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Thinking Big About a New Economy |
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Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) and Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) will headline an array of economic experts and progressive leaders as they gather in Washington, D.C., tomorrow to discuss strategies for rebuilding a new and more sustainable economy.
More than 800 people are expected to attend the Thinking Big/Thinking Forward conference, co-sponsored by The American Prospect, Institute for America’s Future, Demos, and the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). In a joint statement, the conference organizers say the current economic crisis requires far more than a short-term stimulus.
The current recovery plan must be understood as a down-payment on a sustained expansion of public investment vital to building this new economy. It is time to discard the scorn for effective government that contributed to our current travails and commit to making the investments critical for our future as a centerpiece of a new economics of shared prosperity.
The conference will kick off an ongoing campaign that conference organizers say will demonstrate how, with a serious commitment to public investment, all of us can once again get real value for our tax dollars. They also hope to encourage the new administration and Congress to embrace this approach and build public support for a more activist, progressive government.
Also, the conference will address several major areas where social investment can rebuild a new and more productive economy by focusing on infrastructure, education at all levels and labor market policies to create high-wage jobs.
In addition to Krugman, Rendell and Miller, the one-day conference at Washington’s Capitol Hilton will include top progressive thinkers in the country, such as AFT President Randi Weingarten, Columbia University Professor Alan Brinkley and economist Robert Kuttner.
You can watch the conference live online beginning at 9 a.m. Feb. 11 at http://thinkingbigconference.org. Click here for more information about the conference.
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“The current recovery plan must be understood as a down-payment on a sustained expansion of public investment vital to building this new economy.”
Where is the money for “public investment” coming from? The Obama regime is continuing all of the “bail-outs”, the unending wars, etc. of the Bush gang. Even Obama has been talking about everyone (meaning working people) “sacrificing” and wants to “look at” (i.e. attack) “entitlements” (Social Security),etc.
There was lots of discussion about how the expense of wars, military budget, was taking money needed for supporting public education, etc. Then this fraudulent banking collapse. And Obama appoints the very people responsible for this massive undermining of U.S. economy. And now is giving HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS supposedly to restore these corrupt banks and wall street gangsters to further run their rackets, with no oversight, no regulation, etc.
Meanwhile, millions are now without jobs. Where is rent money, food money, etc. coming from. There is “nothing left”! No money for the states to maintain public education, etc. More wars in Afghanistan but no money for maintaining Social Security, Medicare, Food stamps money, section 8 housing money, etc.etc. etc. ad naueseum.
You cannot fool all the people all the time. Even if highly educated lawyer Obama gets out there every day spinning a fine talk.
The labor movement and the working people must now come up with a “people’s agenda”.
1. NO MORE MONEY TO BANKS, WALL STREET GANGSTERS!
For the billions (trillions?) of money, the banks should be NATIONALIZED and taken over like a utility and run in the public interest and not to profit a few with huge interest rates. Abolish private bank credit cards (at 20 per cent and more usurious interest) and establish and regulate a National credit with low interest that eliminates profits. Get the banks out of the student loan “business” and establish free national public education from pre-school through college and into adult education!
2. End all FOREIGN WARS! These make only Lockheed, Halliburton and the military-industrial complex super-rich. Cut the military budget by at least 50 percent. Shutdown all the foreign bases. End privatization of the federal government. (cia has ‘lost TRILLIONS of dollars unaccounted, outsources over 60 percent to “private” (i.e. profit making) contractors.
3. TAX CORPORATE AND INDIVIDUAL WEALTH! Most U.S. corporations pay NO ZERO NOTHING in Federal Taxes according to OMB! Re-instate tax rates to before Reagon to re-establish progressive taxation.
4. NATIONALIZE THE ENERGY INDUSTRY
Here is the latest indication of the direction that this Obama government is not at all concerned about the needs of working people.
