Our demands and a Biden supporter responds
Good riddance, Trump is gone; but our problems remain.
We need help circulating this and recruiting people to get involved:
Members of the Socialist Connection Action Network (Socialist C.A.N.) propose an emergency action agenda for all people’s unity around these very minimal and basic demands; we seek to work with all individuals and organizations to attain these goals:
1. A Basic Income Guarantee of $2000.00 a month for every adult over 18 and $200.00 for each child in the family.
2. A $650.00 increase for everyone receiving Social Security.
3. Cancel ALL student debt.
4. Increase the Federal Minimum Wage to $16.00.
The money can come from a hefty tax on the rich and a Peace Dividend.
We intend to launch a campaign involving petitioning and letter writing to get this movement underway and to put pressure on Congress and the President to enact this as legislation.
We need your help.
Please copy, post and distribute.
Contact:
Alan Maki
512-517-2708
red_finn@live.com
Biden supporter Adam Bram responds:
I appreciate the intent, but this isn't something I can support. I consider myself to be Progressive, but I think there is a simpler, much more doable way to solve the problems you wish to solve. That said, I strongly support your first point: Universal Basic Income. However, it's the other points I do not.
Instead of canceling all student debt, fund a UBI. If you have college debt, you can use the UBI to pay off the debt. You can use the UBI to save for college if you wish. The Democrats lost seats because non-college-educated voters feel ignored, and I get it. If someone didn't go to college or if someone already paid off their college debt, it will anger them to see others who have their debt erased. UBI is a way of avoiding that mistrust while still helping everyone with whatever their respective economic troubles are.
Additionally, UBI avoids the need to increase the minimum wage, which can be hard on small businesses. A UBI gives enough income to make the minimum wage increase unnecessary. It creates a situation where some people might not need to work, freeing up jobs for those who do. That naturally drives wages up without mandating a minimum wage increase.
Lastly, if we have a UBI, an additional social security increase is not needed.
I may get pushback on this, and that is fine. But if we want real change in this country, it has to be pragmatic.
And I answer him:
Adam Bram I suggest you organize a separate national effort for UBI. I’m curious though, in your lengthy comment, you don’t say if you support our specific demand what UBI should be; why not?
Obviously you aren’t “living” on these miserly monthly Social Security checks.
Do you work for a living? I ask this since you seem to put yourself arrogantly aloof from the problems being experienced by most working class families in claiming your opposition is based on “pragmatism.”
This entire four point program would cost would cost only a very small fraction of what the United States government has spent over the last twelve years bailing out Wall Street’s filthy rich who just happen to be the employers of most of us.
You talk about “pragmatism” but ignore the simple fact the working class has created this tremendous wealth while being pushed into poverty.
Working people are ENTITLED to what we are advocating here.
This isn’t about “pragmatism” or political expediency... for most of us in this country these four demands are about our survival.