Current Actions

• Tell Congress: Stop subsidizing CEO salaries

  The Institute for Policy Studies and Campaign for America's Future have released a new report revealing how the same CEOs who want to cut spending on social programs are enjoying enormous, taxpayer-funded subsidies to their salaries.

  There is a tax deduction for "performance pay" that allows CEOs and other top executives to pocket gobs of money without paying taxes on it. To get a sense of just how much this loophole is costing us, consider that the 90 publicly-held corporations on pro-austerity "Fix the Debt" coalition gave out $6.3 billion in tax-deductible "performance pay" from 2009-2011, thereby increasing the debt and subsidizing executive pay by between $953 million and $1.6 billion.

  Of course, these CEOs and executives wouldn't call this a tax subsidy. But because they get this little perk and you don't, what else should it be called? We could just go for the simple: rip-off.

  Sign the petition from Daily Kos and Campaign for America's Future calling on Congress to stop subsidizing CEO salaries by ending the performance pay loophole.

• Stop the Sequester!

   Congress has done nothing as services that protect the most vulnerable populations, like Meals on Wheels and Head Start, are being slashed because of the sequester.

  
  However, Congress has moved to urgently repeal one part of the sequester that inconveniences wealthier Americans. In late April, in order to prevent significant delays in air travel, they overwhelmingly passed a bill that ended furloughs at the Federal Aviation Administration.
  
  Please join Campaign for America's Future and tell your legislators to repeal all the sequester cuts, not just those parts that inconvenience the wealthy.

  Sign the petition below

• Pay White House Interns
  Where can an adult to work 45 hours a week for no pay in 2013?

  The White House Intern program.   According to the White House website, interns duties "include conducting research, managing incoming inquiries, attending meetings, writing memos, and staffing events."

  The White House internship program puts many on a fast track to leadership, but is only open to the children of the wealthy. No one can work 45 hours a week and then make enough to pay the high rents in DC. I

  t's nothing to be proud of. We can do better.
• Repeal the Sequester

  Congress has done nothing as services that protect the most vulnerable populations, like Meals on Wheels and Head Start, are being slashed because of the sequester.
  
  However, Congress has moved to urgently repeal one part of the sequester that inconveniences wealthier Americans. In late April, in order to prevent significant delays in air travel, they overwhelmingly passed a bill that ended furloughs at the Federal Aviation Administration.
  
  Please join with Social Security Works and the Campaign for America's Future and tell your legislators to repeal all the sequester cuts, not just those parts that inconvenience the wealthy.

  Send an email by using the form below.

• Repeal the Sequester

  Congress has done nothing as services that protect the most vulnerable populations, like Meals on Wheels and Head Start, are being slashed because of the sequester.
  
  However, Congress has moved to urgently repeal one part of the sequester that inconveniences wealthier Americans. In late April, in order to prevent significant delays in air travel, they overwhelmingly passed a bill that ended furloughs at the Federal Aviation Administration.
  
  Please join with the Campaign for America's Future and Health Care for America Now and tell your legislators to repeal all the sequester cuts, not just those parts that inconvenience the wealthy.

  Send an email by using the form below.

• Repeal the Sequester

  Congress has done nothing as services that protect the most vulnerable populations, like Meals on Wheels and Head Start, are being slashed because of the sequester.
  
  However, Congress has moved to urgently repeal one part of the sequester that inconveniences wealthier Americans. In late April, in order to prevent significant delays in air travel, they overwhelmingly passed a bill that ended furloughs at the Federal Aviation Administration.
  
  Please join with the Campaign for America's Future and Peace Action and tell your legislators to repeal all the sequester cuts, not just those parts that inconvenience the wealthy.

  Send an email by using the form below.

• Repeal the Sequester

  Congress has done nothing as services that protect the most vulnerable populations, like Meals on Wheels and Head Start, are being slashed because the sequester.
  
  However, Congress has moved to urgently repeal one part of the sequester that inconveniences wealthier Americans. Last Friday, in order to prevent significant delays in air travel, they overwhelmingly passed a bill that ended furloughs at the Federal Aviation Administration.
  
  Please join with the Campaign for America's Future and Daily Kos and tell your legislators to repeal all the sequester cuts, not just those parts that inconvenience the wealthy.

  Send an email by using the form below.

• Repeal the Sequester

  Congress acted quickly to give relief to air travelers inconvenienced by the blind, across-the-board sequester cuts. Everyone hurt by sequestration – schoolchildren, seniors, towns and cities, and people struggling to put food on their tables – needs the same relief.

  Tell Congress to act with the same urgency with which they came to the aid of air travelers and vote to repeal the sequester.

