PHOENIX – A plan to revitalize the U.S. economy put forward by liberal groups would create jobs in Arizona and help the poor move to the middle class, a Democratic state lawmaker said Wednesday.
“The American dream is for any American, no matter where they start in life, to be able to accomplish their full goals,” said Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Phoenix.
Gallego and state Reps. Anna Tovar, D-Tolleson, and Tom Chabin, D-Flagstaff, held a news conference to endorse the Contract for the American Dream. National groups including MoveOn.org, Campaign For America’s Future, Planned Parenthood and Progressive Democrats of America developed the plan.
Its 10 points calls for, among other steps, spending on infrastructure such as roads and high-speed Internet, creating energy jobs, providing Medicare for all and improving public education. It also pushes for increasing taxes on the rich and ending the wars abroad.
Joining the lawmakers, Monica Sandschafer, executive director of the community organization Living United for Change in Arizona, called the proposal a summation of suggestions from more than 130,000 Americans online and in their communities to save the American dream.
Gallego said there has been an assault on the basic tenets of the American dream in the last two years.
“It’s now time for us to reinvest in that dream,” he said.
He said the Arizona’s eroding infrastructure and cuts in school funding hinder people from achieving the dream.
A first-generation American of Mexican decent, Gallego said he escaped from poverty to the middle class because of the opportunities this country offered him, including a good public school education.
“Everyone should have that opportunity,” he said.
But Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, called the plan a joke and a far-left wish-list.
“This is so unaffordable in terms of spending, so repressive in terms of upper-middle class taxation and so irresponsible in terms of foreign policy,” he said.
Kavanagh said the American dream has become harder to achieve because government is spending more money on pet projects.
“We have plenty of opportunities, and the best way to make good jobs available to all American children is to get government off employers’ backs,” Kavanagh said.
State Rep. Justin Olson, R-Mesa said the Contract for the American Dream is out of touch with what Arizonans want.
“Three of those steps are tax increases, and it would be a disaster to raise taxes in this fragile economy that’s struggling to recover,” he said.
However, Carol Boone, council organizer with the South Phoenix MoveOn Coalition Council, an organization that encourages grassroots involvement in politics, said the plan would benefit Arizona.
“They are thousands of Arizonans who are unemployed. They need jobs and infrastructure,” she said.
She said ending the wars and returning the troops home, as well as taxing the rich, would provide some of the funding to re-start the economy.
Elvina Nawaguna-Clemente is a reporter for Cronkite News Service
davidflucier posted at 8:48 am on Thu, Sep 22, 2011.
Public education, public infrastructure, and public health & wellness are the foundations upon which we will prosper economically, socially, financially, educationally, emotionally, and physically.
These are public enterprises which are vital to our well being. And to call for a reduction or elimination in these endeavors is a fool's game...a dead end to the American dream.
Investment & Jobs are the critical issues that demand innovation and creativity, resolve and perseverance.
IceCat posted at 9:08 am on Thu, Sep 22, 2011.
Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills to go back to New York City.
State Democrats need to get some real leaders so maybe they can win some elections in this state.
David is spot on with his comments. [beam]
Moderation posted at 3:53 pm on Thu, Sep 22, 2011.
The American Dream is always there for hard working people who fight for it! Public infrastructure and public education are incredibly important, but so if fiscal responsibility. The public at large and especially the generation coming up have believed that you can just use debt your way to success! Sorry large deficits that the goverment has been running need to end. Greece is a great example! They goverment is being forced to shrink it has no choice, and the expensive social programs they love have pushed them to bankruptcy several other countries are not far behind. Yes invest in infrastructure, education, and also teach responsibility, and the fact that most successful people work hard! Many Americans seem to forget that. Goverment cannot make people succesful. Only the people can do that for themselves. The middle class is fading because companies found that there are people outside the U.S. that are willing to work hard while having to pay them less money. While U.S. citizens keep saying we demand more for less effort. That doesn't work and government can't fix this problem. Balance the budget, get a flat tax rate, keep the infrastructure strong, the public educated in essentials such as Math, science, and technology. Finally the America people need to cut up their credit cards and start out preforming and innovating the rest of the world like we have done in the past! Right now niether parties leadership is really getting the point, and this plan does little good except help with improving our infrastructure, and pumping money into an outdated education model. The fiscial house of the U.S. needs to be addressed before anything else can happen though.
In_God_We_Trust posted at 7:54 pm on Fri, Sep 23, 2011.
They call it a ten point plan, but their main point is increasing taxes. Typical liberal approach. Spend money on roads and bridges, Increase taxes. Improve education, increase taxes. Every solution a democrat comes up with always starts out with increase taxes. I don't know about you, but I see road crews either building or improving infrastructure all over the valley every day. They can barely keep up with the growth in population as is. How are increasing taxes going to improve education? What do the kids need that we can buy that will better their education? davidlucifer can't answer that question, but he will go on and on about the need to improve education endlessly. What our children need is more study time and more discipline, less TV, video games and texting. What provided an adequate education 100 years ago isn't enough in today's world to create intelligent, productive, and innovative adults. These democrats are just making political noise that won't really change anything except put more money into their hands and less into yours.
Moderation, well stated, unfortunately, davidlucifer is a politician making a political speech that basically says nothing we don't already know, but yet he shows us no substance. He says education is important. Ok, we know that. Tell us what you would do to make education better in America. Throw more money at it? Typical liberal yapping point. Make people healthier. Ok, we all know that is a good thing. So how do we do that? Throw more money at it? Socialize it? Give all your money to the poor and ask them to stop smoking and drinking themselves to death as an alternative to becoming a successful human being? davidlucifer talks and talks but never says anything of any substance. A politician through and through.
ScottyG posted at 6:58 pm on Sat, Sep 24, 2011.
Hey I know, let's try a temporary 1 cent sales tax increase. This will fix everything.
chatmandu002 posted at 12:28 pm on Fri, Sep 30, 2011.
The liberal/progressive/social democrats have combined the poor and middle class to form the "Dependent" class. Dependent of the largeness and philanthropy of a Big Government.
Stop the deficit spending.
Stop Big Government.
Let the free market do its thing, make money and jobs.