Sen. Bernie Sanders on the Federal Budget; Social Secuity is ok, middle and lower class not so much, corporations and the wealthy: flush

February 2011 Budget (From PBS Newshour, 2/17)

Bernie Sanders -- Fair, and Protects People (Poverty Rate Highest since 1948)
What would he change?

Middle class collapsing, the median income is decreasing; gap between rich and poor growing
Top 1% make more than the bottom 50%; their taxes keep going down
GOP Budget has massive tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires
Revenue: as a nation, we have to say sorry, we can not cut back on programs for the vulnerable, we must cut back on tax breaks for the wealthy

The Social Security trust fund has 2.6 trillion dollar surplus
It's flush for 27 years, funded by payroll tax, hasn't contributed one nickel to the deficit
It's been the most important and valuable social program in America's history
Does not need to be privatized, that's for sure

Low income families home heating program, price of energy
Heating oil and price of gasoline of oil going up
We're giving away money to people who don't need it, but we're getting tough on students
You don't give more to the people that don't need it, and cut back on people that are hurting

The deficit is a very serious problem:
Primarily has been caused by two wars that were unfunded
Huge tax breaks to people who don't need it
An insurance company-written Medicare Part D prescription drug program
And the bailout of Wall Street
The cause of it is not hungry children in this country or people sleeping out on the street

We have got to deal with the deficit but you do it in a fair and progressive way.
This year alone we're losing 100 billion dollars in revenue because corporations and the wealthy are stashing their money in tax havens in the Cayman Islands.
This year Exxon Mobil - the Most Profitable Corporation in the History of America - is not paying a Nickel in federal income taxes, despite having made 19 billion dollars last year
In 2005 one quarter of large corporations in America making a trillion in revenue didn't pay a nickel in taxes
You got a military budget which in many ways is still fighting the old Cold War

So I believe that we have to move toward significant deficit reduction
But you don't do it on the backs of the middle class and working families who are already suffering
As a result of the Wall Street caused recession
Want to know the way to raise money? Put a transaction fee on Wall Street
So maybe we can curb some of the speculation and raise some money.

(Synopsis of Sanders Discusses the Budget on PBS's NewsHour - 02/17/11

http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/media/view/?id=16f77829-c1e3-4675-8735-0c6374ead27d )