• Tell Congress: Say No to Obama’s Social Security Cuts

  The President’s budget includes devastating Social Security cuts. But they will not become law if Congress rejects them. It’s up to us to speak out and let Congress know the public will punish any legislator that supports undermining Social Security. Use the form below to tell your senators and representative: Say no to Obama’s Social Security Cuts.

  Use the form below to send a message to your senators and member of Congress.

• Tell Obama: No Cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid in Your 2014 Budget

  According to The Wall Street Journal,* "The White House is strongly considering including limits on entitlement benefits in its fiscal 2014 budget … such as reductions in future Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security payments." The report specifies that the budget proposal, to be released April 10, could cut Social Security payments behind the smokescreen of the "chained CPI." We have only few days to stop this. Please sign the petition to President Obama below and tell him: No cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid in your fiscal year 2014 budget.

  Add your voice today.

• Stop Cuts to Social Security

  Please sign this petition to the president.

• Raise the Minimum Wage

  Americans who work hard should be able to make a living. 

  $7.25 per hour, full time pays less than $15,000 a year.  Meanwhile, CEO pay is skyrocketing. 

  Let's raise the floor to $10.10 and index it to inflation.  It's a fair, long term solution.

  Use the form below to tell Congress that you want the minimum wage raised.

• Haste Lays Waste to Our Economy - Tax Reckless Wall Street Trading

  The Wall Street Trading and Speculators Tax Act - HR 880 - adds a small transaction fee to stock trades that will rein in dangerous speculation while raising revenue for essential services.

  Reckless high-frequency trading provides no social value and puts the whole economy at risk.

  Wall Street can afford it, and after the bailouts and rescue packages of the past decade it's only fair.

  Fill out the form below to send a message urging your member of Congress to support this common sense bill.

• Remember March 21

  On March 21, 2013 at 10:45 a.m. Rep. Paul Ryan's tax-cut-for-rich-turn-Medicare-into-a-coupon budget passed the House, 221 to 207.

  The good news: It's going nowhere. Your voice was added to a chorus of outraged Americans and there is no way the Senate will let it become law.

  The very good news: We got it on the record. There are 221 members of the House who are a little more vulnerable today than they were yesterday.  

  Some people never learn. The Ryan budget follows the same blueprint as the one he introduced last year, which doomed Mitt Romney's candidacy for president.  It cuts assistance to the unemployed and veterans. It cuts retirement programs. And millionaires would get a 15% tax cut.

  Tell your member of Congress that you will hold them accountable for their vote for or against the Ryan Budget.

• It's Time to Give America a Raise - Pass the Fair Minimum Wage Act

  Americans who work hard should be able to make a living. Working full-time in a minimum wage job pays $7.25 per hour. That's just $15,000 a year for full-time work. It's not enough to live on.  A breadwinner for a family of four earning the minimum wage would be a full $7,000 below the federal poverty line.

  Most minimum-wage earners work for big corporations. These corporations keep giving their CEOs bigger bonuses every year, but then claim they can’t afford to pay their employees.

  Meanwhile, CEO pay is skyrocketing. We need Congress to act to raise the minimum wage closer to covering the cost of living.

  The current federal minimum wage – $7.25 per hour – is not enough for a full-time worker to lift a family out of poverty. It is lower than it was in the 1960s, adjusted for inflation.

  This legislation raises the floor to $10.10 and indexes it to inflation. It alsos raises the minimum wage for tipped workers (at present a miserly $2.13 per hour) for the first time in 20 years.

  Corporate profits are at record levels while workers are at record lows. The Wall Street Journal reported that nine Wall Street executives pocketed more than $1 last year.

  House Speaker John Boehner has already announced Republican opposition.

  Speaker Boehner refuses to hold an up or down vote because it would surely pass. The only way to get a vote is legislators sign a discharge petition. That’s why we need you to take action.

  Use the form below to tell Congress that you want the minimum wage raised.

• Tell Congress: Reject Ryan’s Job-Killing Budget

  House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s new job-killing budget is the most reckless austerity plan he’s ever proposed. He dismembers Medicare and slashes vital services – from investment in schools to funds for new innovation.

  The Congressional Progressive Caucus “Back To Work” budget offers a better way. It cuts deficits by putting people back to work – and closes loopholes and shuts down tax dodges for the wealthy on the wealthy and multinationals to invest in areas vital to our future.

  Use the form below to tell your House representative:  Reject Ryan’s job-killing budget and vote for the Progressive Caucus “Back to Work” budget.

• No Bank Is Too Big To Jail

  The government bails out banks after bankers break the law, but the government can't act when bankers have to face the law? Nonsense.

