April 8, 2012 |
Photo Credit: The 99% Spring
There are moments in civic life when our political
system completely fails to address extreme moral crises. And within
these instants generations of warriors for justice have been called to
take action that involved risk and ridicule.
We are in one of those moments right now. And while engaging in the
most basic form of democratic practice, voting, is essential, it is
clearly not enough to address the steady and strong attack on poor and
middle class families in this country.
That is why this spring, during the week of April 9-15, 100,000
people will train to engage in non-violent direct action in the name of a
new economic vision. This
will be learning for action: an opportunity to grasp what’s at the heart
of our economic crisis, crossed with the lessons learned across
centuries of movements that came before us. It will be a training that
names names, and calls on the trainees to take action to expose those
who created and perpetuate the extreme poverty and injustice that so
many Americans are experiencing.
We live in an America where more than 46 million Americans live below the
poverty level. This
is the highest poverty rate since the Census Bureau began publishing
such figures. Nearly 15 million children in the United States – 21
percent of all children – live in families with incomes below
the federal poverty level– an average of $22,050 a year for a
family of four. To
make matters worse, six million families have already lost their homes,
and 11 million homeowners have mortgages that cost
more than the home is worth.
The numbers are so staggering that they can lose meaning. But behind
each number is a child wondering if there will be enough food today; a
young person with incredible debt and limited opportunities; a neighbor
being evicted from their home; a widowed grandmother struggling to make
ends meet.
This is not an accident. But rather the culmination of a 40-year plan
to undermine the role of government, deregulate the financial markets
and the corporate sector, rewrite the tax code in favor of the wealthy
and corporations, and erode the right for workers to organize.
The good news is there is no shortage of policy solutions that can
begin to reverse these trends. Change can start with the following:
· End the Bush Tax Cuts for households making over $250,000 a year
· Pass a Wall Street, or Robin Hood, Tax on speculative trading
· Make the big banks and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reduce principal on millions of underwater mortgages
· Strengthen collective bargaining laws as strong unions are central to growing the middle class
· Pass a public jobs bill that puts millions of American back to
work rebuilding our infrastructure and developing green technology
· Pass comprehensive immigration reform and welcome those who
have chosen to call America their home and invest in our future
· Ensure policies are targeted to deliver relief and opportunity to the hardest hit communities
To make these ideas and others come to life, we will have to fully
expose who is perpetuating wealth inequality and the status quo. That is
why following the
99 % Spring,
thousands upon thousands will be engaging in non-violent direct action
to shine a light on the exact corporate actors who created this
historically unjust economy. Under the banner of
99 % Power,
there will be more demonstrations leading up to and at corporate
shareholder meetings this Spring than at any point in American history.
In this moment, we are called, like our predecessors, to act in ways
that demonstrate the moral clarity of our purpose. Whether it’s been
women risking arrest in the fight for the right to vote,
African-American’s organizing lunch counter sit-ins and freedom rides to
end segregation, or immigrants marching in record numbers in 2006 to
stand down anti-immigrant legislation, there have been moments where we
have expanded our participation in political life to end gross
injustice.
Conviction without action is impotence. The question that many of us
will ask ourselves in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years is this: When it was
clear we were deep down the path toward untenable economic and political
inequality, did our action match the power of our convictions? This
99 % Spring, we will prepare ourselves to ensure we have a good answer to that question. We hope you will join us
http://www.the99spring.com
George
Goehl is the executive director of National People’s Action, a network
of metropolitan and statewide membership organizations dedicated to
advancing economic and racial justice. George has been an organizer and
strategist for 17 years, crafting city, state, and federal campaigns on
issues ranging from preventing foreclosures, outlawing predatory
lending, and advancing immigration reform. Under George’s leadership
National People’s Action has helped lead the fight to hold big banks
accountable, advance financial reform, and prevent foreclosures. He is a
co-founder of the New Bottom Line, a national alignment designed to
restructure our relationship with Wall Street and the financial sector
and advance a vision of a more equitable and sustainable economy.
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