The Beginnings of the Recession’s End
WASHINGTON D.C. April 1, 2013— It was announced today, in a joint statement from Senate and House Speakers, that the U.S. Congress has ended the undue influence of party politics and wealthy special interest groups by passing the new “Pact for the U.S. People.”
Highlights include: freezing military spending at the levels they were in 2000, ending all U.S. armed occupations in other nations, and immediately closing half of the 998 foreign bases in 130 sovereign nations. Completely vacating the unwelcomed base in neighboring Cuba will be first.
Other significant Pact developments include: outlawing all medical profiteering with savings to cover Medicare for all U.S. citizens modeled after Canada’s successful system. No more denials, co-pays, deductibles, medical bankruptcies or profit-driven insurance companies dictating medical treatments. No U.S. employers need worry about paying for medical insurance again.
The Pact’s financial sector reforms promise to prosecute and jail lawbreaking bankers, to break up failing institutions allowing more robust banks to take their place, and to shift the bail-outs from bankers directly to homeowners with re-negotiated loan terms. Off-shore laundering of profits and tax avoidance schemes by corporations doing business in the U.S. have been outlawed. Priorities for extending new loans are to include sustainability directives designed to wean the U.S. off of dangerous fossil fuels. Student debts were cancelled and all education was made available at no extra charge for students with a GPA above 3.0.
While the Pact does not call for re-authorizing the 91 percent tax bracket of 1960 for earners of over $200,000 (equal now to 1.5 million after adjusting for inflation), it does call for a 50 percent tax on all earnings over $1 million. Income tax will no longer be taken from people earning below the official poverty rate. All taxpayer-funded subsidy payments to profitable corporations have been stopped and a 5 percent tax on Wall Street-styled wealth-creating schemes will be collected. CEO pay has been limited to 50 times the amount an average worker earns, and the minimum wage has been raised to reflect minimum affordable living standards. It is now $15 per hour with the cost of living clause.
These changes will result in immediate U.S. Treasury surpluses to be invested in maintaining the neglected U.S. infrastructure which will create jobs for anyone wishing to work. Among the infrastructure improvements: upgrading the antique national rail system to modern high-speed rail, further insulating existing buildings to gain a 15 percent reduction of all energy used, and installing solar, wind, tidal and geothermal energy-production facilities domestically.
The Pact is anticipated by experts to boost the economy which is still lagging from the Great Recession of 2008 by reallocating more of the collective wealth generated in the U.S. to the majority of households.
