Abe F. March

A State of Emergency exists with many citizens of America.Many

of us are living in fear and that fear is real. As seniors our

livelihood is being threatened by the loss of Social Security income. We

paid into the SS fund. If there is no money in the fund, where is it?

If it was used and not returned it is akin to theft. It is called an

entitlement and that is a correct label. We are entitled to the money we

paid into the fund. Medicare and VA care is also threatened. The

veteran swore an oath to serve and put his/her life on the line. What

about the promises made to the veterans? The enemy is not some foreign

power, but those who are ready to renege on their promises and deprive

the citizens of life-sustaining services.

Mr.President, your efforts for a universal health care program is

appreciated. We know that the enemies within, supported by the rich and

powerful, don’t want it to succeed. The enemies talk about the

trickle-down theory. Where has it trickled down? Can they give examples

of this theory? Where are the jobs they created? What

happened to America’s middle class? We have a two-class society, rich

and poor, with the rich are getting richer and the poor, poorer.

In the preamble to our constitution, it says, “…establish justice ,insure

domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense and promote the

general Welfare…” What happened to justice, Tranquility and general

Welfare?

If there are tax breaks, don’t you think those breaks should apply to all

Americans? If the rich get tax breaks based on the trickle-down theory,

allow them to keep the breaks if they can demonstrate how those breaks

created jobs. If not, they should be required to pay up.

I am an author and participate on a forum with other authors. The current

state of emergency is being discussed. Here are two postings by other

authors.

By D.K. Christi

"The President of the United States has not threatened anything. He cannot

assure anyone that government business will go forward because the debt

ceiling has never before been held hostage to opposing political

agendas. His original request was the traditional bill extending the

debt ceiling to cover the debts already incurred - not new debt - the

debts we have already promised to pay. That's what debt is - already

spent funds.

What is our debt? The majority is from the reduction in taxes during the

Bush Administration that reduced needed revenue to support the war

effort. The war effort is the biggest piece of the debt since when the

war was started, there were no taxes or financial hardships imposed on

the U.S. citizens while the best young men and women were being sent to

face death. The next piece of the debt came from the programs

implemented to put specific industries back into business to provide

jobs or prevent the loss of jobs. That is only a small piece of the debt

since those payments were successful and have been nearly paid back in

full - in full. Another piece of the debt is payments owed to senior

citizens and disabled persons for medical care that has been one of the

most efficient delivery systems of medical care imaginable. While costs

for insurance and general medical care have skyrocketed with exorbitant

salaries in the insurance industry and high awards to malpractice

attorneys and for malpractice insurance, the administration of the

medicare program has been lean and efficient. The program works. It

extends quality life and provides a safety net for people who previously

either died, were burdens to families or ended up on the federal dole

because all funds were exhausted from illness. Social Security and

medicare are paid for by those who are employed for the benefit of those

who retire. It's a pay for itself program. Medicaid primarily serves

children and elderly who have no other source of medical care. Because

it is administered by states, it is less efficient and has a variety of

service methods making its efficiency difficult to measure. Both

programs serve people with no other resources for the most part, those

least able to lobby for themselves.

Thus the debt was incurred by wars and tax gifts to the wealthy and

corporations that shrunk the revenue needed to support the war effort

and the promised services to citizens.

The debt ceiling" is semantics that matter in the money markets. Not

increasing the debt ceiling at this time is not comparable to living

within our means at home. The war effort should have been a pay as you

go effort - taxing for the war at the time of the war. Tax breaks to the

wealthiest people and corporations who have windfall profits from the

labors and benefits of this wonderful country and its working class is

plain stupid. That stupidity should not be borne by the least able.

President Obama is just stating the obvious. When it comes time to pay the bills,

the current revenue flow will not pay them all. Everyone knows that,

but he said it to be perfectly clear. The debt ceiling must be lifted so

the government can pay existing debts. It will be a world class debacle

not to.

