The Second Bill of Rights {Power to the Peeps}
Posted By JWiz on July 2, 2011
An idea is like a virus, resilient, highly contagious. The smallest seed of an idea can grow. It can grow to define or destroy you.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt announced the plan for a bill of social and economic rights in the State of the Union address broadcast on January 11,1944
The Second Bill of Rights was a list of rights proposed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, the then President of the United States, during hisState of the Union Address on January 11, 1944. In his address Roosevelt suggested that the nation had come to recognize, and should now implement, a second “bill of rights“. Roosevelt’s argument was that the “political rights” guaranteed by the constitution and the Bill of Rights had “proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.” Roosevelt’s remedy was to declare an “economic bill of rights” which would guarantee:
- Employment, with a living wage,
- Freedom from unfair competition and monopolies,
- Housing,
- Medical care,
- Education, and,
- Social security
Roosevelt stated that having these rights would guarantee American security, and that America’s place in the world depended upon how far these and similar rights had been carried into practice. Later in the 1970s, Czech jurist Karel Vasak would categorize these as the‘second generation’ rights in his theory of three generations of human rights.
Excerpt from President Roosevelt‘s January 11, 1944 message to the Congress of the United States on the State of the Union[1]:
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A few months ago I wrote about Free Market Capitalism; Our own worst enemy:
Free Market Capitalism: A Bipolar Vicious Cycle Of Boom And Bust:
On June 27 2008, I wrote an article for another publication untitled: “Are We Heading For A World Wide Depression Worse Than 1929?”. At the time, most readers found my forecasts “alarmist” or even disconnected with reality. However, it turned out that I was a lot less off mark than most economists or journalists covering financial topics on the issue of the looming crisis. In retrospect, what I find the most alarming, especially because I don’t claim to be a financial expert, is the fact that so few people saw the runaway train of the financial crash coming.
Most Americans, either Republicans or Democrats, are still fervent advocates of the Free Market concept of capitalism. “The Market Knows Best” is still their motto and the corner stone of a crumbling US economy. Americans are still accepting the pathological cycles of boom and bust, which are a direct correlation of the free market, as unavoidable as paying taxes or death. The collapse of late 2008 was a perfect opportunity to reconsider these foolish notions, and to put this blind and irrational reliance on free-market-is-king on trial.
Some time has elapsed since I wrote that piece, and now I have watched two interesting documentaries on the 2008 Financial Crisis:
and
Which lead us all to this:
Deficit battle shaping up as GOP victory
Regardless of any tax concessions President Obama achieves, the end result would favor Republican goals of cutting spending and government services.
Reporting from Washington—
Even as the political battle mounts over federal spending, the end result for federal policy is already visible — and clearly favors Republican goals of deep spending cuts and drastically fewer government services.
President Obama entered the fray last week to insist that federal deficits can’t be reduced through spending reductions alone. Federal tax revenue also must rise as part of whatever deficit reduction package Congress approves this summer, he said. Obama has been pushing to end a series of what he calls tax loopholes and tax breaks for the rich.
But even if Obama were to gain all the tax-law changes he wants, new revenue would make up only about 15 cents of each dollar in deficit reduction in the package. An agreement by the Republicans to accept new revenue would be a political victory for Obama because “no new taxes” has been such an article of faith for the GOP.
But substantively, budget experts note, the plan would still be dominated by cuts to government programs, many of them longtime Democratic priorities, such as Medicaid and federal employee pensions.
Acquiescing to GOP demands would be the third major compromise for Democrats in the past year — a point of considerable frustration for the party’s liberal base. Despite Democratic opposition, Congress voted in December to extend the Bush-era tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and agreed this spring to steep budget reductions to avert a federal government shutdown.
Some Democrats believe Obama set the stage for the current situation by opening negotiations on deficit reduction this spring with a proposal that contained a 3-to-1 ratio between spending reductions and tax increases. Administration officials defend that move, saying the president began discussions at what one senior official called a “realistic starting point,” not one designed to maximize his bargaining position.
The current debate involves two issues: As of Aug. 2, theTreasury Department says, the government will hit its statutory ceiling for borrowing money. Administration officials and congressional leaders agree that a failure to raise the ceiling could cause economic chaos by undermining faith in the government’s creditworthiness.
Republicans have insisted they will not approve a debt-ceiling increase without agreement on a major reduction in the government’s long-term deficit, although their spending plan would also require raising the debt ceiling. They have demanded that deficit cuts match the new borrowing authority, dollar-for-dollar, and have vowed to oppose any increase in tax revenue. About $2.4 trillion in new borrowing capacity would be needed through 2012, Treasury officials say.
