ColorOfChange.org changing the color of democracy

Dear Friend, President Obama and Congressional Democrats are about to gut the social safety net and entrench record levels of inequality[1] 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 crises[4] 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: http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/fiscalcliff/?source=taf 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 block[7] — 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 ColorOfChange.org in telling President Obama and Congressional Democrats to stand up for our communities and protect the social safety net: http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/fiscalcliff/?source=taf Thanks. References 1. http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph 2. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-12/obama-wins-almost-50-republicans-on-tax-mandate-in-poll.html 3. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2012/12/11/what-to-do-when-you-cant-get-what-you-want/ 4. http://swampland.time.com/2012/11/30/fiscal-cliff-fictions-lets-all-agree-to-pretend-the-gop-isnt-full-of-it/ 5. http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/12/never_mind_the_fiscal_cliff_the_reverse_subsidy_is_the_real_fiscal_crisis.html 6. http://bipartisanpolicy.org/sites/default/files/BCA%20Sequester%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf 7. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/terry-oneill/stuck-between-the-fiscal-_b_2198757.html 8. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/21/us-usa-fiscal-idUSBRE8A80WV20121221 9. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/12/19/the-fiscal-cliff-offers-and-counteroffers-in-one-chart/ 10. http://www.alternet.org/economy/explaining-pure-cruelty-simple-language-obamas-gimmick-chained-cpi 11. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/12/dont-cut-social-security-double-it/266095/ 12. http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/18/the-president-negotiates-with-himself/ 13. http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/11/03/1129721/african-american-unemployment-crisis 14. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/10/black-recession-economy-african-americans_n_894046.html 15. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=167768319 16. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/06/bill-clinton-endorsement-barack-obama