Obama administration announces plan to expand government bailout of the banks
By Barry Grey
11 February 2009
The link to the full article is here:
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/feb2009/bail-f11.shtml
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Tuesday outlined the Obama administration’s plan for an expanded taxpayer bailout of the banks. The plan will not only inject tens of billions of additional dollars into financial firms, but also use Treasury funds and Federal Reserve loans to offload worthless bank assets onto the public by means of a so-called Public-Private Investment Fund.
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This is but the latest stage of a protracted period during which the most powerful sections of the ruling elite have amassed colossal wealth on the basis of the most parasitic forms of financial manipulation, dismantling the industrial infrastructure and impoverishing the working class in the process.
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It’s difficult to disagree with Brother Grey.
There is nothing “progressive” about Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell. And there is little hope that “progressives” can do more than slightly slow down the inevitable collapse of Capitalism.
A truly forward looking conference would feature Socialists and real progressives who aren’t captives or apologists for the failed two-party system.
Obama may blame his predecessor for the massive national deficit but as a Senator he voted for the obscene military budget that is partly responsible for creating the deficit and the bankruptcies that cities and states are facing. He voted to fund the war and occupation in Iraq with taxpayers’ money that should have been spent to fund programs he claims he supports.
Washington state residents are taking into their own hands by rallying at the state Capitol Monday, Feb 16, called by Washington Federation of State Employees #304. Demands are:
o Stop cuts in healthcare, education and other state services! No tuition hikes!
o Support fair pay, benefits and pensions for state employees! No lay-offs!
o Repeal tax breaks for corporation and the wealthy to fund vital state services!
contact: Steve Hoffman 206-915-1910
I grew up in the Great Depression. I have lived through manny so called recessions. I have lived through so called good times.But good times or bad millions of people were left out. The listing of all our problems is common conversation in todays debates. Let’s face it the System is broken. How are we going to fix it. We give all the credit to the New Deal but if it wasn’t for the building of the CIO in the thirtes and the Union pressure it created there wouldn’t have been a New Deal.
In the late thirties frequent headlines in the New York papers ( Remember the Journal American with circulation in the millions. Of course not most of you weren’t even born yet.) well they warned us about the Russian Menace and like most eveyone else I accepted that Russia was the enemy of the United States. Then a strange thing happened. While serving in the second world war the Russian Menace became our Great Russian Ally. After the war they became the Great Red enemy again. The point I am making is that because I was not an informed person the media as we know it today got me to think the way they wanted me to think. Today they call it brainwashing. Today the new dirty word from corporate America is Socialism. Unions have always been a dirty word. Who are the Capitalist going to blame now. They are the only ones left. As we all can see they are doing a Great Job. “Gimme a break.” The truth is that most people don’t really know what Socialism, Capitalism and Unions are all about. But Paul Krugman does and while I like him he should be telling the whole story.
After the second world war they passed The G.I. bill of rights. Because of it I got a college education completely paid for by the GOVERNMENT and ninety dollars a month as a stipend. Later when I Got married I was able to buy a home with a GI loan. In those days college tuition was $500 a year and the books were also paid for by the GOVERNMENT. A new three bedroom house in Nassau County with a big lot could be bought for $10,000. Iwas working for two dollars an hour and with a little overtime I was able to pay my mortage, property taxes and property insurance with one weeks take home pay. A few times when I was unemployed I got unemployment insurance. I had good medical , vacation, sick leave and holiday benefits. When I was 81 to 86 years old Medicare paid for two cancer operation, a new knee,two hernia operations and two cataract operations and now can see better then ever. Medicare paid for my weakly checkups which caught my cancer on time and I am now a cancer survivor. GOVERNMENT knows what to do when it wants to. IT WAS PRESSURE FROM ORGANIZED LABOR THAT MADE THE GOVERNMENT WANT TO. If that is Socialism I’ll take more of it. Sisters and Brothers don’t let coporate America take it away from us. Don’t let coporate America shut us up.
By the way I graduated from college and became an advoicate for a strong Labor Movement. There is nothing wrong with a factory worker having an education. There in nothing wrong with being a worker. We buil this country and we should be proud.