[Peace-discuss] Mr. President, no deal is better than a bad deal

Mon Dec 24 21:45:37 UTC 2012

For yr attention and action. Color of change gets results. 

--- On Mon, 12/24/12, Rashad Robinson, ColorOfChange.org <info at colorofchange.org> wrote:
No deal would be better than a bad deal.

Tell President Obama and Congressional Democrats to defend the social safety net:

Dear Jenifer,
President Obama and Congressional Democrats are about to gut the social safety net and entrench record levels of inequality1 for decades to come — and they've got absolutely no reason to do so.
With his historic electoral win on November 6, Democratic control of the Senate, and a decisive mandate to raise taxes on the wealthy,2 President Obama is in perhaps the best position he's ever been to stand up to Republicans' bullying.3 The current debate over the so-called "fiscal cliff" is just the latest in a long string of GOP-manufactured crises4 designed to whip up public hysteria and put the president on the defensive.
We don't need to settle for a bad deal that both doubles down on decades of failed tax policy favoring the super-rich and punishes our communities for a deficit we didn't create.5 No deal would be better than a bad deal.
Tell President Obama and Congressional Democrats: reject the right wing's "fiscal cliff" scare tactics and keep your promise to preserve the social safety net.
The so-called "fiscal cliff" is the year-end deadline for Congress to pass a budget deal redistributing the pain of $1.2 trillion in required spending cuts; if Congress doesn't act, we'll see automatic cuts of 8-10% across most federal agencies beginning January 2nd. Importantly, the automatic cuts can't touch Social Security, veterans' benefits, or critical low-income assistance programs like food stamps and Medicaid.6 
Negotiations on an alternative to the "fiscal cliff" have been hijacked by the extreme right wing of the Republican Party. While vilifying the elderly, unemployed and working poor as undeserving "moochers" — and demanding that currently-protected social safety net programs go up on the chopping block7 — the GOP is working furiously to ensure continued tax breaks for the super-wealthy.8  Seemingly buckling under pressure, the president has gone from offering $350 billion in cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other entitlements to a whopping $750 billion.9
If a deal goes through, Obama will be the first Democratic president in history to cut Social Security.10  There is no reason to touch Social Security other than to expand it: this highly-successful, self-funded program is legally incapable of growing the deficit, and is running a multi-trillion dollar surplus.11 At the same time, the president is wavering on his central campaign promise: to ensure the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share by restoring Clinton-era tax rates on the top 2%.12 
Such policies can only serve to deepen economic inequalities Black families have experienced for decades. Black folks are still experiencing unemployment at nearly twice the national rate,13 and throughout the recession too many of us have seen hard-fought economic gains disappear, with devastating effects on decreasing household wealth, personal savings and retirement options. Just one year into the recession, the median net worth of Black households had fallen by 83 percent — to merely $2,170.14 At Friday's press conference on the breakdown of fiscal cliff negotiations, President Obama quipped that "Everybody's got to give a little bit"15 — a remark that cuts deeply for those of us who have already given up so much.
We fought hard to reelect a president who promised that no matter what, "We're all in this together"16 — and categorically rejected the right-wing fraud that America can solve its economic problems by taking from the poor to give to the wealthy. Please join us in telling President Obama and Congressional Democrats to stand up for our communities and protect the social safety net.
Thanks and Peace,
-- Rashad, Matt, Arisha, Charlene, Kim, Fanna and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
    December 24th, 2012

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References
1. "It's the Inequality, Stupid: Eleven charts that explain what's wrong with America," Mother Jones, 03-01-11 
 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2025?t=9&akid=2765.394109.7LGOb-

2. "Obama Wins Almost 50% Republicans on Tax Mandate in Poll," Bloomberg, 12-11-12 
 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2026?t=11&akid=2765.394109.7LGOb-

3. "What to do when you can’t get what you want," Washington Post, 12-11-12 
 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2027?t=13&akid=2765.394109.7LGOb-

4. "Fiscal Cliff Fictions: Let’s All Agree to Pretend the GOP Isn’t Full of It," Time, 11-30-12 

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2038?t=15&akid=2765.394109.7LGOb-

5. "Never Mind the Fiscal Cliff, the ‘Reverse Subsidy’ Is the Real Crisis," Colorlines, 12-11-12 

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2039?t=17&akid=2765.394109.7LGOb-

6. "The Sequester Explained," Bipartisan Policy Center, accessed 12-21-12 (.pdf)

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2040?t=19&akid=2765.394109.7LGOb-

7. "Stuck Between the Fiscal 'Cliff' and a Hard Place — But There's Another Way," Huffington Post, 11-27-12 

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2041?t=21&akid=2765.394109.7LGOb-

8. "'Fiscal cliff' efforts in disarray as U.S. lawmakers flee," Reuters, 12-21-12 

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2042?t=23&akid=2765.394109.7LGOb-

9.  "CHART: All the fiscal cliff offers and counteroffers," Washington Post Wonkblog, 12-19-12 

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2043?t=25&akid=2765.394109.7LGOb-

10. "Explaining the Pure Cruelty of Obama's Gimmick, 'Chained CPI' in Simple Language," AlterNet, 12-20-12 

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2044?t=27&akid=2765.394109.7LGOb-

11. "Don't Cut Social Security — Double It," The Atlantic, 12-20-12 

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2045?t=29&akid=2765.394109.7LGOb-

12. "The President Negotiates With Himself," New York Times, 12-18-12 

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2046?t=31&akid=2765.394109.7LGOb-

13. "The African-American Unemployment Crisis Continues," ThinkProgress, 11-03-12 

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2047?t=33&akid=2765.394109.7LGOb-

14. "African-American Economic Gains Reversed By Great Recession," Huffington Post, 07-10-11 

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2031?t=35&akid=2765.394109.7LGOb- 

15. "Still Time To Dodge The Cliff, Obama, Boehner Say," Associated Press, 12-21-12 

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2048?t=37&akid=2765.394109.7LGOb- 

16. "Bill Clinton gives thumping endorsement to Barack Obama," The Guardian, 09-06-12 

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2049?t=39&akid=2765.394109.7LGOb-

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