Debt Ceiling Negotiations Stall

Debt ceiling negotiations with Vice President Biden and Congressional leaders ended when Majority Leader Eric Cantor walked out last week. Now the negotiations have moved to the White House between President Obama and Congressional leaders.

Please tell President Obama and Congressional leaders loud and clear to keep increasing revenue on the table, increase taxes on the wealthy, and cut wasteful defense/contractor spending.

The Republicans are refusing to consider raising taxes on the wealthy, to close loopholes for major corporations, or to end subsidies to profit-bloated oil companies. Instead, they want to slash Medicaid and Medicare benefits and balance the books onthe backs of women, the working poor, the elderly, and the young.

Feminists must speak out and be heard now.

Right now, the Republicans are holding the lifting of the nation's debt ceiling hostage unless they win two trillion dollars in budget cuts at the same time without any revenue increase. Spending cuts must be matched dollar for dollar with revenue increases.

These are the same Republicans who made no big deal out of President G.W. Bush's lifting of the debt ceiling, principally to finance the Iraq war and give tax cuts to the wealthy (or as G.W. Bush said, his base: the haves and the have mores). This revenue slashing did not create jobs – it just created massive debt.

Tell the Republicans they can't balance the budget on the backs of women, the elderly, and the young. It simply cannot all come from programs for women, children, health care, education. Nor are ideological cuts to domestic and global reproductive health really spending cuts. Every dollar of spending that enables a woman to plan her family SAVES the government four dollars in spending.

Nor can balancing the budget come from cutting Medicaid for the poor and the middle class. Yes, the middle class.

Remember, Medicaid pays for the cost of 2/3rds of the people (mostly women) in nursing homes, most of whom were middle class. Medicaid also covers disabled children and adults, many of whom have parents who are in the middle class or working poor, but simply cannot afford health care costs.

It's NOT time to throw tens of thousands of seniors out of nursing homes and it is NOT time to deny services to disabled children or adults.

And as far as Medicare goes, the government should be allowed to negotiate cheaper drug prices. We will not stand for eliminating persons under 55 years of age from Medicare coverage in the future.

Tell Congress what Americans really want: increase taxes on the wealthy, cut defense spending, and maintain Medicaid and Medicare.

Some politicians want us to think cutting Defense spending or repealing the tax cuts are politically impossible. But polls show the majority of Americans support doing this rather than cutting crucial services. It's time to be heard – before it's too late.

For women's lives and the nation's future,

Eleanor Smeal
President
Feminist Majority

1600 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 801, Arlington, VA 22209 | 703.522.2214 | femmaj@feminist.org