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Join us in Washington, DC on October 6, 2011.
We'll be protesting the continued loss of American lives on the 10th anniversary of our reckless invasion of Afghanistan. And we'll be protesting the 10th anniversary of the Bush tax cuts, the symbol of war on the middle class.
The difference between physical war and economic war is the speed and degree of violence with which decisions by political and business leaders tear apart society. In Vietnam young lives were snuffed out quickly. With the transfer of income to the rich that started shortly after the end of the Vietnam War, the health and security and quality of life of entire families has been degraded in a long, slow, torturous process.
In both cases the greed and arrogance of people in power, and their disregard for those considered inferior, is to blame.
We cheer soldiers walking through airports when we should be protecting their right to stay home and live in peace.
We hear that "times are tough for everyone" when the richest 1% of Americans have TRIPLED their share of national income in the last quarter-century. That's an extra TRILLION DOLLARS A YEAR.
That trillion dollars, diverted to the rich through tax cuts and financial system de-regulation, could be providing an extra $10,000 a year for every family in America. Instead, inequality continues to grow. Researchers have documented numerous studies that correlate economic inequality with shorter life expectancies and increased disease and health problems. This is the agonizing economic war against mainstream America.
On Thursday, October 6, 2011 Americans will gather in Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC (13th St. and Pennsylvania Avenue NW) to call for peace and economic justice. As stated by the October 2011 Coalition (www.October2011.org), we will use nonviolent resistance to "demand changes that shift power away from concentrated corporate capital and free us to create solutions that lead to a just and sustainable future."
Corporations have the money and the power to control the political process and the media. But we have the numbers. Most of us want to end the wars and seek energy independence, so that our intervention in dangerously volatile foreign countries will no longer be necessary. Many of us already advocate for social justice, but too often our efforts are like swords flailing at the guns of a fortress. Together, though, we have a previously untapped power that can restore a community-driven sense of justice in America.
Although specific demands for October 2011 have not been announced, certain social and economic and environmental needs seem clear:
1. End the Afghanistan war
2. End the Bush tax cuts
3. Demand that a percentage of oil industry profits go toward alternative energy development
4. Implement the People's Budget. Among other common-sense recommendations, this would increase the top income tax rate and the capital gains tax rate, remove corporate tax loopholes, and invest in job creation, education, clean energy, and infrastructure.
It's 1968 all over again. But this time we have two wars to end.
By PAUL BUCHHEIT
We'll be protesting the continued loss of American lives on the 10th anniversary of our reckless invasion of Afghanistan. And we'll be protesting the 10th anniversary of the Bush tax cuts, the symbol of war on the middle class.
The difference between physical war and economic war is the speed and degree of violence with which decisions by political and business leaders tear apart society. In Vietnam young lives were snuffed out quickly. With the transfer of income to the rich that started shortly after the end of the Vietnam War, the health and security and quality of life of entire families has been degraded in a long, slow, torturous process.
In both cases the greed and arrogance of people in power, and their disregard for those considered inferior, is to blame.
We cheer soldiers walking through airports when we should be protecting their right to stay home and live in peace.
We hear that "times are tough for everyone" when the richest 1% of Americans have TRIPLED their share of national income in the last quarter-century. That's an extra TRILLION DOLLARS A YEAR.
That trillion dollars, diverted to the rich through tax cuts and financial system de-regulation, could be providing an extra $10,000 a year for every family in America. Instead, inequality continues to grow. Researchers have documented numerous studies that correlate economic inequality with shorter life expectancies and increased disease and health problems. This is the agonizing economic war against mainstream America.
On Thursday, October 6, 2011 Americans will gather in Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC (13th St. and Pennsylvania Avenue NW) to call for peace and economic justice. As stated by the October 2011 Coalition (www.October2011.org), we will use nonviolent resistance to "demand changes that shift power away from concentrated corporate capital and free us to create solutions that lead to a just and sustainable future."
Corporations have the money and the power to control the political process and the media. But we have the numbers. Most of us want to end the wars and seek energy independence, so that our intervention in dangerously volatile foreign countries will no longer be necessary. Many of us already advocate for social justice, but too often our efforts are like swords flailing at the guns of a fortress. Together, though, we have a previously untapped power that can restore a community-driven sense of justice in America.
Although specific demands for October 2011 have not been announced, certain social and economic and environmental needs seem clear:
1. End the Afghanistan war
2. End the Bush tax cuts
3. Demand that a percentage of oil industry profits go toward alternative energy development
4. Implement the People's Budget. Among other common-sense recommendations, this would increase the top income tax rate and the capital gains tax rate, remove corporate tax loopholes, and invest in job creation, education, clean energy, and infrastructure.
It's 1968 all over again. But this time we have two wars to end.
By PAUL BUCHHEIT
