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Thom's blog
It's time to change the pattern of cuts in Congress
Congress can't find the willpower to raise taxes on the rich, but that hasn't stopped them from chipping away at our retirement and slashing our social safety net. For decades, we've seen billions cut from vital programs like food stamps, unemployment insurance, and cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security – but closing corporate tax loopholes or making Wall Street pay more to gamble is simply off the table. With the passing of the 2014 budget, Congress cut the cost-of-living increases for military retirees by one percent. That may not sound like a lot – but it could add up to as much as $80,000 dollars less for a veteran over their lifetime. And, Republican lawmakers are calling for even more cuts from programs like disability insurance in exchange for extending long-term unemployment.
Cutting programs that people rely on isn't only inhumane, it's unjust. We've had decades of poor and working-class Americans being forced to bear the burden of spending cuts, while taxes on the wealthy and corporations have continued to decline. Even many of our democratic lawmakers support ideas like chained CPI, but very few have the courage to stand up and call for taxing the rich or eliminating subsidies to giant corporations.
These cuts do nothing to help hard-working Americans, and they actually do serious harm to our national economy. These austerity measures take money out of our economy, and put more cash in the hands of the wealthy. It's time to change this pattern in Congress, support lawmakers who stand up for the little guy, and stop slashing these programs before there's nothing left to be cut.
-Thom
(What do you think? Tell us here.)
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Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 9pm... Will the Supreme Court blow up unions? (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT, and catch past shows on Youtube)
Watch the video 'Last Hours' narrated by Thom Hartmann about the "time bomb" that is ticking underground, underwater and under ice… frozen methane that is now escaping and could trigger runaway climate change. www.lasthours.org
Have a question or comment for Thom? Grab your phone, hit record and send your video to YourTakeMyTake@gmail.com and we may air it on "The Big Picture."
Need to Know: Will the Supreme Court blow up unions?
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Monday's Daily Stack
Quote: "I believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nations, can be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men. I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down men other-centered can build up...I still believe that We Shall overcome!" (excerpt from MLK's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech - Oslo, December 10, 1964).
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Hour One: A conservative black American weighs in on MLK Day- Demetrius Minor, Project 21
Quote: "Dr. King was a Bible-believing pastor who understood Scripture. He would be doing precisely as the Bible suggests and rejoicing about all the good that has been accomplished instead of sitting around and looking for something to complain about." -- Bishop Nedd".
Movie: " Lincoln" by Steven Spielberg.
Quote: "Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Free book: by Thom Hartmann.
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Tuesday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 3-6pm ET
4th Anniversary of SCOTUS Citizen's United Decision
Hour One: Morality, not religion, should inform our political decisions - Dr. Alex McFarland
Hour Two: Will the Supreme Court blow up unions?
Hour Three: Amend the constitution and legalize democracy- David Cobb, Move to Amend
And, the best of the rest of the news and your calls right here on...
The Thom Hartmann Program...your media support group for "we the people"...
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Wednesday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 3-6pm ET
We'll have all the latest news & information that you won't hear from the corporate owned news media...
And, the best of the rest of the news along with your calls right here on...
The Thom Hartmann Program...
And don't forget...Democracy is NOT a spectator sport...it begins with you...
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Thom's Poll
Do you know what Net Neutrality is?
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Watch & Listen to Thom
What the world looks like without net neutrality...
Are millennials becoming more liberal?
Wow! The Christie Koch Connection
Bigger Picture - MLK Day - Moving to an Anti-Racist Agenda....
Bigger Picture - MLK Day - universal basic income
Conversations with Great Minds - Who is trying to sabotage the nuclear deal with Iran?
Conversations with Great Minds - Iran - Avoiding another war in the middle east...
Big Picture Rumble - Another 9-11 - no more rights at all...
Big Picture Rumble - Is the GOP the last refuge of bigots?
Or watch the Full "Big Picture" Show...
Full Show 1/20/14: What the Internet Would Look Like Without Net Neutrality
Thom discusses how radical Martin Luther King Jr. was when it came to social and economic issues with guests Hilary Shelton, Brian Miller and Thena Robinson Mock. In tonight's "Daily Take" Thom details what the internet would look like without net neutrality.
Thom Hartmann on the News: January 20, 2014
Caller: MLK Advocated for Democratic Socialism
Caller: Could Restitution for Slavery Work?
What Slavery Movies Teach us About Race Relations
Time to Take the White Savior out of Slavery Narratives
How About Legalizing Democracy?
Dr. King's "Bill of Economic and Social Rights"
A conservative black American weighs in on MLK day
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Show Info
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Would you like to help give a child with a very troubled background this feeling of peace? Thom and Louise Hartmann founded the New England Salem Children's Village (NESCV) in New Hampshire in 1979. With states delaying payment for the children they entrust to the village, they need help with cash flow. Can you help? Now on Facebook.
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