Obama has intensified his efforts in recent days, campaigning for what he terms a more “balanced” approach as negotiations enter their final weeks. The White House wants an agreement well before the Aug. 2 deadline.
“This is not just a numbers debate,” Obama said Thursday in Philadelphia. “This is a values debate.”
GOP leaders have seized on the unpopular debt ceiling vote as an opportunity to further their goal of reducing the size and scope of government.
Democrats have largely accepted more than $1 trillion in spending reductions as a signal that they are willing to make difficult choices — including, a Democratic official said, $200 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.
Details of such cuts are still unknown, but they will slice across every domestic agency, reducing funds for education, transportation, health and welfare. The Pentagon may be spared under the GOP plan.
Even some Republicans worry about the scope of reductions, which could affect up to $35 billion in agricultural subsidies in farm states, and billions more in infrastructure projects or social services in home districts.
However, few Republicans have spoken out, many fearing potential primary election challenges by conservative organizations and “tea party” activists.
The White House is seeking about $300 billion in new revenue over the decade, less than half the amount it sought when Obama first outlined his goals last spring, based on the proposals in negotiations.
Obama once targeted the wealthiest Americans, the top 2% who earn beyond $200,000 a year, proposing to cap their income tax deductions.
But weeks of closed-door talks have diminished that goal. Now, even a deduction cap on those Americans earning beyond $500,000 a year — just 1.3 million Americans, fewer than 1% of all taxpayers — has been dashed. The latest offer on the table would be a more limited cap, to generate an additional $130 billion.
With just a few weeks remaining to reach an agreement, Democrats now are fighting mainly for the most populist tax reforms: ending tax subsidies for oil and gas companies, eliminating a tax break for hedge fund managers, closing an ethanol loophole and changing the way businesses write off inventory, according to those familiar with the talks.
In an appeal to the sensibilities of ordinary Americans, Democrats have gone after notable tax loopholes: tax breaks for owners of corporate jets or thoroughbred race horses. Such reforms produce only modest revenue — $3 billion in the case of corporate jets — but Democrats believe they carry political value.
House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) is aware that he will probably need Democratic votes to pass a deal, much as he did earlier this year to avert a government shutdown. That would require adding sweeteners.
The White House view is that all sides have a lot at stake over the next few days. Polls show that slightly more Americans would be inclined to blame Republicans than Democrats for the impasse. But many would blame both sides.
“At this point, you shouldn’t even call it a debt ceiling debate,” said Stan Collender, an author and expert on the federal budget who now blogs about the topic. “It’s an impasse. And if it stays that way, it hurts everybody to some degree.”
One day, sometime soon the people of this country who have been kicked around and abused by the SUPER Ideologues and Sycophants will fight back, rebel, and revolt. Don’t look to your religious leaders for help, they care as much about controlling the populace as the Capitalist Whores in Wall Street do. I am well aware of the so-called Catholic Social Justice… and yes, when it’s popular and when it suits them, the Catholic Church will become involved in Social Justice Issues {Glass Worker’s strike in Chicago, War on Poverty, Selma Peace March} but they are not the ones leading the party or the crowd…they follow, just like the always do, when it’s safe and in the best interest of the Catholic Church, especially when it helps them recruit more followers = more money for the church {sound familiar?}.
So please don’t bother lecturing me about social justice, I was a part of one of the biggest social justice organizations in the world, and I’m currently a member of AmeriCorps. I know what it takes to sacrifice for the greater good of humanity, as well as a life in service of others. All this country needs know is a spark, which will have to come from a leader who is not afraid of the institution, and can articulate what it means to stand together as one. Power to the PEEPS…Only we, the disrespected, neglected, and disenfranchised children of this country can rise up, rebel, and revolt. We are the lifeline of this country and without us there can be no economic freedom. The one thing that these Capitalist Whores and Super Ideologues fear most is an educated, aware, and united rebellion that can vote this country back into healthier and more productive times. ONE PERSON, ONE VOTE.
It’s time we start to exercise our rights, and stand up for what’s right in this world. It’s not fun to live in total fear of anything in this world. The Capitalist Whores should fear the people, and they will learn to do so once again, as they did before Reaganomics, and all the other Deregulators decided that the process that protects the people should be destroyed. I for one am tired of watching my fellow Americans suffer needlessly because some asshole on Wall Street wanted an extra BENTLEY, or because he needed to buy another Mansion for a bribe to shut up his mistress. This includes the Media of course, who happily play the role of instigator, agitator, and mad scientist by stoking the flames of total fear and exasperation. FUCK YOU MEDIA…FUCK YOU!