Rick Perry: Tax the Poor?

When the discussion has moved so far to the right that Reagan would be a centrist Democrat today, you know you’re in trouble.

Against all facts and reason, the right-wing unreality has taken over the national discussion, across the spectrum. During last week’s debate, every single one of the Republican candidates said they’d reject a national budget that included 10-to-1 spending cuts over taxes. Rick Perry, a former pilot and current evangelical governor of Texas, wants to tax more poor people. Seriously.

While the rest of the world is steadily moving away from a US-centric economy, we’re spinning our wheels. We can’t get off of dirty energy, we can’t raise taxes on the super-rich, we can’t get out of the quagmire in Afghanistan and we can’t stop locking up our own citizens. We can’t even hold a coherent discussion about solving our greatest challenges. Why?

One reason is clear. Corporate media is owned and controlled by the very money-hoarders who keep us fighting each other while they sell us plastic. The solution? Trustworthy sources must be cultivated and strengthened. New institutions must continue to grow, independent of corporate sponsorship. Media must be reorganized.

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