Democratic

by Paul Kruger

Created on: July 25, 2010   Last Updated: July 26, 2010

Deciphered: The Secret Republican Agenda

In broad strokes...Republicans want to return to the past to "solve" the very problems that brought us to today's poor economic climate.

House Republicans have now admitted what we've known for a long time: They intend to bring back the exact same George W. Bush agenda which drove our economy into the ditch. Admitted on Meet The Press.

The past led us to where we are today. Why would they want to go back?

Some Economic History: ( These are facts that can be verified. )

In 1993, President Clinton, a Democrat and Vice President Gore launched their economic strategy: (1) establishing fiscal discipline, eliminating the budget deficit, keeping interest rates low, and spurring private-sector investment; (2) investing in people through education, training, science, and research; and (3) opening foreign markets so American workers can compete abroad. After eight years, the results of President Clinton’s economic leadership are clear. Record budget deficits have become record surpluses, 22 million new jobs have been created, unemployment and core inflation are at their lowest levels in more than 30 years, and America is in the midst of the longest economic expansion in our history.

On Jan. 7, 2009, after 8 years of a Republican administration and two weeks before Obama took office, the CBO reported the deficit was projected to be $1.2 trillion. When Bush took office, the national debt, accumulated since the founding of the nation, stood at $5.6 trillion. By the time Bush left office, it exceed $11 trillion. In only eight years, he will have created more debt than all other U.S. presidents combined.

A graph ( http://zfacts.com/p/318.html ) shows the history of our National Debt as a percentage of GDP. A huge spike was created by the second world war which would be expected...but people had jobs. The debt decreased steadily from Truman to Jimmy Carter. As soon as Republican Ronald Reagan took office the national debt took a sharp climb upwards and continued until President Clinton ( Democrat ) took office. In the course of his term in office the debt declined and he built up a cash surplus. When George Bush took office in 2000, the debt took a sharp turn upwards, wiping out the Clinton surplus, and has not stopped yet.

According to Business Week, the average CEO of a major corporation made 42 times the average hourly worker's pay in 1980. By 1990 that had almost doubled to 85 times. In 2000, the average CEO salary reached an unbelievable 531 times that of the average hourly worker. The bad economy is never bad for these CEO's. As profits fall they fire workers and keep a bonus.

According to a recent study by University of California-Berkeley, the United States could lose as many as 14 million white-collar jobs as a result of the new outsourcing trend, and workers fortunate enough to hold onto their jobs will see decreasing wages and benefits as US companies try to keep pace with low-wage countries.

Corporations are driven by profit, not that profit is bad per se, provided that they maintain a balance between their profit motives and their impact on society and our economy. There must be an ethical and moral balance between profits and what is right for the nation in which they operate and prosper.

Enter Politics: Special Interest influence on elections and law-makers, both national and state.

There is a great site for delving into finance implications of politics called www.opensecrets.org where you can find out who gives what to influence campaigns and legislation. It is clear that both Democrats as well as Republicans accept campaign help from well-funded sources. To anyone in business it is also understood that businesses or organization will not spend money unless they have a reasonable expectation of a positive return on that investment. Supporting a political candidate with millions of dollars is no exception. These expenditures are a legal form of bribery not available to the average American. The money is spent and something of value is given in return...somewhere along the line, typically in the form of special consideration in legislation designed to protect those special interests and elevating those interests above those of the American citizen.

There are two broad categories of spenders in this system. Corporations and Labor Unions and related worker associations who speak for their membership. The first, answer to shareholders and are concerned with profits, not the well being of the American worker. Unions and similar associations as well as grass roots organizations, represent their membership, made up of and funded by millions of individual American citizens. An examination of the contributions will reveal that most contributions to Democrats are provided by American workers via various unions and worker supported associations. Republican's main source for funding comes from private corporations with profit driven motives, made of a wealthy few for which you and I can't vote.

While Republicans tend to lay claim to being the “fiscal conservative” party, history as shown above provides hard economic proof that the average worker and our economy often does more poorly when Republicans are in power than when Democrats have the helm. Clinton, (D) left us with 23 Million new jobs and a surplus while Bush (R) ate that surplus and replaced it with the largest deficit in the history of our nation and a net zero gain in jobs adjusted for increase in population. Not a fiscally responsible management of our economy.

But despite the down turn in the overall economy for the average American, large corporations have scored record profits. CEO's earn millions of dollars a year in compensation even as they lay off workers to save money. Wages and benefits, after all, are an expense to be avoided where possible. One trick is to send American jobs and factories overseas to cheap labor, eliminate any benefits and to avoid paying anything into our tax structure such as income taxes, social security and unemployment insurance. Many of these companies also receive tax incentives at the same time as they deport our jobs..incentives we have to pay for.

Labor organizations support American jobs working in America. They sponsor Democrats. Major corporations support low costs and high profits best served by sending work overseas or cutting salaries and benefits to American Workers...they support Republicans.

