Star Man
05-01-2013, 04:51 PM
Dear WaccoBB-ans,
At last citizens are beginning to take matters in their own hands in a sensible way. Anarchy and terrorism are not sensible responses to the frustrating insanity of the current political situation. Government has been taken over by corporations and bureaucracies. Citizens no longer matter. Government is not responsive to citizens' needs. Congress, the Judiciary, and the Executive branches of government have all been bought by the Corporatocracy: Big Pharm, Big Energy, Big Defense, Big Finance, Big Real Estate, Big Media, Big Insurance.
We citizens are taxed without representation. Corporations have bought the IRS and off-shore their income, sheltering it from taxation. No corporation or corporate executive goes to prison. Now finally, the Green Shadow Government gives us something to hope for. It is like a neighborhood planting their own garden because they are unwilling to eat corporate contaminated food. At last.
Star Man
Another Government Is Necessary: The People Can Rule Better Than the Elites
Tuesday, 30 April 2013 20:40
By Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese (https://truth-out.org/author/itemlist/user/48201), Truthout (https://truth-out.org) | Op-Ed
Downloaded May 1, 2013 from: https://truth-out.org/opinion/item/16102-another-government-is-necessary-the-people-can-rule-better-than-the-elites
https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccobb/keep90days/2013-05-02_13-27-15.pngMore people are taking action in their communities to meet their basic needs because of government corruption at all levels that protects the status quo when urgent change is needed. People are moving on many fronts to challenge the system and create the world they want to see.
On Earth Day, another step was taken to challenge elite rule. A new alternative government was announced (https://www.greenshadowcabinet.us/news/release-earth-day-another-government-possible). It is an extension of the Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala Green Party campaign for president and vice president. The Green Shadow Cabinet (https://greenshadowcabinet.us/) currently consists of more than 80 activists, scientists, lawyers, advocates, economists, health professionals, labor leaders and artists who are independent of the corporate duopoly and are actively working on solutions to the crises we face. These top-level people in their fields have taken on this responsibility as volunteers. (Full disclosure: Margaret Flowers serves as secretary of health and Kevin Zeese as attorney general, and both serve on the administrative committee of the Shadow Cabinet.)
The cabinet comes at a time when people are increasingly ready to leave the corrupt two-party system. With President Obama supporting cuts to Social Security and Medicare, drone-bombing countries with which we are not at war, and appointing Wall Street and other big business interests to his cabinet, many voters are searching for somewhere to go. Even the former head of the Democratic Party, Howard Dean, is talking about leaving the Democrats (https://news.firedoglake.com/2013/04/19/howard-dean-says-obama-may-drive-him-out-of-the-democratic-party/).
The cabinet will serve as an independent voice in US politics, putting the needs of people and protection of the planet ahead of profits for big corporations. Members of the cabinet will demonstrate what an alternative government could look like. However, creating an alternative form of governance will depend in large part on what people do at the local level.
Another World Is Possible; Another Government Is Necessary
Shadow cabinets (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_Cabinet) have existed in other countries throughout history. They are usually created by opposition parties as a way to show what they stand for as they work toward regaining power. This Shadow Cabinet is different in a few aspects.
First, the Green Shadow Cabinet is a response to the corruption and dysfunction of the current economic and political systems. There are real solutions to the crises we face and majorities of the public support these solutions (https://october2011.org/standwiththemajority), but both parties in government are not considering them and are, in fact, doing the opposite.
The people could rule better than the elites (https://october2011.org/blogs/kevin-zeese/american-people-could-rule-better-political-and-economic-elites), and that is why it is time for the people to take matters into our own hands. As cabinet member Christopher Cox explained (https://clearingthefogradio.org/earth-day-celebration-announcement-of-green-shadow-cabinet-with-cheri-honkala-christopher-cox-and-sean-sweeney/) on the day of the announcement, "There is no time for slow incremental change." Cox also affirmed that "We have the possibility of addressing these issues at the level of humanity." The Cabinet is not waiting, but is taking action now to encourage people to build a government that is really of, by and for the people.
And second, because political debate in the United States is limited to what the two corporate parties allow, the Cabinet will bring attention to real solutions to our crises that are not being discussed. At present, there is no discussion of full employment, even though that is a critical ingredient to creating an economy that works for everyone (https://itsoureconomy.us/2013/01/history-shows-want-to-control-deficit-spending-seek-full-employment/). There is no discussion of ending the carbon-nuclear–based energy economy, despite the crisis of climate change, the risks of carbon-nuclear energies to air, water, and life, and the obvious end of the cheap oil and gas era.
One of the goals of the Shadow Cabinet is to inject these issues into the US political dialogue. For example, here are excerpts of statements some cabinet members released on the day the Cabinet was announced:
Two members of the economic team wrote statements. Richard Wolff, who chairs the Council of Economic Advisers, calls for tax fairness with progressive taxation (https://www.greenshadowcabinet.us/statements/wolff-minimum-tax-fairness), more higher income tax brackets and increased corporate taxes consistent with the successful policies used when the United States built a powerful post-World War II-economy. Labor economist Jack Rasmus points to the failure of fiscal policy (https://www.greenshadowcabinet.us/statements/rasmus-failure-fiscal-monetary-policy-2008-2013) and will be urging a makeover of the Federal Reserve into a transparent and democratic agency that responds to the needs of the economy, not to the banks. (for the remainder of this article, click on the URL provided at the head of the article. Truthout policy forbids reprinting the article without permission.)
