Politics might not be on the Thanksgiving menu, but when families and friends gather, it seems to be a side dish some of us are force fed. We want to give you something to be thankful for by making sure you’re prepared to talk about what women and families have at stake in the economy and the truth about what happened with the super-committee. Remember that the super-committee was a special committee of Members of Congress created to come up with a plan to reduce the federal deficit over the next decade. Last night, the super-committee announced that it did not reach agreement on a deficit reduction plan. To explain what this means for you — and Aunt Edith — below are a few key myths and facts. |
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MYTH: It would have been better if the super-committee reached a deal.FACT: No deal is better than a bad deal — and we were headed toward a bad deal. The fact that some members of the super-committee felt a strong enough obligation to protect the programs that women and families depend on is incredibly important. Had key safety net programs like Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare been cut in a last-minute deal, the damage could have been irreparable. For more info, check out our latest blog post: Five Reasons Why No Deal is Better than a Bad Deal. | |||
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MYTH: I heard Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare will automatically be cut.FACT: The automatic cuts do not reach Social Security, Medicaid, or many other programs for low-income Americans. Any Medicare cuts would affect payments to providers, not beneficiaries. The automatic cuts that are scheduled would affect defense and non-defense programs equally. Unfortunately, discretionary programs that specifically serve low-income people are not exempt. However, the cuts won’t start to take effect until 2013, so Congress has time make changes through the regular legislative process. | |||
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MYTH: The super-committee didn’t reach a deal and important programs were protected — so our advocacy worked! We don’t need to worry anymore.FACT: We still have lots to do. We need to work to extend federal emergency unemployment benefit programs and pass job creation measures. We need to fund the government through the rest of this fiscal year, without strings attached that limit women’s rights. And the fight to make millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share and to protect Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, and other vital programs will continue. So enjoy, rest up — and join us next week. | |||
| This Thanksgiving, we could not be more grateful for the dedication of our network of activists like you, who took action to send emails and make phone calls throughout the super-committee’s deliberations.While the super-committee’s work has ended, our work for a fair economy continues. We couldn’t do it without you.National Women’s Law Center | ||||
Monthly Archives: November 2011
50,000 stand with Alabama families! Marissa Graciosa, Reform Immigration FOR America
Your messages against HB 56 delivered to the Capitol |
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Over one hundred community members joined at the steps of the state Capitol this weekend to deliver nearly 50,000 signatures, collected by national immigrant rights and faith groups, and to show our solidarity across the nation with Alabama’s immigrant families.
50,000 stand with Alabama families! Your messages were delivered, but this is just the beginning: today, our allies are launching One Family, One Alabama, a state-wide campaign to repeal HB 56. Together, we will move forward to fight back for all of our communities. Click here to watch your signatures delivered at the Capitol. Thanks for all you do, Marissa Graciosa |
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VICTORY: Justice in Cook County
Freedom for the Englewood 5, but the struggle against forced confessions continues.
Thanks to the activism of 65,000 ColorOfChange.org members and the tireless legal work of our friends at the Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth and the Innocence Project, the Englewood 5 are free–bringing justice for some who’ve waited nearly 20 years.1
On November 16th, a Cook County judge vacated the convictions of a group of innocent Black men, known as the Englewood 5, who were falsely arrested and harshly prosecuted for crimes they did not commit.2This decision and the November 3rd exoneration of the Dixmoor 5 in a separate but similar case show that evidence, hope, and tireless legal and community advocacy can overcome long-standing injustices.
This is a huge victory and we hope you’ll continue to work with ColorOfChange.org as we take on inequality in the criminal justice system.Remember, our work is powered by you, our members. Please consider contributing to ColorOfChange to help ensure that we’ll be able to secure such victories in the future:
http://www.colorofchange.org/donate
Black Americans and people of color regularly and disproportionately experience the devastating consequences of being swept up in the criminal justice system.Mass incarceration, criminalization, police brutality, and racial profiling are endured with such frequency that this kind of oppression becomes part of daily life for too many of us. We know that this system of injustice must change and we remain inspired by the compassion and commitment of ColorOfChange members, like you.
This week’s victory closes a painful chapter in Chicago’s criminal justice system. However, forced confessions and wrongful convictions remain, particularly for youth of color. We will not rest until these abusive and discriminatory practices end–and we can only do this together.
Thanks and Peace,
— Rashad, James, Gabriel, Dani, Matt, Natasha and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
November 21st, 2011
Help support our work.ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU—your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don’t share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way. You can contribute here:
http://www.colorofchange.org/donate
References
1. “VICTORY: Justice in Cook County,” ColorOfChange Blog 11-16-11
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1046?akid=2294.1174326.PeuNUm&t=5
2. “Convictions of four men thrown out in 1994 prostitute murder,” Chicago Sun-Times 11-16-11
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1047?akid=2294.1174326.PeuNUm&t=7
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Occupy Wall Street movement
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They can take away the tarps and the tents. But they can’t slow down the Occupy Wall Street movement. There have been police raids on Occupy Wall Street in Oakland, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; Denver; Albany, N.Y.; Burlington, Vt.; and Chapel Hill, N.C.—and now, last night in New York’s Zuccotti Park—orchestrated by politicians acting on behalf of the 1%. But the 99% is undaunted. Occupy Wall Street’s message already has created a new day. This movement has created a seismic shift in our national debate—from austerity and cuts to jobs, inequality and our broken economic system. The Occupy Wall Street movement has been committed to peaceful, nonviolent action from its inception. And it will keep spreading no matter what elected officials tell police to do. But that doesn’t mean these raids are acceptable. In fact, they are inexcusable. As former Secretary of State Colin Powell put it, these protests are “as American as apple pie.” Americans must be allowed to speak out against pervasive inequality, even if the truth discomfits the 1%. The AFL-CIO will do everything in our power to make sure the free speech rights of these peaceful protesters are protected. We are the 99%. In Solidarity, Richard L. Trumka |
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AFL – CIO
Republicans on the so-called Super Committee have proposed cutting hundreds of billions of dollars in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits that America’s working families depend on—while keeping Bush’s tax rates for the richest Americans, including the top 1%. This is Robin Hood in reverse—class warfare against working America on behalf of the top 1%. And it’s deficit hypocrisy, too. You can’t use budget deficits as an excuse to cut middle-class benefits one minute and the next minute propose making the deficit worse by lowering tax rates for rich people. After all, the Bush tax cuts are the No. 1 reason projected deficits are so high over the next 10 years. If we want to bring down the federal deficit, we have to start by letting the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy expire on schedule. Haven’t Republicans noticed that Americans are fed up with politicians who constantly cater to the demands of the 1%? This is the same kind of tone-deaf overreaching that voters in Ohio overwhelmingly rejected last week. The debt reduction Super Committee that’s considering these cuts is no ordinary congressional committee. It is empowered by law to propose legislation that cannot be amended and can be rammed through Congress quickly, with minimal debate. And since it looks like every single Republican on the Super Committee is ready to sell out working families, we need every single Super Committee Democrat to stand strong and protect Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Working families are counting on all six Democrats—Sens. Patty Murray, John Kerry and Max Baucus, and Reps. Chris Van Hollen, James Clyburn and Xavier Becerra—to stand with the 99% of Americans who are demanding change. It’s shameful that Republicans on this committee are united in representing America’s wealthiest 1% instead of their constituents. Let’s hope these six Democrats stand together and prove that Congress is capable of standing up for the rest of us. In Solidarity, Richard Trumka |
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