In a similar yet more measured move, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley released a statement to the President yesterday, calling for the same shared sacrifice as demanded by the Senator from Vermont. The Governor also presented some important numbers in his statement. As of yesterday, it read:
“More than 55 percent of the nation’s projected deficit is a direct result of the Bush era tax cuts - tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the very wealthiest 3 percent of Americans.
“A return to the Clinton-era tax rates for millionaires and billionaires is a fiscally responsible and necessary step to help put our country on solid footing for recovery. I commend President Obama for his leadership on this matter. What we need right now is to remain laser focused on creating jobs, not on protecting special interest tax breaks for the wealthiest 3-percent of Americans.
“I urge Congress to come together and work to reduce the deficit in a balanced way that benefits all Americans.”
The Governor makes an important point. The time has come to have all members of our country lend a hand in this time of need, and the wealthy should not be excused from this. His secondary point is just as important: ending the Bush tax cuts for the rich would not be an extreme or leftist move, but would simply be a return to the centrist Clinton-era structure of taxation, under which America prospered in a way it truly has not in more recent years.
Though it remains to be seen whether our President will respond positively to appeals from the Vermont Senator and Maryland Governor, it is certainly reassuring that there are at least a handful of elected officials who will stand for working people in this time of economic hardship.
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