The American Declaration for Justice

The American Declaration for Justice

            The United States government needs to be redirected to a better and more beneficial economic program.  Currently, and since 2001, corporations have been getting billions of dollars in tax refunds, subsidies and loopholes ($175 billion during 2001-2003) from the IRS.  Tax cuts are not only for the corporations of America, but also for the wealthiest 1%.  The Bush Administration tax cuts were concentrated on the economic elite, whose tax refund being over $140,000 on average, while the poorest 20% of America received $40 on average.  Agriculture also receives many subsides for the crops that are produced, or not produced, in America.  These subsides average around $16 billion a year.  In addition, the cost for the war and rebuilding of Iraq continues to pile-up, exceeding $275 billion and counting.  In a time when the United States has a debt of over $8.8 trillion, growing at a rate of $400 billion a year, this much needed money is going to waste on some of the wealthiest corporations and individuals of the country.

            This movement is in response to the most irresponsible and self-centered fiscal policy this country has ever seen.  It aims to aid the middle class, lower-middle class, the working poor and those under the poverty line as well as small businesses, since these are the majority of Americans and deserve the majority of the help. 

Principles of the People not being addressed by the Federal Government:

• America needs education to have adequate funding and resources so that future Americans can be well educated and competitive in the workforce.

• Schools, including universities, lack funding ($15.4 billion needed for “No Child Left Behind” to be fully funded)
• Drop-out rates are out of control (32% nationally, 50% for minority based schools)
• Student Loans and Grants cut without mercy ($12 billion cut)
• America needs to have a realistic minimum wage, yearly raises and protection from outsourcing so that the average American can enjoy the economy that they help build and sustain.
• Raises for the average worker are almost non-existent (The majority of workers have not received a raise in 6 years or more)
• Minimum wage is dismally low ($5.15 an hour, $10,712 a year maximum)
• Outsourcing is becoming fashionable (400,000 jobs outsourced by the end of the year)
• America needs for its citizens to be healthy and well without having the cost of their healthcare empty their pockets.
• High cost of health care, or no health care, hurts the average American ($1.9 trillion spent on health care  nationwide, on average $6,280 per person, or 16% of the Gross National Product)
• Seniors need medications that they cannot afford ($10 billion cut annually)
• Medicaid lacks the funds it needs to serve the people ($15 billion cut)
• America needs for its social security program to be stable and available to the seniors at all times.
• Social Security will not serve the people who have paid into it (Money used to buy Treasury Bonds due to 2001-2003 tax cuts)
• America needs to be able to respond to national emergencies (such as natural disasters and terrorist attacks) effectively and efficiently to ensure the safety of this country.
• Katrina Victims without the resources to rebuild their lives ($1 billion wasted and misspent with levees that have “serious flaws”)
• America needs to confront Global Warming and make serious strides to minimizing the effect we as Americans have on the environment and develop alternative fuels to aid that cause.
• Global warming grows worse and more rapidly (polar ice caps melting, hurricanes of record intensity, and unprecedented droughts)
• Alternative fuels are needed now ($2.92 per gallon on average with record profits for the oil companies)

Redirecting the path of America starts with addressing the problems that face average Americans.  This does not mean cutting taxes.  It has to do with managing those taxes correctly.  The Government has a responsibility to use the money we, as the people, give it wisely and effectively without corruption, cronyism, or greed.

Issues that need to be fixed immediately:

1. Ending tax cuts, exemptions, refunds and subsidies to the richest people and corporations in the country, including those in agriculture, making them pay their fair share in taxes just like average Americans do. 
2. Discontinuing unnecessary, illegal wars and investing those resources on domestic needs, such as those bullet-pointed above, as well as truly securing America’s borders.
3. Cutting ties with large oil companies and dictatorships that capture, torture, or kill those who exercise the freedoms that the United States stands for by ending the dependency on oil and developing and using alternative fuels.
4. Allowing peaceful protests against the government without arresting or beating those in the protest.
5. Allowing other points of view without claiming that they are unpatriotic.  Free debate is truly democratic, and is therefore patriotic.

The next step of redirecting America is implementing programs and funding existing programs that need the money to be effective. 

Programs that need to be created and funded:

1. Giving tax breaks for the middle class, lower-middle class, and working poor families that have children in college, own a small business and/or work 2 full-time jobs per person.
2. Giving tax breaks for small businesses with yearly profits of or less than $10,000 and providing subsidies for upgrading their factories, machines and transport vehicles to use alternative fuels.
3. Providing micro-loans with minimal interest to people starting a business.
4. Funding schools so that they are not constantly in need of money for teachers, administrators, counselors, books, and other needs.
5. Establishing a federal law to raise the national minimum wage with overall productivity, so that the American workers’ incomes go up when companies make more money.
6. Fully funding Medicare and Medicaid social services so that our nation can afford to be healthy and well.
7. Fully funding the Student Loan program, including grants, so that our children and their children can be educated without having to pay off student loans for the rest of their lives. 
8. Fully funding Social Security to secure the future of our seniors.
9. Providing responsible and efficient aid to the victims of Katrina so that they can rebuild their city.
10. Funding a basic public health care program that ensures wellness and health as the right of every American citizen.
11. Establishing an “Outsource Tax” on businesses that outsource American jobs – money collected from that tax would be used to fund “Outsourced Unemployment Compensation”.
12. Building affordable housing for America’s middle-class and working poor.
13. Enforcing environmental laws and preventing revisions that benefit big corporate interests at the expense of the environment
14. Researching, developing and promoting the use of alternative fuels for more affordable and cleaner transportation.
15. Providing special federal and state level assistance to inner city schools with exceptionally high drop-out rates, low test scores, out-of-date educational materials and large classroom sizes. 

The role of government is to serve the people which it governs.  This document is a declaration of the people to our government that they are not serving the people, and such action is unacceptable.  America can afford the policies listed above without a doubt.  In 2003 alone, the corporate tax cuts, subsidies, and refunds amounted to more than $70 billion, an amount of money that could fully fund most of the social programs that the nation needs.  The government does not have the right to neglect actions that would benefit the average American.  True patriots are the average Americans who believe that equal opportunity is right of all citizens, not just the rich and powerful.  Justice is the key to this Declaration.  Equality is the key to this Declaration.  We, as citizens, love America but reject the current administration for its abuse of the country we love and of the values we, as a nation, stand for. 

This is not only a declaration against the behavior of our government, but a declaration of our rights as citizens:  the right to peacefully assemble in protest of our government, freedom of speech, the right to have opposing views and freely debate those views, the right to privacy, the right to health and well being, and the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  In 2006, We the People declare our right to a true democracy and a government that serves Us, the Citizens.

Written by: Shawn Harris

(Editor-in-Chief of “The Seeker”)