* * * * * * * * * *
At last citizens are beginning to take matters in their own hands in a sensible way. Anarchy and terrorism are not sensible responses to the frustrating insanity of the current political situation. Government has been taken over by corporations and bureaucracies. Citizens no longer matter. Government is not responsive to citizens' needs. Congress, the Judiciary, and the Executive branches of government have all been bought by the Corporatocracy: Big Pharm, Big Energy, Big Defense, Big Finance, Big Real Estate, Big Media, Big Insurance.
We citizens are taxed without representation. Corporations have bought the IRS and off-shore their income, sheltering it from taxation. No corporation or corporate executive goes to prison. Now finally, the Green Shadow Government gives us something to hope for. It is like a neighborhood planting their own garden because they are unwilling to eat corporate contaminated food. At last.
Star Man
Another Government Is Necessary: The People Can Rule Better Than the Elites
Tuesday, 30 April 2013 20:40
By Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese (https://truth-out.org/author/itemlist/user/48201), Truthout (https://truth-out.org) | Op-Ed
Downloaded May 1, 2013 from: https://truth-out.org/opinion/item/16102-another-government-is-necessary-the-people-can-rule-better-than-the-elites
https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccobb/keep90days/2013-05-02_13-27-15.pngMore people are taking action in their communities to meet their basic needs because of government corruption at all levels that protects the status quo when urgent change is needed. People are moving on many fronts to challenge the system and create the world they want to see.
On Earth Day, another step was taken to challenge elite rule. A new alternative government was announced (https://www.greenshadowcabinet.us/news/release-earth-day-another-government-possible). It is an extension of the Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala Green Party campaign for president and vice president. The Green Shadow Cabinet (https://greenshadowcabinet.us/) currently consists of more than 80 activists, scientists, lawyers, advocates, economists, health professionals, labor leaders and artists who are independent of the corporate duopoly and are actively working on solutions to the crises we face. These top-level people in their fields have taken on this responsibility as volunteers. (Full disclosure: Margaret Flowers serves as secretary of health and Kevin Zeese as attorney general, and both serve on the administrative committee of the Shadow Cabinet.)
The cabinet comes at a time when people are increasingly ready to leave the corrupt two-party system. With President Obama supporting cuts to Social Security and Medicare, drone-bombing countries with which we are not at war, and appointing Wall Street and other big business interests to his cabinet, many voters are searching for somewhere to go. Even the former head of the Democratic Party, Howard Dean, is talking about leaving the Democrats (https://news.firedoglake.com/2013/04/19/howard-dean-says-obama-may-drive-him-out-of-the-democratic-party/).
The cabinet will serve as an independent voice in US politics, putting the needs of people and protection of the planet ahead of profits for big corporations. Members of the cabinet will demonstrate what an alternative government could look like. However, creating an alternative form of governance will depend in large part on what people do at the local level.
Another World Is Possible; Another Government Is Necessary
Shadow cabinets (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_Cabinet) have existed in other countries throughout history. They are usually created by opposition parties as a way to show what they stand for as they work toward regaining power. This Shadow Cabinet is different in a few aspects.
First, the Green Shadow Cabinet is a response to the corruption and dysfunction of the current economic and political systems. There are real solutions to the crises we face and majorities of the public support these solutions (https://october2011.org/standwiththemajority), but both parties in government are not considering them and are, in fact, doing the opposite.
The people could rule better than the elites (https://october2011.org/blogs/kevin-zeese/american-people-could-rule-better-political-and-economic-elites), and that is why it is time for the people to take matters into our own hands. As cabinet member Christopher Cox explained (https://clearingthefogradio.org/earth-day-celebration-announcement-of-green-shadow-cabinet-with-cheri-honkala-christopher-cox-and-sean-sweeney/) on the day of the announcement, "There is no time for slow incremental change." Cox also affirmed that "We have the possibility of addressing these issues at the level of humanity." The Cabinet is not waiting, but is taking action now to encourage people to build a government that is really of, by and for the people.
And second, because political debate in the United States is limited to what the two corporate parties allow, the Cabinet will bring attention to real solutions to our crises that are not being discussed. At present, there is no discussion of full employment, even though that is a critical ingredient to creating an economy that works for everyone (https://itsoureconomy.us/2013/01/history-shows-want-to-control-deficit-spending-seek-full-employment/). There is no discussion of ending the carbon-nuclear–based energy economy, despite the crisis of climate change, the risks of carbon-nuclear energies to air, water, and life, and the obvious end of the cheap oil and gas era.
One of the goals of the Shadow Cabinet is to inject these issues into the US political dialogue. For example, here are excerpts of statements some cabinet members released on the day the Cabinet was announced:
Two members of the economic team wrote statements. Richard Wolff, who chairs the Council of Economic Advisers, calls for tax fairness with progressive taxation (https://www.greenshadowcabinet.us/statements/wolff-minimum-tax-fairness), more higher income tax brackets and increased corporate taxes consistent with the successful policies used when the United States built a powerful post-World War II-economy. Labor economist Jack Rasmus points to the failure of fiscal policy (https://www.greenshadowcabinet.us/statements/rasmus-failure-fiscal-monetary-policy-2008-2013) and will be urging a makeover of the Federal Reserve into a transparent and democratic agency that responds to the needs of the economy, not to the banks. (for the remainder of this article, click on the URL provided at the head of the article. Truthout policy forbids reprinting the article without permission.)
* * * * * * * * * *