GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
For Immediate Release:
Friday, January 3, 2014
This release is online at http://www.gp.org/index.php/green-party-press-releases/details/4/665.html
Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org
Democrats and Republicans are waging
economic war on working people, the unemployed, students, and veterans,
says the Green Party
• "Let 2014 be the year
that voters wake up to the reality that no real change is possible as
long as the two parties of war and Wall Street remain in charge."
• Green Party Speakers Bureau: Green leaders available to speak on economic justice, taxation, and budget policy: http://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-economic-justice.php
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Democratic and
Republican parties are waging economic war on working Americans, the
unemployed, students, and veterans, said Green Party leaders and
candidates on New Years Day 2014.
Greens hoped that 2014 would be the year that
Americans realize that the two corporate-money parties are causing the
erosion of the middle class and driving poor people into destitution and
desperation.
Green Party leaders said that a new bill sponsored
by Senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.) to reinstate the
unemployment extension for three months was a necessary stopgap
measure, but strongly criticized the eagerness of both parties'
legislators to place safety-net programs on the table during budget
talks.
Quotes from Greens:
• Howie
Hawkins, working Teamster, Green candidate for Governor of New York in
2010, candidate for the 2014 Green gubernatorial nomination in New York:
"The recent bipartisan votes in Congress to slash
food stamps, unemployment benefits, and veterans' pensions showed
special cruelty to the nation's neediest. President Obama's proposed
job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership, Social Security cuts, and
inadequate minimum wage hike are evidence he has little understanding of
the economic difficulties people are facing. Democrats and Republicans
measure the health of the economy according to Dow Jones, the GDP, and
corporate profit margins. Greens judge the economy according to how many
Americans have secure jobs with livable wages and good benefits, and
how many Americans are getting lifted out of poverty. Let 2014 be the
year that voters wake up to the reality that no real change is possible
as long as the two parties of war and Wall Street remain in charge."
• Darryl L.C. Moch, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States:
"Austerity
is the bipartisan belief that working Americans should pay the bill for
the criminal recklessness and greed of the financial sector. Five years
after the economic meltdown, Wall Street is posting record gains while
most of us are still struggling to make ends meet on the low wages that
make such gains possible. The top One Percent have enjoyed 95% of the
economic gains since 2009 and now own 35% of all stock value, the
wealthiest ten percent own 80%, capital gains are taxed at a lower rate
than most middle-class income, and many top corporations pay no taxes at
all. Washington has abandoned the promise that anyone who works a
full-time job should make enough to live on and provide for a small
family. Democratic and Republican leaders no longer believe that all
Americans should share in the country's prosperity. The new guiding
principle is that capitalism doesn't work for everyone and shouldn't
work for everyone. It's inevitable that a White House staffed with Wall
Street operatives and a Congress that takes marching orders from
corporate lobbyists will side with the One Percent."
• Jill Stein, Green Party nominee for President in 2012 (http://greenshadowcabinet.us/member-profile/8580):
"Greens
care about students and veterans, and we're proud that many students
and veterans are Greens. We call for a jubilee to alleviate the crushing
student-debt burden and a lowering of student loan interest rates. We
advocate a 'Green New Deal' (http://www.jillstein.org/green_new_deal)
that would provide jobs for young people, including summer jobs for
people still in school and new full-time jobs for those graduating from
high school and college. We demand an end to the mandatory sentencing,
zero tolerance, the War on Drugs, and other schemes used to warehouse
young black, brown, and poor Americans in the corporate prison system.
We oppose public-school privatization, which emphasizes constant testing
and uncritical obedience instead of preparing students to be
well-informed citizens living in a democracy. We support making higher
education free, as other countries have done. Greens demand deep cuts in
the bloated military budget -- but no cuts in pensions and services for
veterans. The promise we made to young people when they enlisted is
more important than the boondoggle contracts meant to enrich arms
manufacturers."
• Mike Tanis, co-chair of the Green Party Youth Caucus (http://www.gp.org/index.php/young-greens.html):
"Democratic
Party politicians and apologists worship at the altar of bipartisanship
and insist that they must compromise with an increasingly extremist
GOP. Two-party politics has given Democrats a perpetual excuse for
seeking deals with Republicans, competing with the latter for the favor
of corporate contributors, and disregarding the well-being of most
Americans. The rise of an alternative party like the Greens will alter
this dynamic. Dems will have to compete for votes with Greens, not just
with Republicans. As long as legislatures remain the exclusive property
of the Ds and Rs, the U.S. will keep sliding further to the right,
towards more wealth and power for corporate plutocrats and less
financial security for ordinary Americans, until people stop saying 'The
only choice on Election Day is Democrat or Republican.'"
• Laura Wells, Green candidate for Controller in California (http://www.laurawells.org):
"Green
candidates like public banking advocate Ellen Brown, running for
California Treasurer, and myself are using our campaigns to inform the
public about Green solutions to the lingering economic crisis: A livable
wage and a stronger social safety net, which will stimulate the economy
by reversing the redistribution of wealth to the top One Percent. A tax
on stock trades, especially short-term speculation. Restoration of
Glass-Steagall and enactment of strict regulations on trading,
especially on risky securities like derivatives and hedge funds. A
progressive tax system that requires the wealthy and corporations to pay
their fair share and relieves working people. Break-up of
too-big-to-fail banks and conversion to state and municipal banks --
like North Dakota's successful state bank. A reduced military budget, an
end to unprovoked military attacks on other countries, and redirection
of such funding into human needs. Conversion to a Green economy that
will provide millions of new jobs, as outlined in the Green New Deal. A
single-payer national health care system. A halt to foreclosures -- a
top priority of elected Greens like Mayor Gayle McLaughlin of Richmond,
California, who is leading her city in using eminent domain to stop
banks from seizing the homes of many of her constituents."
See also:
"Congress to the Unemployed: Eat Confetti"
By Amy Goodman, Truthdig, January 1, 2014
"The New Progressive Leader: Richmond has seized the
mantle as one of the most progressive cities in the nation by taking on
such colossi as Big Oil, Big Soda, and Big Banks."
By John Geluardi, East Bay Express, December 25, 2013
MORE INFORMATION
Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191
• Green candidate database and campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/2012/ballot-access.html
• Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php
• Green Papers http://www.greenpapers.net/
• Discussion Forum https://secure.gpus.org/secure/GreenPartyForum
• Google+ http://www.gp.org/google
• Twitter http://twitter.com/gpus
• Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
• GP-TV Twitter page http://www.gp.org/twitter
• Facebook page http://www.gp.org/facebook
Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States
Green Shadow Cabinet http://greenshadowcabinet.us
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