“Republicans formed an unlikely alliance with the White House in a late-night scramble to pass a $1.1tn federal budget over the objections of House Democrats, who claim it has been hijacked by Wall Street lobbyists and campaign finance interests…
“The passage of the omnibus spending bill in the House was followed by a two-day continuing resolution to allow the Senate time to follow suit and all but guarantees that most of the government will remain funded until next September.
“But it is the split in the Democratic party that is likely to have longer-term consequences. Many Democrats are furious that the 1,600-page omnibus bill included two unrelated concessions to financial interest groups: a tenfold increase in campaign limits for donations to political parties and candidates, and a reversal of the Dodd-Frank banking reforms that will allow public bailouts of banks taking risky derivatives bets. The White House insists it opposes both measures in principle too, but its decision to nonetheless back passage of the bill in the interests of political expediency has enraged many in the party…” (The Guardian).
Bipartisan
victory for Wall Street and pension theft by Fred Klonsky
“Last night, fifty-seven House Democrats voted
for the Republican spending bill. It handed Wall Street relief from the limited
restrictions placed on them by the Frank-Dodd law passed following the 2008
financial crash. It also included a massive theft of private sector pensions.
“The spending bill
was supported by President Obama and could not have passed without Democratic
Party votes. Here are the Democrats who voted for it. The list includes Chicago
Democrats Mike Quigley and Dan Lipinski…” (Fred Klonsky).
Retirees: You Are Nothing (Congress and the Media Ignored
You during a Major Crisis) by Ken Previti
“…10 million retirees will be hurt. The 1,600 pages
devoted to legalizing pension pillage alone could not have been read by any
member of Congress in the short time allotted prior to a vote. Thousands of
phone calls, emails, petitions, letters from American citizens to U.S. Senators
and Representatives obviously mean nothing. Major media such as CNN,
the New York Times, etc.
and even lesser sources of significance such as Politico.com don’t even mention the section of the
bill which destroys basic legal pension protections established over decades.
They don’t mention our attempts and actions to retain our financial and
contractual rights.
“Major media news coverage in
2014 is corporate media information and propaganda. YOU and your best interests
are counted only as data targeted for you as consumers. YOU have been monetized
in the name of the “free” market – whatever that means today…” (Ken Previti).
from Bob Lyons, TRS Trustee:
ReplyDelete"We should all be concerned about the attacks on any pensions and pensioners of any kind. But in all your emails it would be helpful to the members of TRS if you could make it clear that this proposed legislation had to do with nongovernmental plans. TRS is hearing from annuitants that think the Federal government is against them now. Solidarity Is important but people need to understand there are differences in pensions in the private sector and government."
From a comment on Fred Klonsky’s Blog:
ReplyDelete“Injustice not confronted will continue to grow. The age of the ‘Robber Barons’ has returned. We have all ignored it because we thought it didn’t affect us. Look at the sad situation we now find ourselves in. Time to begin doing things differently.
“Forget ‘Democrat’ and “Republican.’ A yes vote to steal pensions by your ‘Representative’ should forever elicit your NO vote for re-election. Organizing to raise funds for a federal lawsuit about the constitutionality of pension provisions of this law is now priority number 1. Contribute what you can.
“Act! Find a local bank and take your money out of those ‘too big to fail’ monstrosities. Hold your union leaders and pension fund trustees accountable. No more unconditional votes for them either. Demand that they fight to protect your interests, or replace them when they fail to act. Many should go now.
“Speak out against injustice. Join a public PROTEST. Write letters to the editor of your local paper. Write E-mails to political and Union leaders. Call often just to let them know you are still here. Be a vocal part of your community. ‘Do not go quietly into the night.’ You have little left to lose.
“These thieves will take your money and run. This happened to many workers in the 1980s who did not try to act until it was too late. Do you value your freedom? Will you just stand by while others trample on your rights? We are Americans! Let us act like Americans!”
—Hugh