Call Senator Bill Nelson - Ask Him to Pass the Budget that Obama Proposed!

[populistdriven]

Dear MoveOn member,
When the economy was good, AIG executives and their counterparts on Wall Street made obscene amounts of money building a financial house of cards. Now that it's collapsed, they're still making millions.

If that makes you as mad as it makes me, here's something you should know:

President Obama's budget would finally make those folks pay their fair share. It makes sure that the bank executives and oil company CEOs and hedge fund managers pay to support programs like health care for all and millions of new, green jobs.

As we've seen with AIG this week, the powerful don't give up their special treatment without a fight. They're spending millions on lobbyists to quietly kill the provisions that would make them help pay for America's priorities.1 And despite all the posturing in Congress over AIG's bonuses, too many senators are still listening to the banking and insurance lobbyists on the issues that aren't in the headlines.

So we need to speak louder than the lobbyists. Can you call Sen. Nelson and tell him that everyone needs to pay their fair share—CEOs included? Ask him to pass the budget that Obama proposed, not one watered down by special interests.

Senator Bill Nelson
Phone: [phone]
Then, please report your call by clicking here:

http://pol.moveon.org/call?tg=FSFL_1&cp_id=867&id=15770-5037234-95_EKSx&t=3

Today's Washington Post calls it "a populist budget"2 because it cuts taxes for most Americans while ending unfair tax advantages for the richest among us. The best part is that it takes all the money we'll save and invests it in critical national priorities that will help build and strengthen the middle class.
Obama's budget gives tax breaks to working families instead of CEOs. And it closes the tax loopholes for special interests that cost us billions, like:

The loophole that lets companies take tax breaks for sending jobs overseas. This will save us more than $200 billion over the next decade.3
The loophole that lets hedge fund managers pay a 15% tax rate on their income, instead of regular income tax like the rest of us. That will save us more than $20 billion.4
The loophole for big oil companies that gives them huge tax breaks even when they're posting record profits, saving us more than $30 billion over the next decade.5
The loophole that gives the richest Americans bigger tax breaks for their deductions. Right now, a teacher who contributes $1,000 to the Red Cross gets a $150 tax break. A Wall Street executive making the same contribution gets a $350 tax break.6
Sen. Nelson needs to hear from us that this is the change we voted for in November. Can you call him right now and tell him that everyone needs to pay their fair share?
Senator Bill Nelson
Phone: [phone]
Then, please report your call by clicking here:

http://pol.moveon.org/call?tg=FSFL_1&cp_id=867&id=15770-5037234-95_EKSx&t=4

Thanks for all you do.

–Daniel, Peter, Wes, Joan and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Populism's Virtues," The Washington Post, March 19, 2009
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51244&id=15770-5037234-95_EKSx&t=5

2. "Lobbyists Line Up to Torpedo Speech Proposals," The Wall Street Journal, February 26, 2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123561083268377547.html

3. "Obama Budget Pushes Sweeping Change," The Wall Street Journal, February 27, 2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123564748462081261.html

4. "Buyout, Hedge-Fund Managers Could Pay $24 Billion More in Taxes," Bloomberg News, February 26, 2009
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51245&id=15770-5037234-95_EKSx&t=6

5. "Obama Budget Hits Oil, Gas Companies With New Fees, Taxes," The Wall Street Journal, February 26, 2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123566872495184681.html

6. "The Budget and Charitable Donations," OMB Blog, February 27, 2009
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51246&id=15770-5037234-95_EKSx&t=7