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America Speaks - "Engaging Citizens in Governance," the Peterson Funded Group, Selling Snake Oil, not Solutions
Claiming to "reinvigorate American Democracy by engaging citizens in the public-decision-making" process through a series of "21st Century Town Meetings," its agenda is deceptive, destructive and discriminatory, taking aim at Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, Concord Coalition executive director Robert Bixby calling the latter "low-hanging fruit," easy pickings for deficit cutting profiteers, Peterson adding:
"While a Social Security fix would cure only a small part of the country's long-term fiscal shortfall, it could pay big dividends in terms of the US standing internationally, deficit hawks (like himself) say. It would be a confidence builder with our foreign lenders."
America Speaks snake oil includes a deceptive introductory guide, "Federal Budget 101: An Introduction to the Federal Budget and Our Fiscal Challenges," framing the issues its way, based on false 2025 budget projections, assuming nothing will address growing deficits between now and then, and saying saving America means drastically cutting them, placing the onus on middle America, aiming, of course, to destroy it, through class warfare, impoverishing everyone but the rich, enhancing their wealth and privilege more than ever.
After causing the housing crisis, wrecking the economy, stealing trillions in public wealth, supporting imperial wars and homeland repression, Peterson's scheme (through America Speaks) is to convince people that gutting Social Security and Medicare protects our futures, by destroying them.
Its guide says:
"When government borrows large amounts of money, (our) children and grandchildren may have to endure a weaker economy and lower living standards than they would otherwise enjoy, (and) not even a return to a strong, sustained growth of the 1990s would eliminate the deficit."
In fact, private and publicly created debt work, as long as for productive investment and job creation, stimulating growth. Banks create money and lend it, creating debt - no debt, no money, and under today's credit freeze, the money supply is shrinking, contracting economic growth, creating hardships for millions.
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