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| Image From: compassionatecouncil.blogspot.com |
Many Americans are unhappy with some of the decisions that our current administration has made, but some Americans are simply pissed off at anything the Obama administration says or does (or does not say or do). I've even read that Obama is the Anti-Christ! Such ridiculous fear and hatred is hard to fathom. Being unhappy with issues is completely understandable, with credible sourcing and specific details, but to make such spurious claims, such as Obama destroying the constitution, are harmful and destructive to our society as a whole.
All of which brings me to the fourth installment of my Compassionate Progressive series. Please read my first 3 series posts (and all my other posts), share on your social media pages, comment and subscribe! (All comments are moderated to prevent spam).
Why am I a Democrat? Well...
"I am a Democrat because I don’t believe that the oil, insurance, and pharmaceutical industries deserve obscene windfall profits and tax breaks while so many Americans can’t afford gas to get them them to work or health care and prescription drugs to keep them alive."
2012 proved to be a banner year for Big Oil. Exxon earned a whopping $44.9 Billion, "...coming only $300 million shy of a global record", as reported by Huffington Post, citing CNNMoney. Thanks to corporate loopholes, they only paid 17.6% in taxes (compare that to the amount you paid in taxes), and yet they are shipping more and more jobs overseas instead of hiring at home (isn't that the argument used by conservatives to justify the obscenely low taxation on the wealthy?).
Our health care system is rife with corporate abuse, overcharging patients and greed; but the worst part of our health care system is the terrible quality we receive for this price gouging. We hold an ingrained belief that "big government" is bad, inefficient, corrupting and harmful, and yet the actual facts prove otherwise. We rank at the bottom of nearly all other industrialized nations in terms of quality of health care and near the top in terms of cost to patients. That makes absolutely no sense to me.
And our Big Pharma corporations are actively and overtly price gouging, while taking taxpayer money through the Bush Era Medicaid Part D fiasco, while Medicaid providers are not allowed by law to seek better prices. A comprehensive, detailed study conducted by Heath Care For America Now found, "The 11 largest drug companies took $711.4 billion in profits over the 10 years ending in 2012"
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| Image from: Ritholtz |
Meanwhile, the American middle class is quickly disappearing, while simultaneously shouldering the greatest portion of the tax burden. While it is true that the wealthy pay more in income taxes, they receive more income from investments, dividends and other sources than the middle class enjoys. At the same that they have access to tax loopholes that the middle class do not, granting them a significantly lower tax rate, overall, then the middle class. In addition, wages have stagnated over the last 30 years and consumer confidence is sorely lacking.
"I am a Democrat because if only government can protect the national security and provide for the least fortunate among us, then it should be run by those who don’t fundamentally hate the concept of government."
The GOP/Libertarian/Tea Party do not attempt to hide the fact that they hold a particularly nasty disdain for a strong central government. This disdain hearkens all the way back to our country's founding fathers. The original form of a constitution (the Articles of Confederation) were written to grant far more power to the individual states, while the central government was meant to merely hold the states together, allowing for interstate commerce and a forum for grievances. But the founders quickly learned the folly of such ideology as the states would not agree to pay necessary taxes. With outstanding national debt to France, who financed our Revolutionary War, the infant Unites States needed to span the interests of the individual states in order to work for the common good of the nation. And this realization brought about the Constitutional Convention. We have grown and evolved beyond the narrow worldview of states' rights over the last 200+ years, recognizing the need for a stronger central government in order to put the needs of the many before the wants and desires of the few. But in the last 30+ years, the neoconservative movement has begun to push an extreme agenda of "anti-government" propaganda, strictly to manipulate and deceive their base. We must have leaders in government who, at the very least, respect and understand the basic role of government - and that utilize their power to raise the common good, not to focus on greed and selfish pursuit.
The GOP/Libertarian/Tea Party do not attempt to hide the fact that they hold a particularly nasty disdain for a strong central government. This disdain hearkens all the way back to our country's founding fathers. The original form of a constitution (the Articles of Confederation) were written to grant far more power to the individual states, while the central government was meant to merely hold the states together, allowing for interstate commerce and a forum for grievances. But the founders quickly learned the folly of such ideology as the states would not agree to pay necessary taxes. With outstanding national debt to France, who financed our Revolutionary War, the infant Unites States needed to span the interests of the individual states in order to work for the common good of the nation. And this realization brought about the Constitutional Convention. We have grown and evolved beyond the narrow worldview of states' rights over the last 200+ years, recognizing the need for a stronger central government in order to put the needs of the many before the wants and desires of the few. But in the last 30+ years, the neoconservative movement has begun to push an extreme agenda of "anti-government" propaganda, strictly to manipulate and deceive their base. We must have leaders in government who, at the very least, respect and understand the basic role of government - and that utilize their power to raise the common good, not to focus on greed and selfish pursuit.
"I am a Democrat because laws discriminating against gay relationships share something in common with a constitutional amendment banning flag-burning: Neither is necessary to preserve the Republic, but both serve as loud distractions from the important issues that affect us all."
Democrats firmly believe in equal rights for all citizens and we work tirelessly to ensure that each American citizen has access to equal rights and protections under the law. The right-wing have been focusing their agenda on limiting or stripping rights from disenfranchised groups. We know that these attempts are merely an effort to distract the public from more important, pressing issues, and yet we must address them. When any group is disenfranchised, due to race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, etc., we all suffer.
Democrats firmly believe in equal rights for all citizens and we work tirelessly to ensure that each American citizen has access to equal rights and protections under the law. The right-wing have been focusing their agenda on limiting or stripping rights from disenfranchised groups. We know that these attempts are merely an effort to distract the public from more important, pressing issues, and yet we must address them. When any group is disenfranchised, due to race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, etc., we all suffer.
"I am a Democrat because human rights, the freedom of man, and the rule of law are the foundations of our country’s greatness, and any fear-based compromise of such principles is both shortsighted and dangerous."
And this one is really self-explanatory..
Please comment and start a conversation. We need to be solution-focused and the best way to begin that process is to begin discussing options with respect and compassion at the heart.
And this one is really self-explanatory..
Please comment and start a conversation. We need to be solution-focused and the best way to begin that process is to begin discussing options with respect and compassion at the heart.
I agree Shellie. Just yesterday I saw an "Urgent" post on one of the conservative sites. It was about the bill introduced on April 2, yes, four months ago about confiscating guns at domestic violence sites. This is just common sense if you ask me. If you are convicted of domestic violence, you lose your right to own a firearm. To me this was just a smokescreen to distract the GOP faithful from the immigration reform needed and other important issues facing our country today. When a bill introduced four months ago suddenly becomes "Urgent", you would think someed flags or lightbulbs would off in these peoples brains. No, all they can see is a bill taking away guns, no matter that it's for a very reasonable situation. If you are found innocent,you get your guns back,if not,you wouldn't get to keep them anyway. We have major issues which need addressed, immigration reform, Israel, crumbling infrastructure which if we fix it will create thousands of jobs, closing corporate tax loopholes, but all the GOP wants to do is distract from the real issues and do nothing. Just like this inane lawsuit against President Obama. This is rediculous,they know it's rediculous, but are doing it anyway. Wasting time and our tax dollars on nothing more than a political stunt. How the GOP base is blind to this is beyond my comprehension.
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