Supporting Republicans means support for deregulation and more corporate profits. Regulations are in place for one reason, to serve as the moral and ethical throttle on profit driven corporations who have only their self-interest at heart. Failed regulations under the Bush (and prior) administrations led to the near collapse of Wall Street, to the collapse of the housing market and even to the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Corporations/Republicans hate regulations.

Taxes: Breaks and subsidies for the rich and their corporations.

As a result of President George W. Bush's $1.35 trillion tax break bill enacted into law in 2001 - a bill that was not paid for and that contributed greatly to the current federal deficit - heirs to multi-million and billion dollar fortunes are able to receive their entire inheritance free of federal taxes, costing at least $14.8 billion in lost revenue in 2010 alone.

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on the Senate floor said this, “And the Republican hypocrisy is about to advance to a whole new level. In the name of "fiscal responsibility" they are opposing virtually every effort to help the middle class and working families of our country. But, when it comes to the needs of millionaire and billionaire families, they have no problem reducing revenue by hundreds of billions of dollars. In other words, they are deficit hawks when it comes to the needs of ordinary people, but they are big spenders when it comes to the needs of the rich. “

The CBO and Congress' Joint Committee on Taxation said earlier this year that extending the original Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy would increase budget deficits by $2.56 trillion during this decade. That money saved by the rich typically goes into savings or to purchase stocks and bonds and does not circulate to boost the economy. Unemployment benefits, on the other hand are spent immediately to buy food and pay rent and are circulated back into the economy at once. What they buy maintains and creates jobs.

Religion: Forget it. It plays no role in any of this other than it's underhanded manipulation by conservatives to seek support for their otherwise fiscally unsupportable policies. In no administration in history has yours or anyone else's religious freedoms ever been attacked by Congress or the President. But Republicans will lie and distort even religion to obtain their ultimate goal of converting the US to one controlled by and for the wealthy few at the expense of the rest of us.

Let's assemble some of this information and see what emerges in the form of a consistent pattern.

Despite claims used to “sell” their economic policies to the American people, Republicans claim to be the more responsible party when it comes to managing “our” tax dollars. History shows this is simply not true. In virtually every administration since Truman, it has been the Democrats who reduced deficits, lowered taxes and produced the most jobs. Fact.

When it comes to campaign support, Democrats are overwhelmingly supported by unions and other labor associations made up of average American Workers who are voters. Republicans get fat from private corporations none of which have a vote. Fact.

When it comes to regulating corporate behavior to protect the average American citizen, Republicans want to undo regulations and let business have free reign with our economy, much as they did under the Bush administration. Fact...admitted on Meet the Press by Republicans.

When this is distilled what we are left with is one party who's purpose in life is to assure that the rich get richer. That those wealthy owners are not regulated or in any way made to act in a moral or ethical manner that protects our economy and our jobs and worker safety.

The Republican party is currently playing games and trying to mess with the peoples minds. They are knowingly blocking the very actions necessary to start an economic recovery for one reason, the can look at voting history and see that dissatisfied voters often rebel against the incumbents simply out of anger or frustration. Republicans don't have a solution but they still want the power and are willing to damage our middle class to get it for their rich supporters. They actually count on voters voting against their own best interest out of anger, thus throwing our economy back to the same past that led us to our present recession.

Big business is on board with this plan and will spend millions to influence your vote. What they hope to gain is an environment devoid of regulations that will let them make as much money as possible in any way they can conceive with no regard to the consequences to our economy or your jobs or the public safety.

Their aim is the ultimate corporate welfare state where a few wealthy corporations can control and manipulate the nation and it's citizens to their financial advantage in a system where our voices simply will never matter.

If Republicans wrestle control back, look for these things to change or be attempted:

Roll back tax breaks for middle class while increasing tax breaks for the rich.

Roll back or even elimination of minimum wage, allowing corporations to hire those currently unemployed at third-world wages with few or no benefits.

Slave wages will mean even more will lose homes and retirement savings. People will be forced into credit they can't afford, becoming slaves to the “company store” as many were at the beginning of the last century.

No more health care for anyone but the rich.

Cuts or elimination of Social Security...and don't expect to even see what you already paid to be refunded...that will just vanish.

No more unemployment assistance if corporations decide to send your job to China or India leaving you without work.

No protections from corporate greed.

No more protections for worker safety.

No more voice in your own government. Corporations will pull all the strings via their Republican puppets.

These things are what make up the GOP Secret Agenda. Turning America into a corporate state where the average citizen is little more than a robot for the production of profits for a wealthy few who own and control the Republican party, thus the entire federal government.

Social Security Side Note: Republicans would love to repeal or drastically cut Social Security claiming it is bankrupt. But here are some facts you need to know.

Primarily financed by a 12.5% payroll tax split between the wage earner and the employer.

Pays monthly benefits to about 53 million Americans.

For 25 years has been taking in more that it pays out and now has a reserve of $2.5 Trillion Dollars.

During the current recession SSI has had to draw on those reserves due to high unemployment.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the reserve fund and payroll taxes will cover full payment of benefits for another 33 years. (Plenty of time to restore the economy if conservatives stop blocking provisions to do so.)

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