The next step is to remove those ridiculous tax breaks to the wealthy and

largest corporations, extend the salary taxes past the current income

limits for social security and collect outstanding IRS debts rather than

adding people to the prisons who need to work off the debt they owe us.

It's taking a statement and turning it into a threat that keeps people on

edge and unable to evaluate the truth from the political hyperbole."

By E. Don Harpe

"The debt limit (ceiling) was first introduced in 1917, and since then

Congress has never failed to raise it. Actually, the first time it was

put on the table was in 1981, and it was the Gipper himself who raised

it that year. Back then President Ronald Reagan said, quote: “The full

consequences of a default – or even the serious prospect of default – by

the United States are impossible to predict and awesome to contemplate.

Denigration of the full faith and credit of the United States would

have substantial effects on the domestic financial markets and the value

of the dollar.”

And now we learn that every time it’s been put on the table since then,

it’s been raised. President George W. Bush raised the debt ceiling in 2002 – 03 –

04 – 05 – 06 – 07 – and 08. President Barrack Obama raised it in 2009 and 2010.

And here’s the kicker. The budget, or passing a budget, was not

connected to raising the debt ceiling in any of those years.

So, why is it this year the Republican’s in Congress are determined to tie

the debt ceiling to the passing of a new budget, and why are they

standing so firm on what they insist on calling “raising taxes?” We know

it isn’t really raising taxes, it’s just rolling them back to where

they were before George W. Bush started the second biggest welfare

program in the history of the country, by giving billions of tax dollars

to the wealthiest people in the country. We know the argument that the

“tax breaks for the wealthy” are needed to create jobs, and if that were

true, it would be well spent. But it simply isn’t true. They aren’t

creating any jobs, at least not here in this country. They’re sitting on

the money, giving their corporate heads raises and personal jets, but

they aren’t creating any jobs. I honestly believe they could create

jobs, I just don’t think they want to. Most of these elite wealthy

people who have their hands so deep in the taxpayers pockets are

themselves Republicans, and I think they are very deliberately not

creating jobs in order to point to the unemployment situation and the

number of jobs not created as a means to get a Republican elected to the

White House again in 2012. They want this, because in that way they’re

pretty sure the government teat they’re sucking off will never dry up.

So the idea that rolling back the tax breaks will in some way hinder job

growth is nonsensical. Job growth due to the tax breaks is non-existent

all ready, so how can it be hindered more?

The other reason, which also deals with the creating of new jobs, says that

even the mention of rolling back taxes has been enough to keep the

people who get the wealthy welfare checks from investing the money to

create the jobs. How hokey is that? Are they that afraid? I doubt it.

Most people doubt it.

The American people believe that it is unconscionable to try and balance

the budget by spending cuts alone, especially when those cuts come at

the expense of those Americans least able to afford the cuts, and most

likely to suffer from them. We are already graduating students that can

barely read, and can’t find New York or Los Angeles on a map, and they

want to take money away from education. Nearly every college in the

country is raising tuition just to get by, and they want to take money

from the grants program. Seniors are being told they have to choose

between eating and buying medicine, between paying their utility bills

and their phone bills. Social programs that do the most good in this

country are being stripped of funding, when they know it will keep many

middle aged ladies from getting needed mammograms. And why is this being

done? To create jobs if you listen to the Republicans, but if you

listen to the rank and file working man and woman on the street, it’s

being done so the wealthy can remain in their gated communities, in

their million dollar homes, and fly around the world on vacations. It’s

being done so oil companies and big farm businesses can keep making

record profits, and keep their corporate jets in the air. It’s being

done so the war in the Middle East can continue, and the war is

continuing, not to keep us safe, but to keep pouring billions of dollars

into the coffers of a handful of corporations. The war has never been

about terrorism, or keeping America safe from attack. It’s been about

making dollars for a handful of very powerful people who think it is

their right to rape this country until the middle class and the working

class bleed.

I think the Republicans and those idiot members of the tea bag party that

are doing everything in their power to hold this country hostage,

should be brought to trial for treason."