Friday, August 24, 2012

A very dangerous lie

Dear Readers,

You hear it again and again. "America is broke."



Whenever we ask our elected leaders to do anything, that's what they say.

No scholarships for our kids? Bridges falling down and roads crumbling? No jobs program to put Americans back to work?

"Well, that's too bad," they say. "We can't afford to fix anything. America is broke."

This is a very dangerous lie. It freezes people into thinking there is no solution... when there is. But it gets repeated, and repeated. You start to think you're crazy -- and they are right.

So that's where we need to start. Will you commit, right now, to reject this lie and help us spread the truth?

Add your name now.

In the coming weeks, we'll be following up with everyone who makes this commitment with opportunities to get involved and get this message out there: America is Being Robbed.

Our economy today is almost as big and rich as all of Europe's COMBINED -- including economic powerhouses like Germany. Our economy today is almost twice as big as China's. (And we have only one third of the Chinese population.) No other country even comes close to our wealth.

If that is so, then how come only some of us are hurting? How come big corporate profits are at an all-time high while people are out of work? Why are Wall Street banks thriving while folks are losing their homes?

One reason: global corporations and big banks are hoarding so much cash, refusing to recirculate it in the form of fair taxes and good wages. Instead, they use a few of their extra bucks to buy elections and elected officials -- Paul Ryan is just the worst example, not the only one.

Those politicians then try to convince us that we should all accept more misery, while their mega-donors stockpile more cash than the Pharaohs ever dreamed about having.

Enough is enough.

If someone tells you we're too broke to do anything positive, ask them where the money went. Ask them who got a big bonus last year. Who got a new private jet? Ask about the Bush tax giveaways for the rich. Ask about the bailouts for Wall Street. Ask about tax shelters, subsidies for polluters, Halliburton expense accounts, or the massive bill for two wars.

Fighting back starts with each of us making the choice to reject the myth, and committing that we won't sit silent while today's robber barons set the terms of the debate. So say it with me:

"We're not broke -- we're being robbed, and I commit to fight back!"

Families aren't just "falling" out of the middle class. They're being pushed. I promise I'll be out there pushing this. But this community together has way more power than any one person.

Let's stand together,
Van and the rest of the Rebuild the Dream team

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