Beggars can't be Choosers!

by DarkSyde
Mon Sep 22, 2008 at 07:15:24 AM PDT
If suddenly socialist investment bankers really expect the American taxpayer to ride to their rescue and save them from their bad bets with almost one trillion dollars of our hard earned money, then they and their billionaire clients are going to have to pitch in too. 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.

(1) The people who can best afford to pay and the people who have benefited most from Bush’s economic policies are the people who should provide the funds for the bailout. It would be immoral to ask the middle class, the people whose standard of living has declined under Bush, to pay for this bailout while the rich, once again, avoid their responsibilities. Further, if the government is going to save companies from bankruptcy, the taxpayers of this country should be rewarded for assuming the risk by sharing in the gains that result from this government bailout. Specifically, to pay for the bailout, which is estimated to cost up to $1 trillion, the government should:

Impose a five-year, 10 percent surtax on income over $1 million a year for couples and over $500,000 for single taxpayers ...

These numbers aren't written in stone. But overall, it sounds perfectly reasonable and should make sense to anyone, conservative, progressive, Democrat or Republican. While it's likely the politicians from both parties who've been bought and paid for by Wall Street will whine -- and we'll be watching eagerly to see just who you are -- this solution will appeal across partisan lines among the middle class taxpayers footing the bill.

Special note to Secretary Paulson and Company: Beggars can't be Choosers, we don't have to give you jack shit. If you're not willing to support an economic recovery fee or patriot tax or whatever fancy sounding name you choose on the tiny minority of people who profit the most in that economy, many of whom caused this economic crisis in the first place, and who have the most to lose if it fails, along with stringent regulations and complete transparency on what you plan to do with our $700,000,000,000 gift, then this just isn't the great big hairy emergency you claim it is.

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http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/22/10152/8400/581/605553