Statement to the 26 September 2020 PDX for Basic Income Event

The Democratic Party of Multnomah County, Mission and Vision states – 

“We envision and Demand a government designed by the people and for the benefit of the people.”

At this moment we demand a return of the dividends due, we the people, who have over the past 40 years contributed our hard earned funds and delayed our profits as the money has been shifted and shared upwards to the wealthy among us.  Trickle down never trickled down – rather it provided mechanisms by which our money flowed up to the wealthiest among us.     $2000 NOW is the beginning of the return on our investment.

  • With houselessness and evictions and unemployment on the rise
  • With too many people struggling even before the current crisis as a result of 40 years of decreasing wages and increasing disparity
  • With CEO’s and the dramatically wealthy like Jeff Bezos and Amazon, like Bill Gates and Microsoft, like Google and Facebook and Home Depot and Fauci and Trump in control of our narratives

We the people are left struggling. If we are making zero or $20,000 or 50K or even 300K it is nothing compared to the trillions that of dollars flowing into the hands of Jeff Bezos and friends.

It is time to demand $2000 NOW and I call upon each of us to spread this message to our friends and neighbors across the country and to our legislators.  When an uprising of people and their demands and calls for relief truly get loud – then and only then will something happen. $2000 NOW.

Congress struggles to pass an 1800 page bill that would dole out money at the top and mollify the lobbyists, but what about, we the people who have been funding their largesse?

We believe that 1800 pages are not needed to solve this crisis.  We can say it in one sentence.

“The US Treasury will disburse $2000/ mo to every US resident for a 12 month period to provide relief to the people and to stimulate the whole economy.”

$2000 NOW    $2000 NOW    Today we are here to demand action and to spread the message of uprising for change.  But first we must recognize that the Native Americans and American Descendants of Slavery have endured this struggle far longer , for 100s of years, and let’s remember that reparations must be made to create a more equitable future for all.

The $2000 NOW dividends will repay us all for the 40 years of declining wages and theft or shift of our wealth upwards.

Let’s not forget that the 2008 crisis lead to a bailout of the banks, who then thanked us by taking many of our homes through foreclosure, only to resell them to wealthy investors like Blacstone and others.    DID WE GET OUR DIVIDEND – NO!   IT is time for $2000 NOW.

Now with covid and then the fires across Oregon and with the struggles for justice in our streets our people, our neighbors and our small businesses are shutters, houselessness increases and Bezos and the wealth get trillions of dollars in rewards.   IT IS TIME FOR $2000 NOW

With the top 3 families currently having the wealth of the bottom 50% or 1 ½ billion people we have given away our income and our wealth and we must demand a return of our investment.

Demand the 1 sentence bill.  Demand $2000 NOW.   Check out HB 6496 and SB 3784 and make them known by calling for action.   Spend your money locally, grow mainstreet and our neighbors not wall street.

Please join me in thanking Chelsea Wilkinson and PDX for Basic Income and Mark Nerys, who leads our Basic Rights study group for all their efforts.  I would also like to thank Neil Goodman, Mitch Rofsky – who is taking this message to the Biden transition planning team and to Faith Ruffing, Bobbi Yambasu and our Congresspersons Bonamici and Blumenauer for co-sponsoring HB 6496 

$2000 NOW

www.multdems.org/2000now

Summary: H.R.6496 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)All Information (Except Text)

There is one summary for H.R.6496. Bill summaries are authored by CRS.

Shown Here:

Introduced in House (04/14/2020)

Emergency Money for the People Act

This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to make monthly payments during a specified 12-month period to certain citizens and noncitizens of the United States and their dependent children. The amount of such payments shall be $2,000 each month ($4,000 for married couples filing joint returns) and additional amounts for their dependent children. The monthly amount shall be phased out for individuals whose adjusted gross income exceeds $130,000 ($260,000 for joint return filers). The payments must begin within 14 days of the enactment of this bill.

The bill allows such monthly payments for individuals who are not U.S. citizens or residents, but have been physically present in the United States continuously since January 27, 2020 (the effective date of the public health emergency resulting from the COVID-19 [i.e. coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic), and continue to be physically present in the United States throughout the duration of the payment period.

If Treasury does not have sufficient tax return information to make payments to an eligible individual, it shall consult with the Department of Veteran Affairs and the Social Security Administration and any agency making pension or annuity payments to such individual.

SB 3784 Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act

The coronavirus pandemic and the accompanying economic crisis are unprecedented challenges confronting American families. Workers across the country are losing their incomes and struggling to make ends meet. Bills are continuing to come and people are finding it impossible to pay rent and put food on the table. Families need immediate help.The single check Americans will receive from the CARES Act is not enough. As our nation continues to grapple with the effects of this pandemic, families across the country will continue to hurt. Congress a responsibility to make sure that people aren’t left behind.Senators Kamala D. Harris (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced theMonthly Economic Crisis Support Act, 

which would establish a rebate payment program that would provide $2,000 to every individual, including children and other dependents, until this crisis is over.

TheMonthly Economic Crisis Support Act:

•Provides a monthly $2,000 check to every individual with an income below $120,000 throughout and for three months following the coronavirus pandemic.

Married couples who file jointly would receive $4,000.o$2,000 per child up to three children

Retroactive to March•Ensures that every U.S. resident receives a payment, regardless of whether or not they have filed a recent tax return or have a social security number

Uses the data from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Supplemental Security Income, (SSI), Medicare and housing assistance programs

•Forbids debt collectors from seizing the rebate payments

•Ensures the homeless and foster youth receive payments