Reich writes: "The wealthy have to pay their fair share of taxes. That's what the election was all about, and we won."
Portrait, Robert Reich, 08/16/09. (photo: Perian Flaherty)
8 Principles to Guide Democrats in the Fiscal Cliff Showdown
03 December 12
emocrats, here are eight principles to guide you in the coming showdown over the fiscal cliff:
ONE: HOLD YOUR GROUND. The wealthy have to pay their fair share of taxes. That's what the election was all about, and we won. It's only fair they pay more. They're taking home record share of national income and wealth, and have lowest effective tax rate in living memory.
TWO: NO DEAL IS BETTER THAN A BAD DEAL. You're in a strong bargaining position. If you do nothing, the Bush tax cuts automatically expire in January, and we go back to rates during Clinton administration. Which isn't such a bad thing. As I recall we had a pretty good economy during the Clinton years.
THREE: MAKE REPUBLICANS VOTE ON EXTENDING THE TAX CUTS JUST FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS. After all the Bush tax cuts expire, have Republicans vote on an extending the Bush tax cut just for the middle-class. If they refuse and try to hold those tax cuts hostage to tax cuts for the wealthy, it will show whose side they're on. They'll pay the price in 2014.
FOUR: DEMAND HIGHER TAX RATES ON WEALTHY, NOT JUST LIMITS ON DEDUCTIONS. Don't fall for Republican offers to limit some tax deductions on the wealthy. Demand we go back to higher tax rates on the wealthy and eliminate their unfair tax loopholes, so they truly start paying their fair share.
FIVE: DON'T CUT SAFETY NETS. Don't sacrifice Medicare or Social Security, or programs for the poor. Americans depend on these safety nets and can't afford any benefit cuts.
SIX: DON'T CUT INVESTMENTS IN OUR FUTURE PRODUCTIVITY. Education, basic R&D, and infrastructure aren't spending; they're investments in our future prosperity. If the return on these investments is greater than the cost, they ought to be made, period.
SEVEN: CUT SPENDING ON MILITARY AND CORPORATE WELFARE. You want to cut, cut spending on the military - which now exceeds the military spending of the next 13 largest military spenders in the world combined. And cut corporate welfare - support to agribusiness, oil and gas, Big Pharma, big insurance, and Wall Street.
EIGHT: PUT JOBS BEFORE DEFICIT REDUCTION. Finally, Don't cut the budget deficit as long as unemployment remains high. Otherwise you'll cause the economy to contract, making the deficit even larger in proportion. That's the austerity trap Europe has fallen into. We need to create American prosperity, not European austerity.
Remember: Jobs come first.
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Naturally, I agree with all of Looking Horse's comments re the environment. The time of decision is now. We must opt for the land and water, for birds and animals for nature itself. There are so many threats; from pipelines and GMO's, from acid rain and global warning, from drugs and nuclear bombs.
We must cooperate with Great Spirit who has some special favors coming. More on this in the future. It is a time of hope, though and the battle for the health of the planet is by no means over.