The American Revolution and the American Counter-Revolution: Past, Present, and Future

[Today, we welcome back SWR!  PfP would like to thank him for his contribution!  As always, if you would like to contribute to People for Polity, email peopleforpolity@gmail.com.]


I want, here, to try to speak of something that bothers me about American history and how it is presented to and understood by the common person that no one ever talks about and then how this relates to the contemporary United States.

Often, people like to speak about and present the current U.S. Constitution like it is the document that embodies the values and goals of the American Revolution.

That, however, is not really true.

The true document of the revolution -- besides the Declaration of Independence -- was the Articles of Confederation.

Myths, deception, and lies: Rhetoric and the conservative right [VIDEO]

filipspagnoli.wordpress.com 

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Robert Reich debunks 6 big GOP lies about the economy

UpTakeVideo recently posted a video on YouTube of former Secretary of Labor, professor, and author Robert Reich speaking at the "Summit For A Fair Economy" in Minneapolis, Minnesota on September 10, 2011.  In the video, Reich details 6 big GOP lies about the economy.

The lies as detailed by Reich and the video's description:

1.) Tax cuts to the rich and corporations trickle down to the rest of us.  (No it doesn't, and it never has.)

2.) If you shrink government you create jobs.  (No, you get rid of jobs that way.)

3.) High taxes on the rich hurts the economy.  (No, the economy grew when the US did this under Eisenhower.)

4.) Debt is to be avoided, and it is mostly caused by Medicare.  (No, if debt is properly used to grow the economy, it becomes a smaller part of the budget because of increased revenue, and Medicare has the lowest overhead of any health insurance plan out there.)

5.) Social Security is a Ponzi scheme.  (No, it's solid for 26 years. Social Security is solid beyond that if the rich pay the same percentage in social security taxes as the rest of us do.)

6.) We need to tax the poor.  (This is what Republicans have been proposing when they say any "tax reform" needs to involve all Americans, because poor people pay no income tax. The poor have no money, and taxing them will not solve our budget problems.)

More after the break...

A Libertarian's Dream [VIDEO]

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Business Insider: Consumer spending is another drag killing this economy

I was deliberating with a few friends the other day over a recent article published at The Blaze (including AlwaysRight of PfP) which analyzed the following statement from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV):

"Millionaire job creators are like unicorns. They’re impossible to find, and they don’t exist…Only a tiny fraction of people making more than a million dollars, probably less than one percent, are small business owners. And only a tiny fraction of that tiny fraction are traditional job creators…Most of these businesses are hedge fund managers or wealthy lawyers. They don’t do much hiring and they don’t need tax breaks."

People for Polity is of the belief that millionaires are vital for job growth...they just aren't currently creating jobs despite the Bush Tax Cuts.

The debate took a turn, where I began to imagine a world where a zero percent corporate tax rate worked...and then explained why it could only exist in theory (aka dreamland).  

More after the break...

Dylan Ratigan: United Republic [VIDEO]

[Once again, welcome back to People for Polity.  If you would like to contribute, please email peopleforpolity@gmail.com.]

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Dylan Ratigan Newsletter

Today, I would like to post something which I believe to be the most important goal of restoring our great nation:  eliminating money from politics.  Until this is accomplished, big business will continue to buy elections and influence public policy with their money.

Dylan Ratigan is this movements champion with his organization called United Republic.  He is leading the charge to eliminate the legalized money laundering also known as super-PACs.  The first step is to reverse the Supreme Court's sell-out decision of the landmark case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission which ruled that corporations are people.  The second step is a constitutional amendment eliminating money from politics.  

The following is from an email sent by Ratigan to those who signed up for his newsletter.  Please sign up for his newsletter and sign his petition to eliminate money from politics; this is a nonpartisan issue.

94 percent of elections in 2010 were decided by the candidate with the most money.  Do you have enough money to influence legislation?

We're back!: Relaunch of People for Polity

I would like to welcome everyone back to the relaunch of People for Polity.  I apologize for the site being down for the past couple months, as I have been a bit busy.  I hope you continue to read and offer your opinions!  As always, everyone is welcome to write a post, and we continue to advocate fierce, but intelligent, deliberation.  If you would like to contribute to the site, please feel free to email us at peopleforpolity@gmail.com!

Solidarity.  

The Death of Capitalism: Is the United States the new Rome?



Karl Marx and Ayn Rand

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The Nation: How Socialists Built America

Has capitalism outlasted its worth?  I thought the ultimate goal of capitalism was to make prices as cheap as possible for the consumer enshrouded in the magic of the American Dream.  It seems that, at least at one point, we had that.  But now, as huge corporations and pseudo-monopolies have emerged, competition has been limited and prices are taking off.  Production is increasing and CEO pay is skyrocketing, yet worker’s wages remain stagnant.  How else can we explain this but to maybe consider the possibility that capitalism is dying?  The game has been rigged for far too long, and we are stagnating.  Maybe it is time for an alternative, but what?

225,000 people tell Bank of America NO five dollar ATM fees

                                                                                               

[Jess over at Change.org recently sent this email to me in which I want to share.  Be sure to check out their amazing site to sign and start your own petitions!  If you would like to contribute to PfP, please email peopleforpolity@gmail.com

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Change.org petition: Tell Bank of America no five dollar debit card fees

Dear People for Polity,

When Molly Katchpole found out that Bank of America would charge $5 a month to use a debit card, she was upset -- so she started a petition on Change.org.

Since then, 225,000 Change.org members have signed her petition. And now Bank of America is under enormous pressure to cancel its new debit card fee. A Bank of America executive even called Molly and told her that while cancelling the fee would be "premature," the bank was "closely monitoring customer feedback."