How do you think Republican donors/voters would have reacted if Trump & Senate Repubs couldn't have gotten Democrats to concede to their terms in the recent "stimulus" bill?
Now Dems don't have a position from which to negotiate & are left to begging. How's that working for us?
Now Dems don't have a position from which to negotiate & are left to begging. How's that working for us?
What if Democrats had demanded $5,000/mo. per American worker? Would that have been any less extreme than the billions for behemoth corporations?
Over my career, I've negotiated with homeowners, executives from F500 corps & huge banks, & small businesses.
Democrats have been negotiating with middle to low ground as their starting point rather than using leverage, at a staggering cost to us. Demand much, much more.
Democrats have been negotiating with middle to low ground as their starting point rather than using leverage, at a staggering cost to us. Demand much, much more.
From an economic perspective, Democrats have been more aligned with Republican, top-down economics, which are neither truly conservative nor conducive to long-term economic growth. You don't have to have a degree in Economics to apply some basic common sense. Demand MUCH more.
I wish I were a better communicator, but I'll take a stab at conveying a bit and maybe someone can riff off of it:
2/
2/
Is the U.S. better served by investing $500 billion in
a) huge corporations,
b) food/shelter/medical/income safety nets for people,
c) a proportion to each, like 50/50, 90/10, 30/70, etc.?
What has worked for the U.S. & other countries in the past? What hasn't?
3/
a) huge corporations,
b) food/shelter/medical/income safety nets for people,
c) a proportion to each, like 50/50, 90/10, 30/70, etc.?
What has worked for the U.S. & other countries in the past? What hasn't?
3/
Who puts more money back into the economy via purchasing the goods & services produced by businesses of all sizes: hundreds of millions of everyday people or a few wealthy people/big corporations?
4/
4/
Who benefits from consumer spending? Who profits?
Who's suffers losses when people can't afford to spend?
5/
Who's suffers losses when people can't afford to spend?
5/
Who pays when people get sick but can't afford to take time off or see a doctor?
a) If it's contagious, who else gets sick? How does that affect those people's families, friends, coworkers, customers, etc?
6/
a) If it's contagious, who else gets sick? How does that affect those people's families, friends, coworkers, customers, etc?
6/
c) If a person loses his/her job because of illness, who pays more into their food, shelter, etc., other workers through their taxes or huge corporations like Amazon, which paid $0.00 taxes last year?
7/
7/
Assuming that American workers end up paying more for other people's illnesses and job losses, who should get compensated by congressional budgets, bailouts, & stimulus packages, the taxpayers or the huge corporations that pay little or no tax?
8/
8/
If the taxpayers get compensated, where does that money end up? Think consumer spending and savings if there's any leftover. The money goes back into the economy (put simply). It stimulates the economy by filling everyone's glasses.
9/
9/
If huge corporations get compensated, where does that money go? Think stock buybacks, etc. How much of that money goes back into the economy, like increased wages? Not much, usually. Bailouts are too often like throwing water into an ocean while the people die of thirst.
10/
10/
A $1,200, one-time payment to American workers will not pay the bills, especially if you can't get it for 4 mos! We may have to quarantine for months, how far would $1,200 get you? Would you be able to spend reasonable on goods & services?
This is not an economic stimulant.
11/
This is not an economic stimulant.
11/
Meanwhile, what does $500 billion for huge companies that already get huge tax breaks... What does that do for the economy or the health and safety of Americans?
12/
12/
Will Amazon & Wal-Mart increase wages? Lower prices? Offer benefits? Not according to past behavior. Or will the money go back into stock buybacks & executive bonuses?
13/
13/
If your tax money goes back into to top of the pyramid, that is *not* an economic stimulant. I wouldn't even call it a bailout. It's corruption. Kleptocracy.
14/
14/
American taxpayers & workers who put in more time & produce more than all other first world countries but don't get paid fairly, can't afford basics like medical care, and are forced to put some of their incomes back into the companies that exploit them.
15/
15/
Assuming you agree, consider what you're getting in return for your work and taxes:
- Is this fair?
- Is it safe?
- Is it sustainable?
- Is it democratic or Democratic?
- Is this representation or taxation without representation?
16/
- Is this fair?
- Is it safe?
- Is it sustainable?
- Is it democratic or Democratic?
- Is this representation or taxation without representation?
16/
Democratic leaders haven't represented us adequately for a long time, but they have spun perception such that too many Democratic voters have *believed* they're working for us, when economically they're more like Republicans.
That's finally changing.
18/
That's finally changing.
18/
Think about Medicare for All, which has been proposed since 1970.
1970!
19/
1970!
19/
Do we not have government healthcare because it's more complicated than the red tape nightmare all the different private insurers make us deal with now? NO!
20/
20/
Do all these profiteering, private insurers result in medical care that's more affordable and economical? NO!
21/
21/
You know why we don't have single-payer, government healthcare? Because our representatives in BOTH PARTIES choose to represent private insurance and pharmaceutical companies more diligently than the people who vote for them.
22/
22/
That's why. It's that simple, and they get away with it because we put up with it and believe them when they suggest we're better off being overly dependent upon our employers, ...
23/
23/
...we're better off choosing between profiteers who are us as profits and losses rather than human beings, and that we're somehow better off choosing to pay $275 for a drug that costs $1.14.
24/
24/
Look at what we put up with instead of just holding our representatives accountable for representing our interests over those of private profiteers. This is disgusting. We deserve better, and there's no time like the present for demanding #MedicareForAll.
Look at this. What representatives have we let get away with saying this bill was a stimulus, or - even more ludicrous - that it benefits their constituents? This is awful.
rawstory.com/2020/04/it-cou…
26/
rawstory.com/2020/04/it-cou…
26/
How are we possibly receiving decent congressional representation when we're being left this economically and medically vulnerable.
27/
27/
We have a virulent contagion running through the population, but we don't even have decent testing, and we sure as hell don't have any protection when people have to work sick.
28/
28/
Who's contributing to your representatives' campaigns? Find out what's stopping your representatives from supporting #MedicareForAll: are they that corrupt or just sadistic? Maybe both?
29/
29/
<In Grandma's voice> 👵 Don't you let people treat you like this anymore. You can either stand up for yourself now or kick the can down the road again for your kids or grandkids to have to handle it, and - make no mistake - that's not OK, do you hear me?!
30/
30/
You contact the people who want your vote and you make sure they EARN it. Enough of this nonsense.
Profit -based healthcare tied to your employer... Whose stupid idea was that to begin with? Oh, never mind, just fix it.
Then have a cookie. 👵
<Exit Grandma>
31/
Profit -based healthcare tied to your employer... Whose stupid idea was that to begin with? Oh, never mind, just fix it.
Then have a cookie. 👵
<Exit Grandma>
31/
