Senator Bernie Sanders Op-Ed: Billions for Bailouts! Who Pays?

Sanders Op-Ed: Billions for Bailouts! Who Pays? -- 09/19/2008

By Senator Bernie Sanders


The current financial crisis facing our country has been caused by the extreme right-wing economic policies pursued by the Bush administration. These policies, which include huge tax breaks for the rich, unfettered free trade and the wholesale deregulation of commerce, have resulted in a massive redistribution of wealth from the middle class to the very wealthy.

The middle class has really been under assault. Since President Bush has been in office, nearly 6 million Americans have slipped into poverty, median family income for working Americans has declined by more than $2,000, more than 7 million Americans have lost their health insurance, over 4 million have lost their pensions, foreclosures are at an all time high, total consumer debt has more than doubled, and we have a national debt of over $9.7 trillion dollars.

While the middle class collapses, the richest people in this country have made out like bandits and have not had it so good since the 1920s. The top 0.1 percent now earn more money than the bottom 50 percent of Americans, and the top 1 percent own more wealth than the bottom 90 percent. The wealthiest 400 people in our country saw their wealth increase by $670 billion while Bush has been president. In the midst of all of this, Bush lowered taxes on the very rich so that they are paying lower income tax rates than teachers, police officers or nurses.

Now, having mismanaged the economy for eight years as well as having lied about our situation by continually insisting, “The fundamentals of our economy are strong,” the Bush administration, six weeks before an election, wants the middle class of this country to spend many hundreds of billions on a bailout. The wealthiest people, who have benefited from Bush’s policies and are in the best position to pay, are being asked for no sacrifice at all. This is absurd. This is the most extreme example that I can recall of socialism for the rich and free enterprise for the poor.

more...

http://www.sanders.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=303313

to contact their congress critters and support Senator Sanders solution.

He's the only one talking about who should get the bill for this mess.
This was posted on the HuffPo front page but disappeared quickly.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/billions-for-bailouts-who_b_127882.html

:patriot: :patriot:

We could use 60 Bernie Sanders in the Senate.

...too bad The Party has moved so far to the RIGHT that Bernie has to call himself an Independent.



The Democratic Party is a BIG TENT, but there is NO ROOM for those
who advance the agenda of THE RICH (Corporate Owners) at the EXPENSE of LABOR and the POOR.

and that's what we need more of, regardless of what party they choose to run under.

All of the good stuff people associate with New Deal Democrats, originated as socialist ideas including the 8-hour workday and a national pension plan.