of their asses and show that discontent. It's one thing to blog or post it, but they know if you feel strongly enough to march, you ARE going to vote.
I am starting to suspect that their is still the doubt and apathy, even among many here that will prevent what I am trying to do from being as successful as I had hoped. The first person to respond had not even read my post and was critical. It may be they are a troll, but very likely they attacked me because they feel guilty for not doing anything but reading and commenting. Not that there is anything wrong with that in general, as long as they are trying to move things forward, but negative defeatist comments hurt, not help.
AndyTiedye
(23,500 posts)"Discontent" doesn't necessarily help us. It is more likely to hurt us at this point,
because the Mighty Slime Machine is able to direct that discontent against the Democrats.
They did so very effectively in 2010 and they will do it again.
There is also the risk that our own discontent will lead us to do something that only empowers THEM. A lot.
Some of the "Discontent" is resulting in calls for a Constitutional convention. BEWARE!
It is the teabaggers who are behind this effort, and they would certainly control such a convention
given the current makeup of the State legislatures, who would appoint all the delegates.
However tempting it might be to support these calls, and hope that "the will of the people" will somehow prevail,
it cannot possibly do so in a convention made up almost entirely of Koch minions.
That is not defeatism. That is reality.
Dustlawyer
(10,495 posts)Do not dismiss this as mere "Discontent!" I am looking obviously at a different "Reality" than you!
Why is it so hard to believe that most ambitious people (people who run for a national office) would not provide the Quid Pro Quo for the money. These corporations, billionaires, and organizations are not paying the large sums of money to these Congressmen and Senators for the betterment of the good old U.S. of A., they want something! If they don't get it, they get someone who will! So the politicians do the bidding of the Donors instead of the People, unless they are allowed to throw us a bone to stay electable? I have seen this in action personally so I don't have much faith in the current politicians, the rich have been getting what they want!
You don't achieve anything without risk, and you will not make the changes necessary to gain back our Democracy, so I suggest you help make it happen or get out of the way for those of us who will make it happen. We WILL get the votes we need to set our country back on the right path. We have already lost Representative Democracy, so what are you afraid of? If we fail this time it just means that when things get worse we will gain more people willing to fight! I hope you become one of those, Peace!
marions ghost
(19,841 posts)Dustlawyer
(10,495 posts)marions ghost
(19,841 posts)positive, strong voices like yours are greatly appreciated.
Dustlawyer
(10,495 posts)yurbud
(39,405 posts)samsingh
(17,595 posts)littlemissmartypants
(22,655 posts)Scuba
(53,475 posts)JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)Which means Bernie will fight this fight virtually alone on Capital Hill. As to mandatory voting, I vote no. You think making someone vote who has no clue as to what the issues are will improve things? I don't.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)will remember to vote if there is a discussion about whether it should be a duty to vote. Maybe if Democrats wise up and make issues more about the financial unfairness of our country more Democrats will turn out.
msongs
(67,405 posts)cantbeserious
(13,039 posts)Sarcasm - With A Hint Of Truth
Moostache
(9,895 posts)cantbeserious
(13,039 posts)eom
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)Uncle Joe
(58,355 posts)Thanks for the thread, Purveyor.
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)Judi Lynn
(160,527 posts)rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)lewebley3
(3,412 posts)All democrats must stay together for 2014, anything else is like shooting ourselves in the foot.
We are going up against Billionaires, the only power we have is to stick together, the right most important
task to winning is dividing us.
Hillary should take Bernie on her book tours, bring crowd so they can talk to people about the need to vote.
ancianita
(36,053 posts)that will have them quaking in their tax havens.
Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)He would get my vote over any of the other mentioned contenders.
Puzzledtraveller
(5,937 posts)As there is no 99%, the upper portion of the so called 99% has more in common with the so called 1% than they do me and anyone I know. The 99% is a convenient way for the very wealthy to stay off the radar.
marions ghost
(19,841 posts)but don't we all know what it means? The statistics quoted by Bernie tell a story of huge inequality and diversion of funds.
Today, while the very rich become richer, the poor become poorer and the middle class disappears, the top 1% owns more wealth than the bottom 90%, and 95% of all new income goes to the top 1%, he said.
woo me with science
(32,139 posts)Absolutely correct, and with a solid and trustworthy record on virtually every issue.
Psephos
(8,032 posts)Nihil
(13,508 posts)Here's hoping Bernie has more success.