The Beginning - Where Wisconsin Stood Up and Said "NO WAY!"

Wisconsin "Budget Repair Bill" Protest from Matt Wisniewski on Vimeo.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING HELPS THE MIDDLE CLASS

Why is a single category of employees being targeted for a budget deficit they didn't create? Why are politicians waging anti-labor campaigns and ignoring one very simple fact: unions were a major force in building and sustaining the great American middle class. As unions have declined, so has the middle class. Union membership has steadily fallen since 1967, and so too has the middle class's share of national income as the super-rich have taken a larger share of national income than any time since the 1920s. Another thing to think about - when unions are gone, so is a very significant source of funding for progressive political candidates. Do we really want a Corporate America in total control of our country's policies and politicians?

Promises Kept

“Let’s be the generation that

makes future generations

proud of what we did here.”

– President Barack Obama –

From Vice President Joe Biden:

I believe in the power of public service because I've seen what it has done throughout our country's history to combat social and economic injustice. And I am proud to say it's a story that continues in the remarkable progress we've made in the past two years. To tell it, Organizing for America has written Promises Kept.

Take a look at the Promises Kept report of all the work we've done in two years—you can download a copy or have a few sent to you to share with friends.

There's a whole lot to be proud of.

Of course, the big ones come to mind first: historic health insurance reform, which is reining in the insurance companies and helping control the cost of care for millions of Americans; Wall Street reform, which put in place the toughest consumer protections ever; and the end of combat operations in Iraq, which brought more than 100,000 troops home.

And there is so much more you've helped achieve that is right now improving lives across the country:

• We passed the Recovery Act, which saved and created more than 3 million jobs, provided the largest middle-class tax cut in a generation, and made landmark investments in clean energy, infrastructure, and education.
• We made critical investments in General Motors and Chrysler, saving tens of thousands of jobs—and perhaps the companies—and spurring a rebirth of the American car industry.
• We wrote into law student loan reform and credit card reform, which ended the worst abuses of the banking industries and are making lending fair for American families.
• We put two new Supreme Court justices on the bench—Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, who bring rich and diverse experience to the Court.
• We have begun to reset America's relationship with the international community, from the ratification of a new START nuclear arms treaty with Russia to tough new sanctions on Iran to strengthening our long-term partnership with a unified Iraq.
• And we finally repealed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which was the right thing to do—not only because it makes our military stronger at a time when it needs to be the strongest, but because we are seeking that military might with an abiding sense of justice.

Telling the story of the past two years will be critical to the fights ahead. And it's not just the story of this president or this White House—it's your story.

And it is literally proof that the organizing you do on the ground—the conversations you have with your friends and neighbors—is working.

Now, I'm not going to say the last two years were easy—and I won't tell you the fights ahead are going to get any easier.

But I didn't sign up for a cake walk. And I'm pretty sure you didn't either.

We're here to move our country forward. We're here to lay a new foundation for this country—for our economy, for our politics, and for our children's and grandchildren's futures.

And, as Barack says, what we will be able to accomplish together is in your hands.

It's how hard we all work, and how well we all tell this story.

Take a few minutes to read Promises Kept—and let's keep moving:

Thanks for everything,

Joe

Yikes -- What's Wrong with This Picture??

The political rhetoric this year reminds us of the following joke. How about you?


Did you hear the one about the old man who went to the doctor for his checkup and afterward the doctor came in with some bad news? The doctor said, "You have two serious problems. The first is you have cancer." The patient was surprised because he felt fine. The doctor next told the old man, "You have dementia." 
"Oh good," said the old man, "I thought you were going to tell me I have cancer." 


Doesn't this sound like today's Republicans who have conveniently forgotten how we got into this financial mess?!  

Why the Deficit is what it is

Figures from the Congressional Budget Office quoted in a New York Times article, "America's Sea of Red Ink was Years in the Making," by D. Leonhardt, have been converted to the chart at the beginning of these posts to graphically show where our current deficit has come from. It didn't just show up on Inauguration Day, January 2009!

Check out this clip from The Rachel Maddow Show, where Rachel explains why "not since FDR has a president done so much to transform this country."

http://my.barackobama.com/maddowclip-EMS