it's sis on the phone pleasure to welcome to the program alan charlie he
is the program director for u_s_ action welcome to the program out
well thank you very much
so i tried u_s_ action just tell us briefly
about your organization
it out progressive problem greta roots are organizing network upn activity
twenty two states we haven't really had to go st
i'm including god for the protection of new york it and uh... security for the
facts in progress so high over to the organizing
um... washington community action network were active in twenty two state
that we were cut
friday it's stated federal issues from a progressive perspective and right now
we're very active around the whole by uh...
brother fiscal showdown
the bush tax cuts for the top two percent
the technicals thirty medicaid medicare and other issues that congress is
currently taking up
yet so let's talk about uh...
this said you guys are engaging in ah... i've spoken quite a bit on this uh...
program about the uh...
uh... the suppose it's usko cliff and the the opportunity that
of our social insurance programs are taking right now uh... to you
the the potential for coming on stereo or the debt crisis at all
earth the so-called debt crisis or the so called uh... the debt ceiling or all
of these things are are being used to some type of
fig leaf to provide cover for cutting uh... some of the social insurance
programs
uh... and you guys are doing a lot of organizing right now there and that is
alright absolutely i mean this is
this is an issue which is really mobile lighting the progress today
um... coming off of them
the you know the victory in november
six than uh... obama's reelection and case the more progress abundant in the
that at and
are getting some more democrats than in the house as well
is that the the important thing to remember here is that
the president won the pre-election on basically a platform that started with
getting rid of the bush tax cuts for the top two percent the method historic
shift
um... that a democrat would win election a reelection on up
attack the tender uh... color and one that is it about cutting taxes but in
fact about raising their taxes obey chemotaxis them
and also we tore that election by substantial majority that the american
people don't want a fee
any changes in medicaid medicare imposed security they want those benefits they
want those programs and act
they're important in people's lives and despite substantial majorities so our
expectation is that
congress of the president need to make good on
deak madden in the mandate and the results of the election
uh... which came first and foremost let the rabbit with top tax cuts for the pop
superstar
uh... added and this is not about there is no fiscal class
i mean what state that did not
is dead l
there there at the movie go problems that would that that we have good
certain programs expire at the end of the year uh...
but we would all work
eff we went over that expiration date in the next year
nothing drastic it could happen to the economy
now i mean i i i think at one point i mean it's just a question of ultimately
some of these things are
url we're gonna have to do would have to do some work on some of these i mean
uh... you know whether it's uh... the back loaded sequestering or
uh... the end of unemployment benefits or
or uh... uh... a whole series of of of of smaller issues i think that that you
know obviously we can me you know
people uh... tweak weakened statutorily uh... the grandfather some of these
things and so that's not the
the the main issue my concern is basically how this is being used at as
like this is like a is a fig leaf now what do you think i just yesterday uh...
the
we're hearing from
uh... some
members in the house caucus republican house caucus members who were saying
maybe we can strike a deal to raise the taxes on every dollar after two hundred
fifty grant
when i see this as
and mechanism for the republicans to maintain
well i think is actually even far worse
then the three percentage points on every dollar after two hundred fifty
year grand
but this specials tax that we have that's actually for investors
uh... what we call the capital gains tax
uh... that the that any movement we see from republicans on uh... the marginal
tax rate over two fifty is gonna come at the expense of them trying to maintain
the cuts in capital gains and the estate tax
well they may try to do that and you have a very good point that basically
other capital gains rate not bandits and the dividend rate which used to be at
the fame level is
taxing ordinary income that now it does not have a bit more than half of it and
paddle out
people like mit romney to um... our fortune and pay less taxes than the
average american
representative of of his income in taxes
uh... but i don't see that all happening
in the late dot fashion uh...
that that that that that that second faith of a flight that we need to have
uh... i don't
see that that
that that stuff is gonna be
grandfathered in um... in a lame duck session
um... hype i really think that we need to look at that first and foremost week
everything is week can't win everything we want in one fell through
we need to look at uh... i don't like what the most important thing is we need
to win now
and then build up ahead of steam so that we can have all the progress of the trip
along the way
for the republican my viewpoint is that the republicans
to accept
getting rid of the bush tax cuts but those were
to those families bringing it over to a difficult in the whole two-year would be
r_u_ cheap political victory they would take you be admitting political defeat
coming out of the election
it would be a great boom for us will be full order that we would have added
scheme
to deal with the these deeper and more pressing
problems with fairness in our taxes at that time five uit die i would take that
with the long view of the strategic approach to how we need to deal with the
things we need to
take the first big step to get a attack system fairer and then we need to do you
think we need to deal the republicans are big political blow a defeat and then
their weekend with strength and now we can move on to other things
all right so we are u_s_ action is is uh...
uh... holding uh...
uh... some avenged right is that right over on sat is it on saturday the first
time today or u_s_ action along with many other organization
beholding
uh... alternative actions across the country i believe it's going to be and
by thirty state
focusing on
target them but the congress primarily republicans
uh...
and and and that the actions are round
ending the bush tax cuts
for the top two percent
uh... and their action that the other campuses uh... earned media events
of the letter writing a phone calls
uh...
that meeting
palpable reidy of different activities to bring attention to this issue to
rated up for the to put pressure on particularly republican members
because ultimately
we we need to know if you put on it but if that happened um... before the end of
the year we need to put her in some republican member of congress
and now why is it just and republican members i mean i know there are a
democratic members who have been who have been
more than flirtatious with the idea of uh...
of putting uh... of putting some of the uh... social insurance programs on the
table in response to this it's not all republicans primarily
um...
throughout the day the month of december uh... they'll be a lot of other
activities of another big day of action
understand the tent that will involve
uh... a much broader array of targets including a lot of club democrats
getting our campion's more involved
um...
making sure that that that this quick economy over the road democrats
uh... don't try to but don't try to abandoned talked about the printable on
in this night
we're we're kind of like you know not part of it when it comes to we we we
believe that every member of congress should be held accountable on december
first what the company going after republicans because um...
they need to really feel the heat on that they want the election
direction because of this issue and they need to just all of the fact that they
were defeated
and and basically
um... just
role in the towel
antics dept reality which is
that the bush tax cuts for the thought to put that have to go
yeah you know i was just gonna say that um...
on the uh...
uh... i can remember off the top my head now in terms of the uh... the
the cracks that we're seeing i think most compote
from oklahoma
who came out insert conceded on that uh...
i at least on that i can say that uh... the
the marginal tax rate increase
there is a there was polls i think that came out uh... today or yesterday
that said that sixty percent uh... thirty seven percent
were in favor
uh... increasing taxes on uh...
that that first dollar after two hundred fifty grand absolutely don't have to
keep numbers by the way we can go through it
by practice several years
i think that we never had
electoral outcome which which for a bomb
which basically
happened because of
that issue right on so it's much more powerful politically right now uh... and
and the republican it okk
you know i'm not going to um...
i'm not going to com but so far as say that
uh...
you know republicans apart operators liberated except if he did with the
people if they had in the and november the reality
and they just need to all of up to it uh...
anthony appointed religious people with the fight other battles another day
well uh... journey and people can check it out as u_s_ action dot
or google will put a link up on our site and the journey dot f_m_
but uh... thanks coming on and uh... letting us know what you guys are out
there