In a week when other presidential candidates are offering excuses and assigning blame for the massive cuts to the programs that keep Americans from falling over the cliff of financial disaster, presidential candidate Jill Stein has offered a solution.
Barack Obama approved the legislation that will now cut Medicare and other programs that directly help the American people in times of economic crisis. Jill Stein opposed this deal, stating, “The automatic cuts were designed to impose job-killing austerity without having a single public vote that lets voters hold the politicians accountable. It’s opening the way to cutting Medicare, education, transportation and a wide array of community programs. The Democrat and Republican leaders who set up this committee in the first place need to back down. If they are interested in what’s best for the nation they will wipe the domestic cuts from the books and start over.”
A majority of Americans support cuts to military spending. A majority also opposes the Budget Control Act’s cuts to domestic economic and educational programs. On Tuesday, Stein supported these priorities, observing that deficit spending can be brought under control while preserving the government programs that Americans remain loyal to. “The cause of our deficit is an array of tax giveaways to the wealthy, a profiteering health care system that leads the world in bureaucratic waste, and a hemorrhaging of money into costly foreign military adventures,” she said. “The bipartisan agreement on these misguided priorities is striking. Despite his posture of sympathy and his attacks on his Republican rivals, President Obama’s actions embrace traditional Republican priorities. And the Republicans have responded by moving one step to the right, offering little more than failed conservative formulas and voodoo economics.”
Stein’s solution: Keep the military cuts. End America’s wars. Eliminate George W. Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy. Stop the Budget Control Act’s cuts to domestic spending and invest in direct job creation, rather than waiting for corporations who have refused to create jobs with the trillions of dollars they already have available.
In contrast to Stein, Barack Obama has promised that he will veto any attempt to end cuts to Medicare and education.
How’s she gonna do all that ALL BY HERSELF? When somebody is elected to President they lead, make suggestions to Congress, etc. but they can’t just blanket do all those promised statements you list. What about the lobbyists and arm-twisting and deal-making by bought and paid for legislators (even Dems.) who line up to do the bidding of their paymasters? Presidents don’t exist in isolation and are not Kings (yet?) – so they have to “play ball” with the jackals who control the purse-strings. Electing her might be a good start, but until we get the money out of politics nothing will improve much IMHO.
SO, you’re going to find out who in the Green Party is running for Congress to help Jill Stein’s defense of Medicare…. right, Tom?
Well she would have significant powers over things like ending the wars and ending the drug war, two GIANT steps toward a more humane government and a better budget.
i wrote a response but got a 500 internal server error message when i sent it.
Here’s a good read about the reality of where we are (a one week snapshot):
http://www.stonekettle.com/2011/11/childish-labors.html
How’s any one or few people going to change the course of this sinking ship?
A few people won’t make sufficient change. However, the way a few people remains a few people is that a lot of other people seeing the few people doing the right thing stand back, sip their tea and snort, “Well, that’s just a few people. They can’t prevent the ship from sinking”
If those other people would join the few people, the few people would become a crowd.
Direct Democracy will be administered Soon my friend and meta government. A recipe for Slavery