Protestors to Ellmers: Abandon Austerity and Rebuild the Dream
Rep. Ellmers' constituents need jobs, not cuts
In the wake of a final debt deal that raises the nation's debt ceiling but fails to protect the middle class, local residents gathered Wednesday at U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers' office in Dunn, NC to demand that she stand up for the American Dream and focus on job creation rather than cuts to vital programs on which many Americans depend.
The debt deal, which will do nothing to create jobs, forces deep cuts to important programs that protect the middle class while asks nothing of big corporations and millionaires. And though it does not require cuts to Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid benefits, it opens the door for these down the road via an unaccountable 'Super Congress'.
WRAL Channel 5 was there to cover our picket:
About two dozen demonstrators said they wanted to persuade Ellmers to change her hawkish stance on the U.S. deficit. The nation has a jobs crisis, not a deficit crisis, they said, and more spending, such as a public works program to rebuild roads, bridges and schools, could create jobs.
"(We need) something like FDR did back in the 1930s, when he had his Works Progress (Administration) program," said Rohima Miah, a member of the liberal group MoveOn.org. "He put people back to work, and certainly we say we're not in a depression like the 1930s, so why can't we do it now?"
Miah helped organize the protest, along with the AFL-CIO and other left-leaning groups. They argued that the debt-ceiling legislation keeps taxes low for corporations and the wealthy by cutting services that help low- and middle-income people.
"They should be standing up saying, 'Tax the rich. Make them pay their fair share,'" demonstrator Agnes Batts said of Congress.
Click here to see photos and video from our picket outside Rep. Ellmers' office in Dunn.
Contract for the American Dream
Participants also presented Rep. Ellmers with a new Contract for the American Dream: a plan, written by over 125,000 Americans, to create jobs rather than destroy them:
Today, the American Dream is under threat. Our veterans are coming home to few jobs and little hope on the home front. Our young people are graduating off a cliff, burdened by heavy debt, into the worst job market in half a century. The big banks that American taxpayers bailed out won’t cut homeowners a break. Our firefighters, nurses, cops, and teachers – America’s everyday heroes – are being thrown out onto the street. We believe:
America is not broke!
America is rich – still the wealthiest nation ever. But too many at the top are grabbing the gains. No person or corporation should be allowed to take from America while giving little or nothing back. The super-rich who got tax breaks and bailouts should now pay full taxes – and help create jobs here, not overseas. Those who do well in America should do well by America.
Americans need jobs, not cuts!
Many of our best workers are sitting idle while the work of rebuilding America goes undone. Together, we must rebuild our country, reinvest in our people and jump-start the industries of the future. Millions of jobless Americans would love the opportunity to become working, tax-paying members of their communities again. We have a jobs crisis, not a deficit crisis.
Click here to read the Contract for the American Dream (PDF). Learn more at http://rebuildthedream.com/.