4) Tax the rich: The top tax bracket should pay what they paid pre-Reagan, which was 70 percent of their income. (If necessary, tax them what they paid under Truman, which was 91 percent.)
5) End the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
6) Drastically reduce the military budget.
8) Require that the rich pay the same percentage of their salary into Social Security as the rest of us. This involves removing a cap on salaries over $102,000 which eliminates payment into Social Security on salaries over that amount.
Of course such a plan is utterly utopian within the realm of the two-party system. Organized labor must permanently withdraw all support to the Democrats and direct its energy and resources toward a progressive political alternative. By creating a truly progressive political platform, the vast majority of society would quickly join their ranks, and the days of the two-party, big business politics would be over.
Shamus Cooke is a social service worker, trade unionist, and writer for Workers Action (www.workerscompass.org). He can be reached at shamuscook@yahoo.com
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
1
1
