Introducing the People's Budget - Chris Bowers/DailyKos

[WillyT]

Introducing the People's Budget
by Chris Bowers for Daily Kos
WED APR 13, 2011 AT 06:40 PM PDT


Reps. Maxine Waters, Mazie Hirono (podium) and Raul Grijalva introducing
The People's Budget at the Capitol today

<snip>

One of the complaints the progressive blogosphere commonly levels against the Democratic leadership in DC is about negotiating strategy. Generally, the complaint is that the Democratic leadership in Congress and in the White House make opening bids that are already compromises, which results in final legislative deals skewing further to the right than necessary. Perhaps the most frequent specific example of this complaint is that Democrats in Congress should have started the health care debate by proposing a single-payer plan, and might have ended up with a public option in the final bill as a result.

Whether or not you agree with that complaint in either the general or the specific, if it is applied to the budget fight the Democratic leadership in DC should have started with The People's Budget (PDF) http://grijalva.house.gov/uploads/The%20CPC%20FY2012%20Budget.pdf which the Congressional Progressive Caucus introduced today. It's a budget that produces a surplus by 2021 without cutting services for the poor and middle-class. It thus provides a stark contrast with the recent proposal by Rep. Paul Ryan, and a left-flank to the principles outlined by President Obama.

Here's a general overview of the People's Budget:

Reduces unemployment—and thus the deficit—through extensive investment in infrastructure, clean energy, transportation and education;

Ends almost all the Bush tax cuts, creates new tax brackets for millionaires and new fees on Wall Street;

Full American military withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, along with other reductions in military spending;

Ends subsidies for non-renewable energy;

Lowers health care costs through a public option and negotiating Rx payments with pharmaceutical companies;

Raises the taxable maximum on Social Security.

Link to Kos Diary here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/13/966702/-Introducing-the-Peoples-Budget

Full details can be read here: http://grijalva.house.gov/uploads/The%20CPC%20FY2012%20Budget.pdf

The Economic Policy Institute has a full analysis here: http://www.epi.org/publications/entry/the_peoples_budget_a_technical_analysis

:kick:

[msongs]

1. stands fully for democratic party values instead of hedging to include repub demands nt

[WillyT]

4. Exactly !!!

:hi:

:kick:

[mrcheerful]

2. Why isn't there any outrage about the Ryan plan that gets around to start lowering

today's deficits 70 years from now? The R's are making the claim about the deficit crisis yet the only plan they have to address the deficit won't start until 70's years from now which is sorta weird as they are complaining that the D's plan will take 10 years to balance the budget, they claim 10 years is to long. My heads spinning again.

[Exultant Democracy]

3. Its funny when the left flank proves to be the most utilitarian and pragmatic.

Of course it isn't politically pragmatic because D.C. has gone coo-coo bananas.

People, conservatives in particular, seem to forget that the modern welfare state was invented by a conservative because the alternative was far worse, for the rich and poor alike.

[WillyT]

5. Kick !!!

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[WillyT]

6. And Another...

:kick:

[upi402]

7. Very good work

and I love the politicians behind it!
:patriot:

[WillyT]

8. Last Kick From Me...

:kick: