Charlestown, MA – Elizabeth Warren, Democratic Senator from Massachusetts who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president, laid out her vision of economic patriotism, calling for using new and existing tools to defend and create quality American jobs and promote American industry. Warren will continue to release individual plans reflecting how economic patriotism should shape our approach to specific parts of the American economy. She released the first plan: A bold $2 trillion investment of federal money over 10 years in American green research, manufacturing, and exporting — which includes ambitious new ideas to link American innovation directly to American jobs, and focuses on achieving not only the ambitious domestic emissions targets in the Green New Deal, but also spurring the kind of worldwide adoption of American-made clean energy technology needed to meet the international targets of the Green New Deal.
The plan is designed to ensure that American taxpayer investments in combating climate change result in good American jobs. The plan makes a historic $400 billion investment in clean energy research and development, and includes a provision that any production stemming from that federally-funded research should take place in the United States. It also makes a massive $1.5 trillion commitment to federal procurement of clean, green, American-made products over the next 10 years, and requires that all companies that receive federal contracts pay all employees at least $15 per hour, guarantee 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, let employees exercise collective bargaining rights, and maintain fair schedules at a minimum. According to an independent analysis from Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, these provisions ensure that Warren’s Green Manufacturing Plan would boost economic growth and create more than a million new jobs right here at home.
Warren’s plan also includes a Green Marshall Plan — a commitment to using all the tools in our diplomatic and economic arsenal to encourage other countries to purchase and deploy American-made clean energy technology. It creates a new federal office dedicated to selling American-made clean, renewable, and emission-free energy technology abroad, with a $100 billion commitment to assisting countries to purchase and deploy this technology — supporting American jobs while supplying the world with the clean energy products needed to cut global emissions.
Warren’s plan also identifies specific cost offsets that, according to the Moody’s economic analysis, cover nearly the entire cost of her plan: her Real Corporate Profits Tax, ending subsidies for oil and gas companies, and closing tax loopholes that promote shipping jobs overseas.
Warren’s Green Manufacturing Plan comes after her Public Lands Plan, two in a series of proposals as she continues to lay out her vision for how we implement the Green New Deal.
“The climate crisis demands immediate and bold action. Like we have before, we should bank on American ingenuity and American workers to lead the global effort to face down this threat — and create more than a million good jobs here at home,” Warren said.
Read more about Warren’s vision of Economic Patriotism here.
Read more about Warren’s Green Manufacturing Plan here.
Joe Biden, two-term Vice President
under Barack Obama, officially launched his own campaign for 2020 at a rally in
Philadelphia, his wife, Dr. Jill Biden’s hometown and the city where the
Declaration of Independence and Constitution, were birthed and for the first
time, structured a government around “We the people.”
“I am running for three basic
reasons,” he declared. “I want to restore the soul of this country…I want to
rebuild the backbone of this country, this time bringing everyone along, the
middle class — the middle class that built this country. And thirdly I want to
unite the country.”
“In 1776, the Declaration of Independence:
‘We hold these truths to be self-evident.’ Those words formed the American
creed. Equality. Equity. Fairness. America didn’t live up to that promise for
most of its people, for people of color, for women.
“But we are born of the idea
that every single person in this country — no matter where you start in life
— there’s nothing that’s beyond your capacity if you work hard enough for
it.”
Unity – one America united around
common values and a belief that each is entitled to the same opportunity – is a
big theme for Biden, who blasted the divisiveness, the dysfunction of
government, starting with Donald Trump.
“Some say Democrats don’t want
to hear about unity. That they are angry– and the angrier you are – the better.
That’s what they are saying to have to do to win the Democratic nomination.
Well, I don’t believe it. I believe Democrats want to unify this nation. That’s
what we’ve always been about. Unity.
“If the American people want a president to add to our division, to lead
with a clenched fist, closed hand and a hard heart, to demonize the opponents
and spew hatred — they don’t need me. They already have a President who
does just that. I am running to offer our country – Democrats, Republicans and
Independents – a different path.”
“I know how to make government work.
I’ve worked across the aisle to reach consensus. And I can do that again with
your help,” he said, often having to speak over a heckler and whistles.
“Compromise is not a dirty word;
consensus is no a weakness – the founders designed constitution to require
consensus – it’s what I did as Senator, what I did as vice president working
with Barack Obama…
If I’m elected your president, I
will do whatever to make progress on matters that matter most – civil rights,
women’s rights, climate change policy that will save our children,
grandchildren.
“I know there are times when only a
bare knuckle fight will do –I can take on Republicans. That’s what took to pass
the Affordable Care Act – it was a big… deal…
“Barack Obama was an extraordinary
man…. Someone your children looked up to…I’m proud to have served as his vice
president [and proudest of] passing health care. Past administrations tried and
failed; it was done by Obama without a single Republican vote.
“The Recovery Act [at the time of
America’s biggest economic crisis] was a big reason we have had 10 years of
uninterrupted economic growth…
“Trump likes to take credit for
economy and economic growth – but look at facts, not alternative facts- he
inherited a strong economy from the Obama-Biden administration.
“The Recovery Act helped save the
country from economic ruin – we had to get the work done – if we hadn’t,
we could have had another Great Depression . Working together matters. The
American people want government to work.
“The country is sick of division,
sick of childish behavior – there isn’t a single person in this country who
could get away with that in their job. All people want is for their senator,
their congressman to do their job, and above all, a president who measures the
day by people he brings together rather than division he sows…a president
obsessing over personal grievance.
“The rest of the world isn’t
waiting. China not waiting – they’re building 5G, mastering AI, rewriting the
rules of the internet, moving into areas that shouldn’t be abandoned by us. The
rest of the world isn’t abandoning the Paris Climate Accord…
“The greatest challenge we face will
be over technology, intellectual property, clean energy, a warming planet – and
not a single thing that building a wall [or attacking immigrants] can
address….
“We have to focus on the future ..
we will invest in educational assistance our people need to succeed in 21st
century because any country that out-educates us will out compete us.”
He declared. “Let’s stop fighting
and start fixing,” prompting cheers of “We want Joe. We want Joe.”
On health care, he said that instead
of starting over, certainly not tear down, “we need to go to the next step”
with the Affordable Care Act.
On infrastructure, he said,
“Highways, ports, airports need to be greener, more rational. No one should
have to drink poisoned water; protect the nation from cyber attack [and bring]
solar and wind energy across the same lines.
“We know what we have to do.That’s
why I’m running – stop fighting, start fixing… together.
“There is not much time left,” he
declared. “We need a clean energy revolution, starting now. Clean energy and
jobs creation go together…
“We have to work together to get it
done….We need a president who will lead.”
Getting down to brass tacks, he
said, “The single most important priority on my list: defeat Donald Trump…
“I’ve watched [Trump] for 3 years
instilling fear, undermining every institution designed to check abuse of
power- all to solidify his base and expand power.
“Attacks on free press as the enemy
of the people is nothing to be dismissed – tyrants, dictators all over the
world use the same [rhetoric]. Attacking the independence of courts – saying he
cannot trust a judge because of his Mexican ancestry, that’s not America,
Democrat or Republican.
“Attack on Congress to legitimately
engage in oversight a without whimper of Republicans in Congress who should
know better…
“This undermines our standing around
the world.
“Are we a nation that believes in
the moral equivalent between neo-Nazis and the KKK, and those with courage to
stand against them? We don’t but Trump does.
“Are we a nation who believes it’s
okay to tear children from the arms of parents at the border? We don’t but
Trump does.
“Are we a nation that [coddles up
to] a tyrant like Kim Jong Un? We don’t but Tump does.
“Remember who we are, what we stand
for, what we believe. Every day I am reminded nothing is guaranteed by our
democracy, we have to fight for it, earn it.”
Biden cited Lincoln’s Gettsburg
Address, saying, “the great task remaining before us, that government of, by,
for the people shall not perish from the earth.
“That challenge has been handed down
to every generation. That challenge is now handed to us, that future generations
will measure us by. Will we be the ones to let government of, by, for the
people perish from the earth?
“We will not, I will not, you will
not let perish on my watch or yours.
But while we confront “the biggest
threat any of us have faced in our entire lifetime,” he added, “on other hand,
we‘ve never had a future more promising.
“I’m more optimistic about America’s
future today, than when I was first elected, too young to be sworn in. We are
in a better position to lead in the 21st century. Our workers are 3
times as productive, we have the biggest economy in the world, the strongest
military in the history of the world. Entrepreneurs…there are more great
research universities in this city, this state, this country than all the world
combined..
“We lead by the power of example not
by the example of power. The only thing to defeat America is America itself and
we cannot let that happen.
“Let them know who we are, what we
stand for – unity over division.”
Kirsten Gillibrand, the Democratic Senator from New York who is running for President in 2020, standing in front of the Trump International Hotel on Central Park West in New York City, drew a strong contrast between herself and those who would stand up for American values as “brave” while attacking Donald Trump as a coward and Washington in the pockets of special interests. Here are highlights from her speech –
Our president is a coward…
that’s not what we deserve. We deserve a president who is brave, who will walk
through fire to do what is right. We deserve a president who inspires us to
stand for something greater than ourselves.
Look up at that tower, a
shrine to greed, division and vanity. – now look around you, the greater
strength by far is ourselves. We are here to reject the politics of fear..
The ideals of this
country – opportunity, equality, justice – are worth fighting for. We are here
to embrace our shared humanity and rise above our differences. We don’t build
walls that are emblems of racism and fear. We build bridges, communities and
hope…our unity of purpose lifts us higher than any tower.
We are here today
because we know that when we join together and fight for our values, Brave wins.
.Americans prove this with their own bravery every single day…..
The people of this
country deserve a president worthy of your bravery- who not only sets an
example, but follows yours – your bravery inspires me every day, and that is
why I ‘m running for president of the United States….
I will go to toe to toe
with anyone to do the right thing – powerful institutions, the president, even
my own party. I’m not running for president because of who I am fighting
against, but who I’m fighting for.
I’m fighting for an
America where power truly belongs in the hands of the people, where our leaders
care about everyone in this country – and lead not from ego but strength of
character – where compassion and integrity define our government, not self-interest
and corruption – where we don’t just care about profits we make today but the
future we are leaving to our grandchildren – I know we can be that America –
but it means starting at the root of our problems – greed…
Right now, the special
interests are displacing the interests of the country …opioid manufacturers
get a pass rather than the indictments while neighbors are sold addictive drugs
on purpose, the NRA stops commonsense gun reform while stray bullets kill our
children; dark money is at the heart.. We need to crack open government, …
I will fight against the
dysfunction poisoning Washington. As your president, I will answer to you and
you alone…
Our goals are ambitious,
but truth is not controversial – Americans across party lines support commonsense
ideas – make quality affordable health care a right not a privilege, must pass
Medicare for All, I have fought for this since my first house race in 2006 – we
have a plan to get from current system to single payer – and I know because I
helped write it – we will create competition, get costs down, eliminate the
greed
On education: it is time
to guarantee universal pre-k, … provide high quality education for every kid in
America no matter what block they grow up on… We must make higher education
affordable, accessible for everyone, reduce the crush of student debt – the fed
government shouldn’t be making money off the back of our students,. In my
administration, we would refinance all student debt to lowest available rate.
Here’s a big idea: let’s
improve and expand the GI Bill to make college free for anyone who agrees to do
national public service – young people can pursue their dreams debt free while
helping others.
To grow the middle
class, we need to start rewarding work again- make full employment a national
priority – invest in free job training through apprenticeship, free college at
state schools, training, skills, jobs in their community in the fields of their
interest. Workers rights are under attack more than ever, I would protect
collective bargaining by unions; raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour
nationwide,
And transform the
infrastructure of work by finally making national paid leave a reality. It is outrageous
that we are the only industrialized country in the world without it – you should
never have to risk your job, your income to take care of new baby, sick family member
or your own medical needs. I refuse to accept the false choice between your
paycheck and your family.
I have led this fight in
congress since 2013, when not part of national conversation – hear me when I
say this, paid leave, equal pay and affordable day care are not just women’s
issues – these are economic issues, ones that will determine whether or not our
country succeeds.
We need to dismantle
institutional racism that holds back millions of families – in health care,
education, criminal justice systems- in growing crisis of black women’s growing
maternal mortality, in criminal sentencing decisions, in the wealth gap between
communities of color and white that only widens generation to generation – these
challenges call for solutions both targeted and broad – like higher standards
for maternity care, a national commitment to full employment, postal banking,
ending cash bail, and legalizing marijuana.
We need to restore our
moral leadership in the world – we must secure our borders effectively and
fight terrorism relentlessly, but let’s be very clear – racism and fear is not
a national security strategy. Building a wall, ripping apart families, banning
Muslims and turning our backs on refugees and asylum seekers isn’t just wrong,
it makes us less safe. We need to repair our relationship with our allies and
stop fawning over our adversaries. We need to leverage our diplomatic tools ot
make Americans more prosperous and more secure, and always treat military force
as a last resort.
We must bring an end to
the endless wars – America’s commander in chief is not a dictator, and the
decision to deploy our troops can never be made lightly or unilaterally without
Congress.
And we need to protect
the integrity of our elections, by holding accountable any threats to our
democracy from abroad or right here at home.
The stakes just got higher
on Friday – the Mueller Report must be made public. All of it. No one in this
country is above the law or immune from prosecution, not even the president. I
don’t often agree with Nixon, but he was right to say the American people have
a right to know whether their president is a crook.
Finally, we need to
treat global climate change like the existential threat that it is. We need to
pass the Green New Deal – let’s make this our generation’s moon shot –
addressing a global challenge of this urgency will take massive effort,
transformational vision, which is exactly why we should do it.
Let’s invest in our
crumbling infrastructure, create sustainable green jobs, protect clean air and
water as a universal human right. I would go further than others – I also put a
price on carbon to use market forces to steer companies away from fossil fuels
toward clean, renewable energy.
We can’t afford not to
do this. We don’t have time to waste – John F. Kennedy said he wanted to put a man
on moon in next 10 years, not because easy but hard. I believe we should look
at global climate change in the same way – look to zero carbon emissions
in next 10 years not because it’s easy but because it’s hard, a challenge we
are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone and one that we will
win.
None of these big
fights, and equally big goals will be easy – nothing worth fighting for has
been – but I have never backed down from a fight, and I am not about to start
now.
My faith tells me to
care for the least among us – to feed and clothe the poor, help the stranger,
the sick, incarcerated. I believe we are all called to be the light of the
world, to defeat the darkness and treat others the way we want to be treated.
I am running for
president to fix what has been broken, repair our moral fabric, … this fight is
so much bigger than any one election. It’s about making a choice and deciding
who we are, and who we are going to be. After all, America is and always will
be the home of the brave, no matter how difficult the course before us, no
matter how dark the hour, the lessons of our history is that justice, fairness
and truth are possible but only if we are willing to put everything we have on
the line to achieve it – so each one of us has a choice today – will we defend
this democracy, will we speak for what we believe in, will we reject the hate,
fear, greed and corruption, will we fight with every fiber of our being because
everything we care about is at stake.Will we be brave? You already answered
that question just by being here, if you are with me, ready to fight and take
on this fight with me, join my campaign, kirstengillibrand.com,
contribute to help power this movement forward.
I believe in my bones
that we can do this – years from now will look back at this moment in history
and be able to say we did something about it, we stood up, locked arms and
proved to America and the world that when people come together to drive out darkness,
hope rises, fear loses and brave wins.
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), a declared 2020 candidate for 2020 presidential nomination, came to Long Island City, where local activists rejected Amazon, to propose a plan to rein in big tech and other giant multi-national companies that use their economic power to stifle competition and intimidate government. Here is her proposal — Karen Rubin, News& Photo Features
Today’s
big tech companies have too much power — too much power over our economy, our
society, and our democracy. They’ve bulldozed competition, used our private
information for profit, and tilted the playing field against everyone else. And
in the process, they have hurt small businesses and stifled innovation.
I want a government that makes sure everybody — even the biggest and most
powerful companies in America — plays by the rules. And I want to make sure
that the next generation of great
American tech companies can flourish. To do that, we need to stop this generation of big tech companies
from throwing around their political power to shape the rules in their favor
and throwing around their economic power to snuff out or buy up every potential
competitor.
That’s why my Administration will make big, structural changes to the tech
sector to promote more competition—including breaking up Amazon, Facebook, and Google.
How the New Tech Monopolies Hurt Small Businesses and Innovation
America’s big tech companies provide valuable products but also wield enormous
power over our digital lives. Nearly half of all e-commerce goes
through Amazon. More than 70% of all Internet traffic goes through
sites owned or operated by Google or Facebook.
As these companies have grown larger and more powerful, they have used their
resources and control over the way we use the Internet to squash small
businesses and innovation, and substitute their own financial interests for the
broader interests of the American people. To restore the balance of power in
our democracy, to promote competition, and to ensure that the next generation
of technology innovation is as vibrant as the last, it’s time to break up our
biggest tech companies.
America’s big tech companies have achieved their level of dominance in part
based on two strategies:
Using
Mergers to Limit Competition.
Facebook has purchased potential competitors Instagram and WhatsApp.
Amazon has used its immense market power to force smaller competitors
like Diapers.com to sell at a discounted rate. Google has
snapped up the mapping company Waze and the ad company DoubleClick. Rather
than blocking these transactions for their negative long-term effects on
competition and innovation, government regulators have waved them through.
Using
Proprietary Marketplaces to Limit Competition. Many
big tech companies own a marketplace – where buyers and sellers transact –
while also participating on the marketplace. This can create a conflict of
interest that undermines competition. Amazon crushes small
companies by copying the goods they sell on the Amazon
Marketplace and then selling its own branded version. Google
allegedly snuffed out a competing small search engine
by demoting its content on its search algorithm, and it has
favored its own restaurant ratings over those of Yelp.
Weak antitrust enforcement has led to a dramatic reduction in
competition and innovation in the tech sector. Venture capitalists are now
hesitant to fund new startups to compete with these big tech companies because
it’s so easy for the big companies to either snap up growing
competitors or drive them out of business. The number of tech startups
has slumped, there are fewer high-growth young firms typical of
the tech industry, and first financing rounds for tech startups
have declined 22% since 2012.
With fewer competitors entering the
market, the big tech companies do not have to compete as aggressively in key
areas like protecting our privacy. And some of these companies have grown
so powerful that they can bully cities
and states into showering them with massive taxpayer handouts in exchange
for doing business, and can act — in the words of Mark Zuckerberg —
“more like a government than a traditional company.”
We must ensure that today’s tech giants do not crowd out potential competitors,
smother the next generation of great tech companies, and wield so much power
that they can undermine our democracy.
Restoring Competition in the Tech Sector
America has a long tradition of breaking
up companies when they have become too big and dominant — even if they are
generally providing good service at a reasonable price.
A century ago, in the Gilded Age, waves of mergers led to the creation of some
of the biggest companies in American history — from Standard Oil and JPMorgan
to the railroads and AT&T. In response to the rise of these “trusts,”
Republican and Democratic reformers pushed for antitrust laws to break up these
conglomerations of power to ensure competition.
But where the value of the company came from its network, reformers recognized
that ownership of a network and participating on the network caused a conflict
of interest. Instead of nationalizing these industries — as other countries
did — Americans in the Progressive Era decided to ensure that these networks
would not abuse their power by charging higher prices, offering worse quality,
reducing innovation, and favoring some over others. We required a structural
separation between the network and other businesses, and also demanded that the
network offer fair and non-discriminatory service.
In this tradition, my administration
would restore competition to the tech sector by taking two major steps:
First, by passing legislation that requires large tech platforms to be
designated as “Platform Utilities” and
broken apart from any participant on that platform.
Companies with an annual global revenue of
$25 billion or more and that offer to the public an online marketplace, an
exchange, or a platform for connecting third parties would be designated as
“platform utilities.”
These companies would be prohibited from
owning both the platform utility and any participants on that platform.
Platform utilities would be required to meet a standard of fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory dealing with users.
Platform utilities would not be allowed
to transfer or share data with third parties.
For smaller companies (those with annual global revenue of between $90 million
and $25 billion), their platform utilities would be required to meet the same
standard of fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory dealing with users, but
would not be required to structurally separate from any participant on the
platform.
To enforce these new requirements, federal regulators, State Attorneys General,
or injured private parties would have the right
to sue a platform utility to enjoin any conduct that violates these
requirements, to disgorge any ill-gotten gains, and to be paid for losses and
damages. A company found to violate these requirements would also have to pay a fine of 5 percent of annual revenue.
Amazon Marketplace, Google’s ad exchange, and Google Search would be platform
utilities under this law. Therefore, Amazon Marketplace and Basics, and
Google’s ad exchange and businesses on the exchange would be split apart.
Google Search would have to be spun off as well.
Second, my administration would
appoint regulators committed to reversing illegal and anti-competitive tech
mergers.
Current antitrust laws empower federal regulators to break up mergers that
reduce competition. I will appoint regulators who are committed to using
existing tools to unwind anti-competitive mergers, including:
Unwinding these mergers will promote healthy competition in the market — which will put pressure on big tech companies to be more responsive to user concerns, including about privacy.
Protecting the Future of the Internet
So what would the Internet look like after all these reforms?
Here’s what won’t change: You’ll still be able to go on Google and search like you do today. You’ll still be able to go on Amazon and find 30 different coffee machines that you can get delivered to your house in two days. You’ll still be able to go on Facebook and see how your old friend from school is doing.
Here’s what will change: Small businesses would have a fair shot to sell their products on Amazon without the fear of Amazon pushing them out of business. Google couldn’t smother competitors by demoting their products on Google Search. Facebook would face real pressure from Instagram and WhatsApp to improve the user experience and protect our privacy. Tech entrepreneurs would have a fighting chance to compete against the tech giants.
Of course, my proposals today won’t solve every problem we have with our big tech companies.
We must give people more control over how their personal information is collected, shared, and sold—and do it in a way that doesn’t lock in massive competitive advantages for the companies that already have a ton of our data.
We must help America’s content creators—from local newspapers and national magazines to comedians and musicians — keep more of the value their content generates, rather than seeing it scooped up by companies like Google and Facebook.
And we must ensure that Russia — or any other foreign power — can’t use Facebook or any other form of social media to influence our elections.
Those are each tough problems, but the benefit of taking these steps to promote competition is that it allows us to make some progress on each of these important issues too. More competition means more options for consumers and content creators, and more pressure on companies like Facebook to address the glaring problems with their businesses.
Healthy competition can solve a lot of problems. The steps I’m proposing today will allow existing big tech companies to keep offering customer-friendly services, while promoting competition, stimulating innovation in the tech sector, and ensuring that America continues to lead the world in producing cutting-edge tech companies. It’s how we protect the future of the Internet.
The venue for Senator Elizabeth Warren’s rally was strategic for her message: a former warehouse with dank walls now used for an entertainment space in Long Island City, the neighborhood that booted Amazon, despite its promise to bring 25,000 jobs, in exchange for a $3 billion tax incentive.
The message the declared 2020 Democratic candidate for president brought to the 600 eager supporters was that it is time to break up the high-tech companies that have come to wield out-sized economic power more like government, dictating demands and reclaim government for the people.
“We have these giant corporations — do I have to tell
that to people in Long Island City? — that think they can roll over everyone,”
she said, comparing Amazon to “The Hunger Game.”
“Giant corporations shouldn’t be able to buy out
competition. Competition has to be able to thrive and grow.”
“Who does government work for? Just the richest people and
corporations? I want government that works for the people.”
“I spent whole life wondering what happening to middle
class, why so much rockier, steeper, and even rockier and steeper for people of
color – what has gone wrong in America.
“Our government works great for giant drug companies, not for people needing prescription drugs; for giant oil companies, not for people who see climate change bearing down; great for payday lenders, not for people of color and communities and poor people who are targeted, whose lives are turned upside down.
“It’s corruption plain and simple and we need to call it
out.
“Whichever issue brought you here – income gap, climate change, affordable child care, housing – whatever issue brought you here, I guarantee decisions made in Washington that directly touch – runs straight through corruption in Washington…. We need big structural change.”
Her prescription: change the
rules of government, of the economy, of politics:
Where to start? Change the rules
of government by taking corruption head on.
“I introduced the biggest anti-corruption bill since
Watergate; it’s big, long, complex, but here are a few pieces:
“End lobbying as we know it. Stop the revolving door between Wall Street and Washington; make Supreme Court follow the basic rules of ethics. Anyone who wants to run for federal office, must release their taxes.
“We need workers to have more power, we need stronger
unions. Unions built American middle class and will rebuild the American middle
class.”
Warren is advocating an ultra millionaire’s tax: imposing 2%
tax for those with over $50 million in assets.
That means the top 0.1% -75,000 households. She estimates that would
generate $2.4 trillion.
In what sounds like an expansion of Obama’s
oft-taken-out-of-context line, “You didn’t build that,” Warren justifies the
wealth tax saying, “I’m tired of free loading billionaires. You built (or
inherited) your fortune, good for you, but you built it using workers we educated,
roads and bridges we paid to build, police – all helped. So yeah, you built a
great fortune, so give a little back to the American people (who enabled you).
It’s a property tax, she said, not unlike the property tax
that any homeowner, farmer, condo owner all pay, but includes the Picassos,
diamonds and yachts.
What would it do? It would fund universal child care, and
still have billions left over.
To change the rules of politics and protect our democracy, she said, “I want to see a constitutional amendment to protect the right to vote and make sure every vote gets counted. Overturn Citizens United.” (adding that she isn’t taking any corporate PAC money, but is depending on grassroots donations, ElizabethWarren.com.)
“I don’t go to closed door meetings with millionaires. I’m
here with you.”
“My father was a janitor but his daughter got a chance to be
a teacher, a college professor, a Senator and a candidate for President of the United
States. I believe in opportunity because I’ve lived it. I want an American where
every child gets a chance to build a future.
“This is our moment. Dream big. Let’s win.”
She then took questions (the questioners were picked at
random):
Asked her view of Governor Andrew Cuomo trying to woo Amazon back after local
progressives including State Senator Michael Gianaris, who introduced her at
the rally, she said, “This is like ‘Hunger Games’ – it is
not just the enormous economic power, but the political power they wield.
“A handful of companies spend $50 million lobbying
Washington – a great return on investment if they get to keep Washington from
enforcing regulations, antitrust laws, hold back oversight. That’s not how
America is supposed to work. Corporate power… and billionaire power, all
those who make their voices heard through money. They fund the think tanks that
come to, predetermined conclusions, the public relations firms, the soft ads on
TV, controlling government, they tilt the playing field over and over against
everyone else.”
She reflected that she went to see Trump being sworn in, and
realized that with control of the White House and both houses of Congress, the
Republicans could have swept away health care and Medicare “by Tuesday.” “But
the next day, there was the biggest protest in the history of the world.”
“I want to rein in big tech. That won’t happen by talking
inside the Beltway, but in rooms like this.”
Asked whether her wealth
tax would cause billionaires like Trump to simply move outside the US, she
quipped, “That would be a bad thing?” but explained the 2% wealth tax would be
on all property where it is held, so a yacht in the Caribbean would be taxed. More tax treaties mean it can be tracked. The
IRS (now underfunded and understaffed) would step up enforcement. Even with a
15% cheat factor, you still get nearly $3 trillion in revenue. As for moving
and renouncing US citizenship to avoid the tax? There would be a 40% exit
penalty.
“You built your fortune here, you owe something to the
American people.”
Asked about addressing homelessness
and the lack of affordable housing, Warren said, “It’s a matter of values.
In the richest country in the history of the world, people shouldn’t be
sleeping in the street. I have a plan, a housing plan, but the first step is to
diagnose the problem: Why has the cost of housing gone up? Wages, adjusted for
inflation for four decades are flat, but housing costs have risen by
two-thirds. That puts a squeeze on families.”
She said that over the years, government has withdrawn investment in housing, while private developers have build the more profitable mcmansions and luxury high rises. “There’s been an increase in housing at the top but no increase for middle class and down. The federal government is not making investment in housing for poor, working poor and middle class. Meanwhile, across America, the housing stock has deteriorated, shrinking in size, but the population is expanding, so people are paying more and more for less and less.
“The answer: build more housing. I want to build 3.2 million
new housing units all across the country. That would decrease rents by 10%. I
want more housing for purchase, so families can build equity over time.
“Housing is how working families have built wealth
generation after generation – paying off the mortgage, and living on Social
Security, grandma can live with the family, the home passes on wealth to the
next generation.
“It is no surprise that for decades, from the 1930s, federal
government invested in subsidized housing for white people, but discriminated
against blacks. Red lined areas where federal government would block mortgages,
so that generation after generation [was deprived of home ownership to build
wealth]. In 1960, housing discrimination was legal, while the federal
government subsidized whites and discriminated against black neighborhoods. Then,
the gap between white and black home ownership was 27 points.
“Then civil rights made housing, voting discrimination
illegal, and we see black middle class recover.
“But then the big banks came along – looked to black, brown
home owners’ equity. They targeted black and brown people for the nastiest
mortgages – Wells Fargo, Bank of America. Greed.
“Today, the gap between white and black home ownership is 30
points. Race matters in America.
“My housing bill has something we haven’t seen anywhere
else: in formerly red-lined areas, first time home buyers or those who lost
their homes during the housing crash, will get assistance to buy again.”
Asked whether she would support ending the filibuster which
the Republican minority used to block progressive legislation during the Obama
administration, to block his judicial appointments, even the Merrick Garland
Supreme Court nomination, she said (not too coyly): “It’s all on the table,
baby. I’m on record for filibuster reform. The Republicans used filibuster to
block judicial nominees, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection
Board, the National Labor Relations Board. “Republicans get to do what they
want when they’re in power, and when we are, we drink a lot of tea. It’s all on
the table.”
“I get that things I’m asking for all are hard – attacking corruption,
changing the rules of the economy, democracy. I get that some people earn more
or less, but everyone should have an equal share of democracy.”
People, she said, saved the Consumer Financial Protection Board, which she created after the
2008 financial collapse. “The people saved it, and it’s already forced the
biggest banks to return $12 billion to the people they cheated.
“I’m calling for big structural change, but you don’t get
what you don’t fight for,” she said, citing the abolitionists, suffragettes,
union organizers, the foot soldiers of civil rights, gay rights activists. “They
were all told, ‘it’s too hard, give up now, and yet, every one of them stayed,
fought, organized, persisted [she said to big cheers], and changed. This is our
moment to change.
In an already crowded field of candidates – even the
progressive faction – Warren is the only one who has clearly spelled out policy
proposals and the underlying rationale, the powerful statistics of growing
inequality, that she has studied and worked to change for years to level the
playing field, “make government work for you”: campaign finance reform and
government reform; housing; tax reform.
And in this venue, it
was fascinating to see how she could be so factual, so academic, but so
enthusiastic and personable, her
audience asked for more detail about how she would address the critical
shortfall in affordable housing, even
taking her by surprise.
The evening was organized a little like a townhall, with Warren moving freely about a stage in front of a giant American flag, taking questions, and then at the end, offering to stay as long as necessary so anyone who wanted to take a photo with her could get their chance.
Bernie Sanders held his first major rally of his 2020 campaign for president on the campus of Brooklyn College, just a few miles from where he grew up in a 3 ½-room rent-controlled apartment, and where he attended his first year of college. As many as 7,000 people crammed in to see him on Saturday, March 2 – like the 2016 campaign, mostly young people. Judging by the enthusiasm, The Burn is back.
While the agenda now has become pretty standard fare
for all the Democrats running for President – universal health care, lower drug
prices, gun safety, immigration reform, climate action – and while others have
emphasized the need to restore civility to political discourse (in contrast to
the crass vitriol that constantly spews from Trump), what was decidedly
different about Bernie is his willingness to name names, to take on the
corporatists and the billionaires: Amazon and Jeff Bezos, Netflix, Disney,
General Motors.
In some ways, Bernie, while taking credit for the
leftward shift of the Democrats’ platform, needs to stand out – and this is his
way. He also seems intent to correct any missteps from the 2016 campaign. This
time around he is emphasizing his humble origins whose father migrated from
Poland on his own at age 17 with “not 5 cents in his pocket, not speaking
English” to escape crushing poverty and anti-Semitism and make a better life.
He described a hard-scrabble life, appreciating full well the stress and
anxiety of 800,000 government workers furloughed by the record-long Trump shutdown,
who live paycheck to paycheck, at the mercy of employers.
The campaign emphasized his early years as an activist, protesting against housing discrimination and horrible public schools for Chicago’s black children – but he was too modest during the 2016 to focus much attention on his early activism on behalf of civil rights. This time around, Nina Turner, who heads Our Revolution, put Bernie on the same pedestal as Martin Luther King, Jr., and journalist/activist Shaun King connected him with Black Lives Matter.
This time, Sanders also made certain to include issues that concern women on a long “to do” list: child care and women’s reproductive rights.
Taking to the podium to introduce her husband, Jane
Sanders declared, “I’m honored to be his wife – that might not be politically
correct to say, but it’s one of my greatest honors of my life.”
She added, “Today is only the beginning. not a moment, but a movement.”
But as Bernie is forced to differentiate himself
from the rest of the dozens of Democrats who are running, most of whom are
championing the same agenda, he has to go even further than he did, and that may
well turn off centrists, moderates and independents, and fall right into the
hands of Trump and his minions who are made to turn against the notion of
affordable, accessible health care and pharmaceuticals as some kind of Communist
takeover. Imagine, as Trump told CPAC, “taking away private insurance from 180
million people,” banning beef, airplanes, indeed, individual liberty.
And don’t Democrats want as their #1 priority to
have a candidate who can beat Trump? Which means not just the hard-left and
youth who still only vote at a dismal 39% rate and are easily made too peeved
to bother, but centrists, moderates, independents, who might be put off by
being branded a Socialist and not the European-style Democratic Socialist
(which have universal health care, parental leave, child care) but the
Venezuelan kind, especially with such radical talk of a federally guaranteed
job and a Green New Deal?
“Every card carrying American
who loves their Social Security, public schools, roads, police, and fire services
will love their Medicare for All. Labels don’t define us, we come together
around issues – Medicare for All; free college,” a campaign worker noted.
“Bernie believes another
world is possible, that in a modern developed world, people don’t die for lack
of access to medical care. The issues are not blue or red, they are human
rights.”
In actuality, the
Republicans have portrayed every liberal as a Socialist with images of work
camps and everyone collecting the same wage – including Obama, Hillary Clinton,
Edward Kennedy.
Why choose Sanders? “He’s
been consistent for 30 years. He’s been there for 30 years and knows where the next
steps are.”
I
remark to a young fellow as we are crammed into a subway car after Bernie’s
rally at Brooklyn College, how it is that with 30 years in Congress, Sanders
has very little to show in the way of accomplishing the lofty goals he set out
in 2016 and again for his 2020 campaign, and question how he would he be more
successful as a president, given the obstructions Obama faced from a Republican
minority willing to use ruthless tactics. His reply? Sanders’ success has been
to inspire a revolution at the grassroots – look at what has happened in
localities and at the state level. He alone among the Democrats who now all
champion the same ideals of social, political, economic and environmental
justice, has inspired such local activism.
Here are highlights from Sanders’ speech:
“Thank you for being part of the revolution, part of
the campaign that will not just win the Democratic nomination and defeat Trump,
the most dangerous president in modern American history, but with your help,
will transform the country and finally create an economy and a government which
works for all.
“The underlying principle of government will not be
greed, hatred, racism, sexism, homophobia, religious bigotry, tax breaks for
billionaires and efforts to take millions off health care. This campaign will
end all that.
“The principles of our government are based on
justice: economic, social, racial, environmental justice. Tell the insurance companies we will have
Medicare for All, say to Pharmaceutical companies you will no longer charge the
highest prices in world for medicines people desperately need. Your greed will
end.
“We will raise the minimum wage to at least $15,
rebuild infrastructure, and when we do, we will create up to 13 million decent
paying jobs.
“We will have quality affordable child care…. we will
make public colleges and universities tuition free.
“We say to seniors, you can’t survive on $14,000 Social
Security; Republicans want to cut Social Security Benefits: we will raise it.
“We say to Trump and the fossil fuel industry:
climate change is not a hoax, but an existential threat to the entire planet.
We will transform away from fossil fuel into energy efficiency and sustainable energy,
and when we do that, we will create millions of good paying jobs.
“All of us have moral responsibility to make sure
the planet we leave our kids, our grandkids, is healthy and habitable.
”We say to the prison-industrial complex (boo), we
are going to achieve real criminal justice reform. We will end the
international embarrassment of having more people in jail than any other – take
the $80 billion a year and invest in jobs and education instead. No more
private prisons, no more profiteering form locking people up.
“No more war on drugs or keeping people in jail
because too poor to afford cash bail.
“We will have real criminal justice reform –people
have records for possessing marijuana
but not one Wall Street executive went to jail for destroying the economy in
2008. Instead, they got a $1 trillion bailout (boo).
“Instead of deporting undocumented immigrants, we
will pass comprehensive immigration reform and provide a path to citizenship,
legal status for 1.8 million DACA-eligible recipients. We will develop a humane
border policy for those who seek asylum – no longer snatch babies from the arms
of their mothers.
“We say to the 1% and the large profitable corporations in America, under a Sanders Administration, you’re not getting more tax breaks (big cheers). We will end their tax breaks, loopholes, and they will start paying their fair share; we will end the loopholes where Amazon, Netflix, General Motors pay nothing in federal tax, where corporations and billionaires stash money in the Caymans and other tax havens.
“We will end the military industrial complex. We won’t spend $700 billion – more than the top 10 nations combined spend. Instead, we will invest in affordable housing, public education, invest in our crumbling infrastructure. No more major investment in never-ending wars.
“Trump wants to divide us by skin color, where we
were born, gender, religion, sexual orientation. What we are about is doing the
opposite: bring people together – black, white, Latino, Asian, young, old, men,
women, native, immigrant, we are together.
“As return to where I was born, as I launch my
campaign for president, you deserve to know where I came from, the values I
developed… I grew up a few miles from here on Kings Highway, in a 3 ½ room
rent-controlled apartment. My father was a paint salesman who never made much
money; my mother raised the two of us. I learned about immigration from my
father who came from Poland at age 17 without 5 cents in his pocket and no
English, to escape crushing poverty and widespread anti-Semitism. His entire
family was wiped out by Hitler. Coming from a lower middle class family, I will
never forget how the lack of money always causes stress in family. My mother’s
dream was to move out of rent control apartment to a home of her own. She died
young and never saw that dream.
“I came from a family that struggled. That
influenced my life, my values. I know where I came from and will never forget.
“Unlike Trump who shut down government, left 800,000
employees without money to pay their bills, I know what it is like to live in a
family that lives paycheck to paycheck.
“I didn’t have a father who gave me a $200,000
allowance when I was three years old – my allowance was 25 cents a week. But I
had something more valuable – a role model of a father with courage to journey
across an ocean with no money, to start a better life.
“I didn’t come from a family of privilege, who
entertained people on TV by saying ‘You’re fired.’ I came from a family which
understood the frightening power of employers. I didn’t attend an elite private
school, I was educated in public schoo0ls in Brooklyn.
“I didn’t build a corporate empire based on housing
discrimination. I protested against housing discrimination. One of my proudest moments
was joining the March on Washington with Martin Luther King.
“The last two years and before, you, I and millions,
fought for justice in every part of society. Had some success against billionaires
who attack unions, slash wages. We succeeded in raising wages to $15 across
country – forced Amazon, Disney to do the same.
“We stood with teachers across country who went out
on strike to fight for better schools.
“The forces of militarism kept us engaged in war. We
fought back and for first time in 45 years, used the War Powers Act to end the
Saudi-fueled war in Yemen.
“We fought to end the war on drugs, to get states to
decriminalize marijuana possession and we are beginning to see records being
expunged.
“We won some victories but clearly have a long long
way to go.
“Because of the work done, we are on the brink of
not just winning election but transforming our country.
“When we are
in the White House, we will enact a federal jobs guarantee.
“We will attack the problem of urban gentrification
and build affordable housing this country desperately needs.
“We will end the decline of rural America – so young
people in rural America have decent jobs and can remain in their communities. We
will reopen rural hospitals.
“We will end the epidemic of gun violence, pass
commonsense gun safety legislation.
“We will address national, racial disparity of
wealth, root out institutional racism wherever it exists.
“We will end the cowardly outrage of voter
suppression, and make it easier to vote.
“We will protect a woman’s right to control her own
body – that is a woman’s right, not federal, state, local government.
“Make no mistake, the struggle is not just about
defeating Trump but taking an incredibly powerful institutions that control
economy and political life of the nation: Wall Street, insurance companies,
drug companies, the military-industrial complex, the prison-industrial complex,
the fossil fuel industry and corrupt campaign finance system that enables billionaires
to buy elections.
“Brothers and sisters, we have enormous amount of
work ahead. The path forward is not easy.
“Wealthy and powerful elites will do all they can to
defend their financial interests, and have unlimited money. But we have the
people.
“This is what I believe: if we don’t allow Trump to
divide us, if we stand together – not blue states, red – but as working people
believing in justice and human dignity, love and compassion, the future of this
country is extraordinary and nothing we will not be able to accomplish.”
Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, spoke for 23 minutes in frigid 14 degree temperature (feeling like 4 degrees), in a thick snowfall, without hat or gloves, in front of hundreds of supporters on Boom Island who had stood for hours to hear her declare her candidacy for President. Already, with an unprecedented number of women running for Election 2020, the tone is different, as Klobuchar raised issues of child care, universal health care, lower prescription drug prices, gun violence prevention, climate action, criminal justice reform, fair wages and taxes, the need for diplomacy and international alliances as key.
Here are highlights from her speech declaring
her run for President:
Prosperity shared leads
to better lives for all. [America is] a beacon for democracy, one in which
every one matters. We start in this place…
[Recalling when the
deteriorating I 35W Bridge over the Mississippi collapsed, killing 13 and
injuring 145, and the first responders dove in to try to save them, a wake-up call
to the nation’s deteriorating infrastructure.] A bridge shouldn’t fall down in
America..Suddenly the eyes of a nation are on our state. The nation saw in
visceral way that everyone matters. Later, I worked across the aisle and
rebuilt that I 35 bridge- that’s community shared, a story or ordinary people
doing extraordinary things.
That sense of community is fracturing across the
nation, worn down by the petty and vicious nature of our politics. We are tired
of shutdowns, showdowns, gridlock and grandstanding. Today, in this snowy day,
on this island, we say enough is enough
Our nation must be governed not from chaos, but
opportunity, not by wallowing over what’s wrong, but marching inexorably to
what’s right.
It starts with all of us.
My family story – both on
my Mom and Dad’s side, arrived in this country with nothing but a suitcase.
They made a home here.
Like so many immigrants
they wanted a better life for their family. My grandfather worked 1500 ft below
ground mining. My Dad – now age 90 – got a two-year degree, then finished at
University of Minnesota and became a journalist. As a young AP reporter, he
called the 1960 race for JFK, interviewed everyone from Reagan to Ginger Rogers.
Freedom of the press wasn’t some abstract idea to my dad; he embraced it, lived
it.
My Mom, a proud union member,
taught 2nd grade in the suburbs until she was 70 years old, her
students still come up and say she was their favorite.
On this island in the middle of mighty Mississippi,
in nation’s heartland, at a time when we must heal the heart of democracy and
renew our commitment to common good, I stand before you, as granddaughter of
iron ore miner, a daughter of newspaper man, the first woman elected to US Senate
from the state of Minnesota, to announce my candidacy for president of the United
States.
I am running for this job for everyone who wants
their work recognized and rewarded, for every parent who wants a better world
for their kids, for every student who wants a good education, for every senior
who wants affordable prescription drug, for every worker, farmer, dreamer,
builder, for every American, I am running for you.
And I promise you this,
as your president, I will look you in the eye, tell you what I think, focus
on getting things done, that’s what I have done my whole life. And no matter
what, I will lead from the heart.
Let me blunt.
For too long leaders in Washington have sat on
sidelines while others tried to figure out about changing economy, impact on
our lives, disruptive nature of new technology, income inequality, political
and geographic divides, changing climate, tumult in the world.
Stop seeing these as
obstacles on our path – let’s see obstacles as
our path.
This is what I mean.
There are insidious
forces every day trying to make it hard to vote, drown out voices with big
money – time to organize, galvanize, take back our democracy. It’s time America.
It’s time to pass a
constitutional amendment to overturn
Citizens United and get dark money out of our politics.
It’s time to stop
discriminatory action by restoring the
Voting Rights Act. Time to pass my bill to automatically every young person
to vote when they turn 18.
The obstacle they are
throwing at us with big money, obstacles to voting, are obstacles but also our
path – as Paul Wellstone would tell us, it’s how we organize.
Here’s another: Climate change. The people are on our
side – because like you and I, they believe in science.
That’s why in the first 100 days of my
administration I will reinstate the Clean Power rules and the gas mileage
standards and put forth sweeping legislation to invest in green jobs and infrastructure.
And on Day 1 we will rejoin the International
Climate Agreement.
The obstacles, they are
our path.
Another challenge: Way
too many politicians have their head stuck in the sand when it comes to the digital revolution. It’s not coming,
it’s here. If you don’t know the difference between a hack and slack, it’s time
to pull off the digital highway.
What would I do? Put
some digital rules of the road into law
when it comes to people’s privacy.
For too long big tech
companies have been telling you, ‘Don’t worry, we have your back’ while your
identities are being stolen, your data being mined. Our laws have to be as
sophisticated as those who are breaking them.
I would guarantee net neutrality for all; connect
the digital divide by 2022 – that means you, Rural America. If they can do it
in Iceland we can do it here.
Train our workers today for the jobs of
tomorrow, strengthen economy for what’s ahead– strengthening certifications, 2 year degrees, make it easier to
get them.
And comprehensive immigration reform. It is time America.
Close those tax loopholes designed by and for
the wealthy and bring down our debt and make it easier for workers to afford child
care, housing and education – that is what I mean by shared prosperity.
But we can’t get there
if people can’t afford their health care – that means getting to universal health care, and bringing down
the cost of prescription drugs.
Last week, my guest at
the State of the Union, here with us today, Nicole Smith Colt. Her 26 year old
son Alec, aged off his parents’ insurance just 3 days short of payday. A
diabetic, he couldn’t afford insulin, a simple drug that’s been around for
nearly a century. He tried rationing but it didn’t work, and he died. This
disgrace should never happen in the United States of America today.
The obstacle to change?
Big Pharma. Well, they don’t own me and they don’t own Nicole.
We are teaming up to pass meaningful legislation,
to bring in cheaper drugs from other countries, stop keeping generics off
market – harness the negotiating power of 43 million seniors, lift the ban on negotiating
cheaper prices under Medicare.
I’ve always believed in
doing my job without fear or favor – that’s what I do as a senator, what I did
as a prosecutor – convicting the guilty, protecting the innocent.
It’s why I have and
always will advocate for criminal justice reform.
And, in a state where we
all value hunting and fishing and the great outdoors, I am not afraid to join the
vast majority of Americans, including many gun owners to stand up to gun lobby and put universal background checks and commonsense
gun legislation into law. It is time America.
Even if we isolate from
the rest of world, the rest of world won’t let you – international problems
come banging at the door just as opportunities come knocking.
We must stand consistently with our allies, be clear
in our purpose, respect our front line troops, diplomats and intelligence
officers, who are there every day risking their lives for us. They deserve
better than foreign policy by tweet/
(cheers)
And one last obstacle we
must overcome: To move forward together, stop
the fear-mongering and stop the hate. We may come from different places, pray
in different ways, look different, love differently but we all live in the same
country of shared dreams.
In Minnesota, we have
the biggest Somali population in the country and we are proud of that
community. A few years ago, at the height of angry rhetoric, a Somali family of
4 went to dinner. A guy passing by said, ‘You four go home where you came from.’
The little girl said, ‘Mom, I don’t want to go home. You said we could eat out
for dinner out tonight.’ You think of the innocent words of that little girl – she
only knows one home, our state, one home, the United States.
Walt Whitman, the great
American poet, said: I hear America singing the very carols I hear.” For
Whitman, those were the songs of the mechanics, carpenters, masons, shoemakers,
and those carols are still being sung today – that is also the song of our
sisters and brothers, a chorus of different races, creeds, way of life.
E plurbus unum – out of many is one.
It is more than a motto,
America – it is the North Star of our democracy. It is the North Star of our
effort.
I am asking you to join
this campaign – it is a homegrown one.
I don’t have a political
machine, I don’t come from money, but what I do have is this: I have grit.
I have family, I have
friends, I have neighbors and have all of you who are willing to come out in
the middle of winter, who took the time to watch today from home, willing to
stand up and say people matter.
I am asking you not to
look down, not to look away. I am asking you to look up, at each other, the
future before us, let us rise to the
occasion and meet the challenges of our day – cross the river of our divides
and walk across a sturdy bridge to higher ground.
As one faith leader
reminded me: to pursue the good we must believe that good will prevail.
I do believe it, and so
do you.
Let’s join together as
one nation, one nation, indivisible, under God and pursue the good.
Elizabeth Warren, the senior Senator
from Massachusetts, launched her campaign for President in Lawrence, a small
mill town which was the site 100 years ago, textile workers, led mainly by
women, went on strike to demand fair wages, overtime pay and the right to join
a union. She laid out a platform built
on rebuilding the middle class, strengthening democracy, equal justice under
law.
Here are highlights from her speech:
A little over 100 years ago, the textile mills in Lawrence
employed tens of thousands of people, including immigrants from more than 50
countries.
Business was booming. The guys at the top were doing great. But workers made so
little money that families were forced to crowd together in dangerous tenements
and live on beans and scraps of bread. Inside the mills, working conditions
were horrible. Children were forced to operate dangerous equipment. Workers
lost hands, arms, and legs in the gears of machines.
One out of every three adult mill workers died by the time they were 25.
But one day, textile workers in Lawrence – led by women – went on strike to
demand fair wages, overtime pay, and the right to join a union.
It was a hard fight. They didn’t have much. Not even a common language. But
they stuck together.
And they won. Those workers did more than improve their own lives. They changed
America. Within weeks, more than a quarter of a million textile workers
throughout New England got raises. Within months, Massachusetts became the
first state in the nation to pass a minimum wage law.
And today, there are no children working in factories. We have a national
minimum wage. And worker safety laws. Workers get paid overtime, and we have a
forty-hour work week.
The story of Lawrence is a story about how real change happens in
America. It’s a story about power – our power – when we fight together.
Today, millions and millions of American families are also struggling to
survive in a system that has been rigged by the wealthy and the well-connected.
And just like the women of Lawrence, we are ready to say enough is enough.
We are ready to
take on a fight that will shape our lives, our children’s lives, and our
grandchildren’s lives: The fight to build an America that works for everyone….
Over the years, America’s middle class had been deliberately
hollowed out. And families of color had been systematically discriminated
against and denied their chance to build some security.
The richest and most powerful people in America were rich, really rich – but
they wanted to be even richer – regardless of who got hurt.
So, every year, bit by bit, they lobbied Washington and paid off politicians to
tilt the system just a little more in their direction. And year by year, bit by
bit, more of the wealth and opportunity went to the people at the very top.
That’s how, today, in the richest country in the history of the world, tens of
millions of people are struggling just to get by.
This disaster has touched every community in America. And for communities of
color that have stared down structural racism for generations, the disaster has
hit even harder.
We can’t be blind to the fact that the rules in our country have been rigged
against people for a long time – women, LGBTQ Americans, African Americans,
Latinos, Native Americans, immigrants, people with disabilities – and we need
to call it out.
When government works only for the wealthy and well-connected, that is
corruption – plain and simple. It’s time to fight back and change the rules….
Enough
is enough, enough is enough.
[Enough
is enough. Enough is Enough, the crowd responds.]
They
will say it is “Class warfare” – they’ve been waging class warfare against
middle class for decades. It’s time to fight back.
To
protect their economic advantage, the wealthy and well-connected have rigged
our political systems as well. They have bought off, bullied politicians in
both parties to make sure Washington is always on their side, some even try to
buy into office..The economy is working great for oil companies, government contractors,
private prisons, great for Wall Street banks and hedgefunds, but not anyone
else.
Because
of Climate Change, our existence is at
stake, but Washington refuses to lift a finger without permission from fossil
fuel companies. That is dangerous and wrong.
It
isn’t just climate change – any other major issue in America – gun violence, student loan debt, crushing
cost of health care, mistreatment of veterans, broken criminal justice system,
an immigration system that lacks commonsense and under this administration,
lacks a conscience. Overwhelming majorities want action – huge crowds march on Washington
demanding change, there are letters, phone calls, protests – but nothing
happens.
Why?
Because if you don’t have money and y9ou don’t have connections, Washington doesn’t
want to hear from you.
When
government works, only for wealthy and well connected that is corruption plain
and simple, and we need to call it out.
Corruption
is a cancer on our democracy, and we will get rid of it only with strong
medicine, with real structural reform.
Our
fight is to change the rules, so that our government, our economy, our
democracy work for everyone.
I
want to be crystal clear about exactly what I mean:
First we need to change the rules to
clean up Washington, end the corruption.
We
all know trump administration is most corrupt in living memory – but even after
Trump is gone, it won’t do just to do a better job of running a broken system. We
need to take power in Washington away from the wealthy and well connected and
put it back in hands of people where it belongs.
That
is why proposed strongest, most comprehensive anti corruption laws since
Watergate.
Examples:
shut down the revolving door between Wall Street and Washington; end lobbying
as we know it; ban foreign governments from hiring lobbyists in Washington, and
make justices of US Supreme Court follow a basic code of ethics.
Ban
members of Congress from trading stocks. How is that not already illegal?
And
just one more: make every single candidate for federal office put their taxes
on line – I’ve done it.
2:
Change the rules to put more economic power
in the hands of the American people. Workers and small businesses, middle class
families and people of color have been shut out of their chance to build wealth
for generations. That requires real structural change. Right now, giant
corporations in America have too much power, just roll right over everyone
else. Put power back in hands of workers. Make it quick and easy to join a
union. Unions built America’s middle class and will rebuild America’s middle class.
Make
American companies accountable for their action; raise wages by putting workers into corporate
board rooms where real decisions made; break up monopolies when choke off
competition; take on Wall Street banks so big banks can never again threaten
security of our economy. And when giant
corporations and their leaders cheat customers, stomp out competitors and rob
workers, let’s prosecute them.
One
more thing: I am tired of hearing that we can’t afford to make real, real
investments in child care, college
and Medicare for All. I am tired of hearing we can’t afford to make
investments in things that create economic opportunities for families,
investments in housing and opioid treatment, that we can’t afford
to address things like rural neglect
or the legacy of racial discrimination,
I am tired of hearing what we can’t afford because it’s just not true.
We
are the wealthiest nation in the history of the world. Of course we can afford these investments. But we
need a government that makes different choices- choices that reflect our values
– stop handing out enormous tax giveaways to rich people and giant
corporations. Stop refusing to invest in
our children. Stop stalling on spending money, real money, on infrastructure and clean energy and a Green New
Deal.
Start
asking the people who have gained the most from our country to pay their fair
share. And that includes real tax reform
in this country, reforms that close loopholes
and giveaways to people at the top and an ultra
millionaires’ tax to make sure that rich people do their part for the
country that made them rich.
3:
Change the rules to strengthen our
democracy.
That
starts with a constitutional amendment
to protect the right of every American citizen
vote and have that vote counted.
And
that’s just the beginning.
Overturn
every single voter suppression rule
that racist politicians use to steal votes from people of color.
Outlaw
partisan gerrymandering – by Democrats
or Republicans.
Overturn
Citizens United, our democracy is
not for sale.
It’s
not just elections. Real democracy requires equal justice under law. It’s not equal justice when kids with
ounce of pot gets thrown in jail, while bank executive who launders money for
drug cartel gets a bonus. We need reform.
It’s
not equal justice when for the exact same crime, African Americans are more
likely than whites to be arrested, charged, convicted, and sentenced. Yes we
need criminal justice reform and we need it now.
We must not allow those with power to
weaponize hatred and bigotry to divide us. More than 50 years ago, Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr went to Montgomery and warned us of danger of division, how bigotry
and race bating used to divide blacks from white Americans so rich people can
keep picking all their pockets – that playbook around forever, whether straight
against gay, middle class against poor – same – rich and powerful use fear to
divide us. We’re done with that. Bigotry
has no place in the Oval Office.
This
is who we are – we come from different backgrounds, religions, languages,
experiences. We have different dreams. We are passionate about different
issues, and we feel the urgency of this moment in different ways, but today,
today we come together ready to raise our voices together until this fight is
won.
Our
movement won’t be divided by our differences, it will be united by the values
we share. We all want a country where everyone, not just the wealthy, everyone
can take care of their families; where every American, not just the ones who
hire armies of lobbyists, lawyers, can participate in democracy, a country
where every child can dream big and reach for real opportunity and we are in
the fight to build an America that works for everyone.
I
get it – this won’t be easy – a lot of people with money, power, armies of
lobbyists and lawyers, people who are prepared to spend more money than you and
I could ever dream of to stop us from making these solutions a reality – people
who will say, extreme or radical to demand an America where every American has
economic security and every kid has opportunity to succeed.
I
say, get ready, because change is coming
faster than you think.
[Change
is coming, change is coming, the crowd roars.]
This kind of fundamental change will be
hard –
a lot of people, including some of our friends, will say it’s so hard, it’s not
worth trying. But we will not give up. When I was home with my first baby, I had
the notion to go to law school. It was a crazy idea, but I persisted. It took
some time but eventually I figured out admissions, applications, how to pay
tuition, mapped out the 45 minute commute to campus. Weeks out, there was just
one more thing: child care.
My
daughter Amelia was nearly 2 years old. I looked for childcare but everywhere,
I struck out over and over. So down to the weekend before law school would
start, I finally found small place with cheerful teacher, play area, nothing
smelled funny, I could afford it. But the place would only take children who
were dependably potty trained. I looked over at Amelia – 5 days to dependably
potty train and almost 2 year old. I stand before you today courtesy of 3 bags
of M&Ms and a cooperative toddler.
Since
that day – never let anyone tell me that anything is too hard.
How
they have tried.
People
said it would be too hard to build an agency that would stop big banks from
cheating Americans on mortgages, credit cards. We got organized. To date, big banks
have paid $12 billion to those they cheated.
When Republicans tried to sabotage the agency, I came back to
Massachusetts and then ran against one of them. No woman had ever won a Senate
seat in Massachusetts, and people said it would be “too hard” for me to get
elected. But we got organized, we fought back, we persisted, and now I am the
senior Senator from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
So, no, I am not afraid of a fight. Not even a hard fight.
When
the women of the Everett Mill walked out from their machines and out into that
cold January air all those years ago, they knew it wouldn’t be easy, but they
knew what was at stake for themselves and their families, and they weren’t
going to tell anyone it was too hard – doubters told abolitionists, the
suffragettes, the foot soldiers of civil rights movement, it’s just too hard,
but they all, all kept going and they changed the history of America.
Sure, there will be plenty of doubters and cowards and armchair
critics this time around. But we learned a long time ago that you don’t get
what you don’t fight for. We are in this
fight for our lives, for our children, for our planet, for our futures – and we
will not turn back.
So here is the promise I make to you today: I will fight my heart out
so that every kid in America can have the same opportunity I had – a fighting
chance to build something real.
And here’s a big piece of how we’ll get it done: We’ll end the
unwritten rule of politics that says anyone who wants to run for office has to
start by sucking up to rich donors on Wall Street and powerful insiders in
Washington.
I’m not
taking a dime of PAC money in this campaign or a single check from a federal
lobbyist. I’m not taking applications from billionaires who want to run a Super
PAC on my behalf. And I challenge every other candidate who asks for your vote
in this primary to say exactly the same thing.
We’re going to keep building this campaign at the grassroots.
