“Finally the tables are starting to turn” — Tracey Chapman
Revolution: a drastic and far-reaching change in ways of thinking and behaving…
That’s the revolution I’m talking about. Real people – the hard working, wage earners, parents struggling to feed, clothe and house their children, young people trying to get a foothold in the world, the oppressed, the poor, the newly homeless, the chronically unemployed, the middle class — are sick and tired of making the sacrifices to pay for the mistakes of the wealthy who keep failing upwards and getting richer.
It’s time for those with the bulk of the money to pay their fair share of taxes.
The Republican party claims they’re trying to erase the deficit by cutting much-needed services to US taxpayer/citizens while at the same time giving massive tax cuts and benefits to the wealthiest individuals and corporations who already use every sneaky trick and loophole to avoid paying taxes.
While they’re standing in the welfare lines
Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation
Wasting time in unemployment lines
Sitting around waiting for a promotion
The people in the UK got fed up, and a movement to bring attention to the fact that the biggest corporations are also the biggest tax dodgers. They call it UK Uncut, and it spread like wildfire throughout the nation.
If you haven’t already, read Johann Hari’s brilliant piece in The Nation that tells the history of UKuncut that inspired Carl Gibson, a young man in Mississippi to kickstart USUncut!
(Click here to listen to my interview with Johann Hari from Tuesday morning.)
Don’t you know you’re talking about a revolution
It sounds like a whisper
And finally the tables are starting to turn
Talking about a revolution
I’ve never organized an action before… but it’s time. I’ll be participating in the first day of action with US Uncut on Saturday afternoon. Since I’m new at this, I’m bringing along my favorite activist, David Swanson.
If anyone knows how to do an action, it’s him! The author of War is a Lie was already scheduled to be in Boca Raton for a book signing event (along with Nicholas “Sandy” Davies, author of Blood on our Hands). After his event, from 3-5 pm, we’ll all head about 1/2 mile down the road to a Bank of America branch to stage a protest.
Bank of America is the first target of US Uncut:
Despite ruining the economy with their reckless greed, Bank of America has consistently avoided any form of accountability to the American taxpayer. In fact, in 2009, Bank of America actually received a net tax benefit. Yes, last year, the federal government gave Bank of America $2.3 billion. That money alone could almost completely cover the proposed $2.5 billion cuts to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps low-income families pay their heating and cooling bills and affects 34 million households. Bank of America is the largest bank and 5th largest corporation in the country, holding over $2.2 trillion in assets, and yet it pays less in taxes than the average American household, which made between $35,400 and $52,100 and had an effective tax rate of 14.2%.
We pay our taxes, why don’t they?
On February 26th, citizens across the country will be targeting Bank of America branches and peaceably but forcefully showing them that they can’t get away with such egregious tax-cheating.
Both Carl Gibson of USUncut and David Swanson will join me during the first hour of today’s show. In hour two, after a news update from TRNS, John Fugelsang joins me to end our week with some laughs and discussion about what’s going on in the world… It’s an important day in a very important time in our history.
Poor people are gonna rise up
And get their share
Poor people are gonna rise up
And take what’s theirsDon’t you know you’re talking about a revolution
It sounds like a whisper
Let’s turn this whisper into a tidal wave!
And a postscript. Jasiri X said he’d write a song for the 99ers… well, he rolled it all into one brilliant video: