Is it the health insurance company executives who have seen their compensation rise into the stratosphere?

who have seen their compensation rise into the stratosphere? Is it owners of large stock portfolios who have seen the stock market's aggregate value increase more than 50% since you took office?

who have seen the stock market's aggregate value increase more than 50% since you took office? Is it the Wall Street banksters whose asses you saved and who then went on to report record profits and take massive bonuses?

whose asses you saved and who then went on to report record profits and take massive bonuses? Is it the defense contractors ? The oil companies ? The agribusiness recipients of farm subsidies?

? The ? The recipients of farm subsidies? Bill Gates perhaps? Larry Ellison? Sergey Brin? Steve Jobs? Jeff Bezos?

Have any of these organizations and people been sacrificing? On what altar would that be?

Or have these people been sacrificing?



The barely-getting-by self-employed whose health insurance premiums keep going up by 20% a year?

whose health insurance premiums keep going up by 20% a year? The elderly person whose Social Security covers less and less because health cost inflation is already a lot more than the COLA increases you want to reduce?

whose Social Security covers less and less because health cost inflation is already a lot more than the COLA increases you want to reduce? The lower and middle class homeowners whose houses' value is underwater?

whose houses' value is underwater? The students whose tuition and fees kept going up far faster than inflation -- despite a recession -- and who will face staggering amounts of debt upon graduation?

whose tuition and fees kept going up far faster than inflation -- despite a recession -- and who will face staggering amounts of debt upon graduation? The 5,000,000 additional unemployed this recession has generated who would much prefer to be working -- some of whom have run out of unemployment benefits and in any case can't possibly afford COBRA payments for health insurance for their families?

this recession has generated who would much prefer to be working -- some of whom have run out of unemployment benefits and in any case can't possibly afford COBRA payments for health insurance for their families? The Medicaid recipients who have no assets and no job whose access to medical care you seem eager to curtail even further?

Mr. President, in your Saturday morning talk today you also said:

... it's not right to ask middle class families to pay more for college before we ask the biggest corporations to pay their fair share of taxes.



Wait! Why don't we just demand the biggest corporations to pay their fair share, and be done with it?

And then you said...

It means that before we stop funding clean energy, we should ask oil companies and corporate jet owners to give up the tax breaks...



Why don't we just demand the oil companies give up their tax breaks, and still fund clean energy?

And you continued...

Before we cut medical research, we should ask hedge fund managers to stop paying taxes at a lower rate than their secretaries.



Couldn't we just demand the hedge fund managers pay at higher tax rates, and not cut medical research? Cut medical research? Really???

And finally you suggested...

Before we ask seniors to pay more for Medicare, we should ask the wealthiest taxpayers to give up tax breaks...



For pity's sake, why don't we demand the wealthiest taxpayers give up tax breaks, and not even think about asking seniors to pay more for Medicare?

Isn't it true that none of this is because of anything the have-less-now did? Isn't it because of the catastrophic actions some of the have-more-than-ever took before you became President? And isn't it many of the have-more-than-ever who have gained wealth almost beyond measure in these last two years? How much is Apple worth now?

Haven't the have-less-now already sacrified enough?

What logic suggests that they have to sacrifice even more? I just don't get it Mr. President. I admit, I'm not a rocket scientist, but really...

What am I missing?

= = = ==

Are you missing it too? Then now is not the time to stop putting pressure on your representatives in Congress. Tell them to refuse to vote affirmatively for more sacrifice on the part of those who have already sacrificed above and beyond...

Find your Democratic Senator's phone and email here (page down)

Find your Congressperson's phone and email here

For more action items, see Slinkerwink's diary here

