Ladies and Gentlemen, Today's Republican Party

Robert Reich rightly calls out the Republicans for who and what they are and work for. I love who he put on the opening screen, don't you?

Quote of the Day -- On Wealth Inequality and Inequity

"Advocates of capitalism are very apt to appeal to the sacred principles of liberty, which are embodied in one maxim: The fortunate must not be restrained in the exercise of tyranny over the unfortunate." --Bertrand Russell

Said so many years ago but still so applicable today. Hear this, Mr. Bezos? Waltons?

What Too Many Americans Don't Know About Working Class America Today

Professor Robert Reich calls it out. Want to support America's working class? Sure you do, unless you're already wealthy. The way to do it? Vote Democratic. Then vote out all Republicans. We must.

Quote of the Day -- Truthful Edition

"More cranks take up fashionable untruths than unfashionable truths."

— Bertrand Russell, "Principles of Social Reconstruction." Mind you, too, he said this in 1916, amazingly enough. True then. Still, sadly, tragically so very true today. So explains Fox.

Quote of the Day -- On Fair, Living Wages

Imagine Indeed

Imagine if Republicans put the same energy into doing good, positive things for the people and nation that they do fighting good things for us all. Imagine if they stopped only working to help the already-wealthy, corporations, their own political party and themselves

Quote of the Day -- On Our Wealth Inequality

Please keep in mind, folks, gross wealth inequality actually weakens nations, weakens our nation.

"...When Gates, Bezos, and Musk together have more wealth than the bottom half of Americans put together? When 1 out of 8 American children are hungry? When 20 million can't afford to see a doctor? When our schools are literally falling apart? We need a wealth tax." --Robert Reich   @RBReich

Quote of the Day -- On Wealth Inequality and a Stronger Nation

"We are in a moment in American history where two guys — Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos — own more wealth than the bottom 40% of people in this country. That level of greed and inequality is not only immoral. It is unsustainable." --Bernie Sanders @BernieSanders

On Republican Party Vote Suppression

--"The Republicans' new voter suppression bills are truly un-American. There's no real voter fraud. It's their naked effort to try and suppress Black, brown and Indigenous votes, to suppress any kind of votes from people who they think will not go for their far-right, 'promote the interests of the wealthy' program." --Al Gore

Know This About Amazon and Jeff Bezos and Union Organization

Amazon: --World's 4th biggest company --$21 billion a year in profit --Owner Jeff Bezos is worth $184B, up $70B in a year

--Sends workers 5 anti-union messages a day --36,000+ employees are on food stamps and Medicaid --Cost to lift them from poverty? 2% of annual profit --Dan Price @DanPriceSeattle

Simple, Intelligent Things We Need to do on Taxes

Republicans are frequently concerned about deficits and deficit spending. At least they are when there is a Democratic Party President like now. Herwith, 3 easy and intelligent things we could do to help solve this problem.

--Raise the corporate tax rate so they pay the same as small businesses. --Raise the tax rate on the rich so they pay the same as the middle-class. --Remove loopholes and increase enforcement. --Dan Price @DanPriceSeattle

The Cold Insanity of Our US Capitalism

Our Gross Wealth Inequality in the US

"Warren Buffet just became the 5th American worth $100 billion. A year ago, there was 1..."

"...The pandemic has minted 50 new U.S. billionaires. Think about how a system that causes so much pain allows for those at the top to gain so much." --Dan Price @DanPriceSeattle

Know This About Republicans, America

The Republican Party, every member of Congress in the Republican Party, voted against the COVID Relief Plan to help America and Americans just now during this, the most deadly international pandemic in the last more than 100 years. Do you know what they ARE working on and for just now, presently? They have the chutzpah to be working to pass a repeal of the estate tax. It would only benefit the top .1% of the already-wealthiest Americans.

Seriously.From an article at Truthout today: The legislation was unveiled on Tuesday by Senators John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) and John Thune (R-South Dakota) and has been co-sponsored by 24 other Republican senators, or about half of all Senate Republicans, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), according to a Kennedy press release. Rep. Jason Smith (R-Missouri) has also introduced similar legislation in the House. The federal estate tax’s current top rate is 40 percent, but thanks to exemptions that grow every year, an estate in 2021 would have to be worth $11.7 million for individuals and $23.4 million for married couples before the estate tax kicks in. The exemption was previously around $5 million but was doubled by then-President Donald Trump in 2018. Because the threshold is so high, an estimated less than 0.1 percent of estate tax returns will pay the federal estate tax for 2020. In other words, Republicans are fighting for a repeal of a tax for the richest 0.1 percent of dead people. These people, these Republicans are not for you and me, America. Well, they aren't for you and me unless you're already wealthy, anyway. And they're blatant about it, too.

Examples of How and Why Jeff Bezos Is Now Worth About 200 Billion?

Check these out as just two examples.

Dan Price @DanPriceSeattle Dec 22, 2020 1. A small business began selling camera tripods on Amazon 2. It reached $3.5 million in sales, 0.001% of Amazon's revenue 3. Amazon copied the tripods exactly and sold them as AmazonBasics tripods 4. Amazon banned the tripod company from Amazon And number two-- Dan Price @DanPriceSeattle · Dec 22, 2020 1. A small business began selling camera tripods on Amazon 2. It reached $3.5 million in sales, 0.001% of Amazon's revenue 3. Amazon copied the tripods exactly and sold them as AmazonBasics tripods 4. Amazon banned the tripod company from Amazon These two examples came from articles in the Wall Street Journal and then CNBC, too, to be clear.

Stand Up, America. Stand Up, Americans

We must do this.

GOP Platform

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Republican Party platform.

God help us with these people.

Quote of the Day -- On the Rich and Poor

 

Robert Reich @RBReich

I will never accept a system that enables billionaires to add $1,100,000,000,000 to their wealth during a pandemic but doesn’t raise the $7.25 minimum wage for over a decade.

Tax the rich. Raise the wage. Now.

Quote of the Day -- On Capitalism

We have to grasp, as Marx and Adam Smith did, that corporations are not concerned with the common good. They exploit, pollute, impoverish, repress, kill, and lie to make money. They throw poor people out of homes, let the uninsured die, wage useless wars for profit, poison and pollute the ecosystem, slash social assistance programs, gut public education, trash the global economy, plunder the U.S. Treasury and crush all popular movements that seek justice for working men and women. They worship money and power.

Chris Hedges

Quote of the Day -- The Day Before This Year's Tax Day

"Just a casual reminder that the richest 1% of Americans is responsible for 70% of all unpaid taxes.
Quite literally, tax the rich."

--Professor Robert Reich