  Attorney General Eric Holder told Congress that the big banks are "difficult for us to prosecute" because "some of these institutions have become too large" and so "if you do bring a criminal charge, it will have a negative impact on the national economy."

  Eric Holder needs to know the people expect the public's top prosecutor to hold the banks accountable to the rule of law. Sign the petition to tell Attorney General Holder: renounce your Too Big To Jail policy.

• Tell Congress: No Chained CPI. No Cuts To Retirement Security.

  Once again, Republicans are trying to take Washington hostage.

  They are demanding cruel cuts to Social Security and Medicare, or else, on March 1 they will detonate the "austerity bomb" of across-the-board spending cuts killing 1 million jobs.

  And the President is still pledging his willingness to cut Social Security benefits for today’s seniors by imposing an inaccurate “chained CPI” formula, and to make unnamed Medicare cuts, in return for Republican support for more tax increases.This would be a disastrous deal. It must be stopped. Use the form below to demand your representatives in Washington refuse to vote for any budget deal that cuts Social Security and Medicare.

• Tell Congress: No Chained CPI. No Cuts To Retirement Security.

  Once again, Republicans are trying to take Washington hostage.

  They are demanding cruel cuts to Social Security and Medicare, or else, on March 1 they will detonate the "austerity bomb" of across-the-board spending cuts killing 1 million jobs.

  And the President is still pledging his willingness to cut Social Security benefits for today’s seniors by imposing an inaccurate “chained CPI” formula, and to make unnamed Medicare cuts, in return for Republican support for more tax increases.This would be a disastrous deal. It must be stopped. Use the form below to demand your representatives in Washington refuse to vote for any budget deal that cuts Social Security and Medicare.

• Tell Congress: No Chained CPI. No Cuts To Retirement Security.

  Once again, Republicans are trying to take Washington hostage. 

  The ransom note:  "Cut Social Security or we will set off an austerity bomb costing millions of jobs."

   

  The "chained CPI" is code for cuts to the benefits of millions of seniors.  It must be stopped. Use the form below to demand your representatives in Washington refuse to vote for any budget deal that cuts Social Security and Medicare.

• Disarm the Austerity Bomb. Repeal the Sequester.

  The economy shrank for the first time in 30 months. Why? Because of an unexpected drop in government spending. Yet the “sequester” – automatic across-the-board spending cuts – are scheduled to bring the hammer down on the economy on March 1.  This is a ticking austerity bomb. We must disarm it. Use the form below to tell your representatives in Washington: Disarm the Austerity Bomb. Repeal the Sequester.

• Make Mitt Pay His Fair Share

  We have a lot of work to do in America: jobs to create, infrastructure to build, clean energy to generate, homeowners to save, teachers to hire and student debt to retire.

  And we can’t pay for it so long as we keep the Bush-era policy of absurdly low taxes for the 1%. As Warren Buffett, one of America’s richest men, points out, it is simply ridiculous that the multi-millionaires are paying lower tax rates than their secretaries.

  On Monday, the Senate will take a vote on common sense. They will vote on the Buffett Rule — establishing a minimum tax rate of 30% on any income over $2 million.

  Right-wing zealots want the Senate to filibuster it. The lobbyists of the 1% are packing the halls of Congress. We need to be heard, now.

• Make Them Talk

  There is one thing the obstructionist conservatives in Congress don't want: TV cameras that show them obstructing. And so they are fiercely fighting in the backrooms of the Senate to defeat the Merkley-Harkin-Udall plan to end the practice of filibustering legislation without having to utter a word to the public on the Senate floor. A decision on rule changes is expected next week. If we are going to fix the Senate so the majority will can be exercised again, your Senators need to hear from you immediately.

• Tell the President: No Deal That Cuts Benefits

  Republicans are demanding that the price of any deal is cruel cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits.

  They are holding the most vulnerable people in America hostage for any agreement to go forward. There are two words to say to that: No Deal.

  Use the form below to tell President Obama: No deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. No deal that keeps low tax rates for the rich. No deal that kills jobs with more cuts.

• Stop The Grand Swindle

  Republicans are demanding that the price of any deal is cruel cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits. They are holding the most vulnerable people in America hostage for any agreement to go forward. There are two words to say to that: No Deal. Use the form below to tell President Obama: No deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. No deal that keeps low tax rates for the rich. No deal that kills jobs with more cuts.

• Stop The Grand Swindle

  Election Day was a smashing victory for progressives and middle-class populism. But the deficit hysterics, budget slashers and Social Security haters refuse to heed our voices.  We spoke out on Election Day. Now we need to speak out louder than ever. Use the form below to tell your representatives in Congress: No deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. No deal that keeps low tax rates for the rich. No deal that kills jobs with more cuts.

