The real story about the tea party movement

by lifeisgood 55 Replies latest jw friends

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  lifeisgood

  I started this thread because some people are telling lies in another thread about the tea party.

  I am one of the volunteers that helps arrange and put on tea party rallies in southern Mississippi.

  We do not have a membership roll.

  We are not a political party.

  We have one basic issue that we are addressing, which is: We want federal spending to be lower than federal revenues. We do not say how this is to be achieved.

  Some liars on this site are claiming that the tea parties are actively pushing to achieve the balanced budget by cutting only liberal policies. I'm not sure what this means exactly, but this is an out and out lie.

  Currently, the United States has federal income of 2.173 trillion dollars and outlays of 3.818 trillion dollars resulting in a yearly deficit of 1.645 trillion dollars. This is not sustainable.

  The only policy that we care about right now is to balance the federal budget. That means getting spending to below 2.173 trillion dollars. Interestingly, Clinton's 2001 budget called for spending of 1.9 trillion dollars. So, from Clinton's 2001 budget of 1.9 trillion dollars to Obama's 2011 budget of 3.818 trillion dollars, ten years, we see an increase of 1.918 trillion dollars, or 100%. And before you flame me claiming that 2001 was Bush's budget, it was not, Clinton prepared that budget, Bush assumed office on January 20, 2001, the budget was prepared by Clinton prior to that.

  We don't care how this balancing of the budget is achieved. Some people say that is is all Bush's fault. I hated Bush, so I don't care if it is his fault, he is not around to fix it. Others claim that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are the source of the 1.918 trillion dollars in spending deficit. I would be just fine with closing down those wars and telling the Afghanis and the Iraqis that we hope everything works out for them in their future endeavors. But the cost of those two wars nowhere near equals 1.918 trillion dollars.

  If you post any claims in here please post evidence to back up those claims. I have no interest in unsupported innuendo.

  There are other people on this forum who keep posting that the Koch brothers call all the shots in the tea party. Really? I never heard of them before the liberals started talking that nonsense. No one dictates anything to the tea party in Mississippi. Anyone who wants to speak at our rallies is told to stay on topic, "reduce the federal spending budget and get rid of the deficit". We pay no one to speak at our rallies. We take direction from no one.
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  Philadelphia Ponos

  I would like to ask the mods to move this thread to the "Politics & Current Affairs" section.
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  Anony Mous

  I wonder how republicans/tea partiers are going to fix the budget without cutting military spending. That's the major problem with the US, they have too much weapon manufacturers and big business to keep happy and republicans especially don't want to cut anything terr'rism or defense/offense related or anything business related. They'll cut a couple of millions here and there which affects the poor and the small business while spending trillions on war and letting themselves being bribed by big business. Stop the wars, cut your losses and go home, everybody will be happier. Then stop accepting bribes (donations and campaign funding in official terms) and let the whole mess work itself out. Cutting small programs and scientific research even cutting all NASA does is not the solution.
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  misocup

  What economic policies have dominated?

  Trickledown theory

  Keep wages low

  Eliminate regulations on businesses

  Tax cuts for wealthy for job growth

  Big business tax cuts or no taxes at all

  According to these economic theories, the wealthy needed tax cuts businesses needed lower payroll in order to increase business and thus job growth.

  What has really happened in the last 30 years while those policies have dominated?

  30 years ago GE was the largest employer, now the largest employer is Walmart

  20 years ago the average income was 33,600 now it is 33,000 a decrease

  in the last 20 years the income of the top 3% has gone up 33%

  fraud, scams and theft and the subsequent fall of many big banks and financial ruin for many Americans

  Trillion dollar bailouts with your tax money given directly to the people responsible for the crash

  What have the wealthy done with all that money? not create jobs that's for sure

  30 years ago Reagan - Bush took office. Reagan Bush increased the deficit 189%

  Bush Jr. DOUBLED THE DEFICIT that's 6 trillion dollars!

  Enough is enough!!

  It's time to admit that so called conservative economic policy has FAILED

  It's been a FRAUD perpetrated on good people by greedy politicians and business owners to increase their wealth and power while diminishing the wealth and power of 97% of the population. These policies have nearly destroyed America.

  Now they are hitting unions hard and will succeed in making organized labor illegal. What then? longer work days? shorter lunch breaks? hiring and firing at wil? Back to child labor?

  The Tea Party is led by people who buy in to the old failed economic policies of the last 30 years.

  The fact is, that unless you make over 1 million dollars per year, voting Republican, or for anyone who promotes those old policies is not in your financial best interest. In fact for the last 30 years, when they said no new taxes, and fiscal conservatism, they weren't talking to you. Your wages have stagnated and savings have been wiped out. They were talking to their "base", other millionaires.

  Why do you think they are so dead set against universal health care? Because they would be affected financially. Not because it's socialism that's another ruse, it's because the current system is a CASH COW FOR THE VERY RICH.

  I'm all for protest, but why fall for the same line of BS that has nearly killed America?
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  chickpea

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOP2V_np2c0&feature=relmfu
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  ssn587

  who was it that dominated congress those 30 years? Wasn't it taxes and more taxation that drove businesses overseas where it is cheaper to operate? whomever was at fault it is still time to balance the budget whomever is in charge.
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  Star tiger

  Hey you think you've got it bad our previous government with Gordon Brown and his cronies, borrowing from the world bank, on a orgy of spending that could not be sustained, they have really shafted the UK, and now we have to live within our means, the Labour party spend, spend, spend without any idea of how to pay it back, and as it always seems to be with our country the conservatives with David Cameron have to fix the last governments crap!!!!

  Star Tiger
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  slimboyfat

  Thumbs up to the David Harvey video.
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  NeckBeard

  Both the Dems and the Reps loves them some wars and handing out goodies to their cronies and bread and circus to the sheeple so they go back to sleep. The Tea Party is the only group trying to stop this. Win or lose it won't matter. The gravy train cant go on forever. At least if we stop it now it wont hurt as much.
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  lifeisgood

  Philadelphia Ponos,

  Make sure that you also ask for all the threads where people are bashing the tea party movement to also be moved.

  miscocup,

  We want a balanced budget. We haven't said anything about the issues you bring up. You don't like the Republicans? Great, we don't like them either. You don't like Bush? Great, we don't like him either.

  Here is something you said "I'm all for protest, but why fall for the same line of BS that has nearly killed America?" We aren't promoting anything like that. We want a balanced budget. So, are you saying that a balanced budget is BS?

  And this is just a lie "The Tea Party is led by people who buy in to the old failed economic policies of the last 30 years". Not true. How is a balanced budget the same old failed economic policies of the last 30 years?

  Anouny Mous,

  "I wonder how republicans/tea partiers are going to fix the budget without cutting military spending"

  The tea party is not in charge of the US budget, so we aren't going to fix it. We told the Congress people that we helped get elected that if they don't fix the budget they will be out the next term.

  I agree with you that military spending has to be reduced. But the tea party is not saying how to create a balanced budget, we are saying to the politicians "balance the budget".

  But, even if you make the military budget = 0, that only reduces the deficit from 1.65 trillion to 900 billion. So, assume you get your 0 dollar military budget, how will you cut the other 900 billion?