Stand with the YWCA and the people of this great nation! Tell Congress to Support A Debt Deal Based on Shared Sacrifice

If you make one call to congress this year, let this be the call.

“We will not balance the budget on the backs of working families, the elderly, the sick, the children, and the poor, who have already sacrificed enough in terms of lost jobs, lost wages, lost homes, and lost pensions. Yes, we will demand that millionaires and billionaires and the largest corporations in America contribute to deficit reduction as a matter of shared sacrifice. Yes, we will reduce unnecessary and wasteful spending at the Pentagon.

Today, the top one percent earns over 20 percent of all income in this country, which is more than the bottom 50 percent earns. Over a recent 25 year period, 80 percent of all new income went to the top one percent. In terms of the distribution of wealth, as hard as it may be to believe, the richest 400 Americans own more wealth than the bottom 150 million Americans. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and the middle class continues to disappear. That is what is going on in this country in the year 2011, and we have all got to understand that.”

-Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT)

If there was ever a time to raise your voice for justice, this is it! The debt reduction talks in Washington hosted by Vice President Biden have broken down as leading members of Congress have walked away. To get the process moving, the President spoke out strongly yesterday in favor of his approach to debt reduction, an approach that includes cuts in spending and raising revenues from corporations and wealthy individuals. It is an approach that is supported by the YWCA, a majority of citizens, Democrats, Republicans and even wealthy individuals. 

If you support a balanced approach to debt reduction, contact your members of Congress and tell them! Tell them to craft a debt package that reduces our nation’s debt in a fair and balanced way and not on the backs of women and families.

Action: Call members of Congress toll-free at 1 (888) 907-1485. You will need to make three calls: one to each of your Senators and one to your Representative.

Message:

“My name is _________ and I am a constituent. I urge the Representative/Senator to stand firm in support of a balanced approach to debt reduction.

The Representative/Senator must support a debt reduction package based shared sacrifice and economic justice; a package that includes revenues and cuts to military spending- not just cuts to programs that help average women and families.

Because I support a balanced approach to addressing our debt, I also want the Representative/Senator oppose any spending caps, such as balanced budget amendments, that lock in very low levels of spending. These are nothing more than a backdoor way to enact harmful cuts to programs such as Medicaid and community service programs.

Thank you.”

Background:

The recent debate is tied to a vote needed on August 2 to increase the federal authority to borrow (the “debt ceiling”). Many Republicans and some Democrats have threatened to vote against an increase in the debt ceiling if there isn’t a deficit reduction plan attached. Most economists believe it would be dangerous not to increase the limits on federal borrowing. It would prevent the U.S. from meeting obligations already made, with very bad consequences for our fragile economy. Federal authority to borrow will run out by the beginning of August.

Vice President Joe Biden has been in talks with congressional leaders to come up with a $4 trillion dollar debt reduction package in the hopes that then congress will pass an increase in the debt ceiling. Last week these talks broken down as House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) pulled out of the talks due to his belief that raising taxes should not be part of any deal to address the debt. In comparison, the White House is pushing for revenues to be part of any deal, specifically raising taxes on people making over $250,000 a year and corporations.

Yesterday, the President hosted a press conference where he addressed the debt talks in Washington. Calling on leaders of both parties to continue negotiations, the President laid out why he believed a balanced approach to addressing the debt must include both spending cuts and raising revenue. The President’s approach, often called shared sacrifice, is supported by the majority of people in the US and is the belief that the nation’s debt crisis cannot be solved logically or politically through spending cuts alone, but will instead require revenue.

Shared sacrifice is also based on the belief that everyone who can afford to have a stake in the debt game should do so-based on their ability to contribute. This approach recognizes that some people, due to the wealth and income inequality in our country, can and should contribute more than others.

Please show your support for RESPONSIBLE long-term deficit reduction, through an approach based on shared responsibility as well as shared sacrifice. Please take action now!

Resources:

• President Obama’s speech on debt reduction
• Senator Sander’s speech on the debt and the need for shared sacrifice

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