• Jobs And Growth, Not Austerity

  We write to ask you to speak out–by signing this statement (below), entitled Jobs, Not Austerity.

  We know you share our concern that, no matter who wins the election, America’s weak economy could be plunged back into recession — or condemned to another decade of high unemployment and slow growth. If the advocates of economic austerity continue to have their way, as they have in Europe, Americans could face disastrous consequences. Some 300 of you signed a similar statement a year ago that played an important role in getting President Obama to focus again on jobs.

  If you wish to sign this soon-to-be-public statement, please click here.

• Tell Congress: Don’t Bargain Away Social Security.

  The forces of austerity in Washington are using the prospect of automatic spending cuts and tax increases at the end of the year to pressure Congress into a "grand bargain," slashing Social Security benefits in the name of deficit reduction. 29 Senators, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, have already signed a pledge saying they will "oppose Social Security cuts for future or current beneficiaries in any deficit reduction package." If a majority of the House and Senate take that same pledge, Social Security will be safe. Use the form below to tell your representatives in Washington: "Take the pledge. Don't bargain away Social Security."

• Tell the House: Pass the Senate Middle Class Tax Cut Bill

  Finally! Senate Democrats pressured Republicans to drop their filibuster, allowing a simple majority to pass an end of the Bush tax cuts for income over $250,000, while extending the tax breaks for the middle class. But it won’t be law unless the House Republicans join the Senate and pass the bill. And that won’t happen without maximum grassroots pressure. Use the form below to tell your representative: End the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, and extend tax benefits to the middle class.

• It's Time to Give America a Raise

  This Business Insider headline says it all: “Corporate Profits Just Hit An All-Time High, Wages Just Hit An All-Time Low.” The minimum wage today is worth 30% less than in 1968, eroded by inflation. This has to stop. Use the form below to email your representatives in Washington and say: “Pass the Fair Minimum Wage Act.”

• End the Bush Tax Cuts for the Richest 2%

  Congress will vote this month on whether to renew the Bush tax cuts. Please tell Congress to end the Bush tax cuts for the richest 2%. It’s time for the rich to pay their fair share. The Campaign for America’s Future is joining with Americans For Tax Fairness for “National Call Congress Week” to tell our representatives: end the Bush tax cuts from income over $250,000. Send a letter to your members of Congress and have your voice heard.

• No More "Too Big To Fail." Pass the SAFE Banking Act.

  JPMorgan Chase’s $2 billion bad bet has made it crystal clear: The Wall Street banksters are still recklessly gambling with the global economy. And the "too big to fail" banks are still too big.

  Sen. Sherrod Brown and Rep. Keith Ellison are leading the fight to break up the banks. Use the form below to your representatives in Congress to support their bill: the SAFE Banking Act.

• Make Mitt Pay His Fair Share

  We have a lot of work to do in America: jobs to create, infrastructure to build, clean energy to generate, homeowners to save, teachers to hire and student debt to retire.

  And we can’t pay for it so long as we keep the Bush-era policy of absurdly low taxes for the 1%. As Warren Buffett, one of America’s richest men, points out, it is simply ridiculous that the multi-millionaires are paying lower tax rates than their secretaries.

  On Monday, the Senate will take a vote on common sense. They will vote on the Buffett Rule — establishing a minimum tax rate of 30% on any income over $2 million.

  Right-wing zealots want the Senate to filibuster it. The lobbyists of the 1% are packing the halls of Congress. We need to be heard, now.

• End Secret Corporate Campaign Cash

  It has been two years since the Supreme Court decided in the infamous Citizens United case that corporations can spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns. Since then, our democracy has been drowning in a tsunami of corporate special interest money. Our government is under the thumb of the Koch brothers instead of the hands of the people.

  We cannot ultimately right this wrong until we can organize the states to pass a constitutional amendment that declares what everyone except Mitt Romney seems to understand: corporations are not people and money is not speech.

  But until then, we can take action right now to force corporations to make their campaign spending public. Sign the petition below and tell the SEC: No more secret political money. Make all publicly traded corporations disclose their campaign spending to the public.

• Tell The Republicans: Stop Sabotaging The Economy

  While the jobs crisis persists, Republicans are threatening to take away the few wisps of stimulus we have left: the payroll tax cut for middle class workers, and long-term unemployment benefits. Even more ludicrous, while Republicans are arguing against extending the payroll tax cut that provides at least some cushion to the strapped middle class, they are continuing to demand more tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. Stop this insanity. Sign the petition below to tell the Republican leadership: stop sabotaging the economy.