Senator Bernie Sanders is filibustering on the TAX Extension bill

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/10/bernie-sanders-filibuster_n_795087.html

Bernie Sanders is my hero!!!!  Thank God someone in our government is standing up for the middle class!  98% of the American people make under $250,000 a year.  Yet the Republicans want to extend the tax cuts for the top 1% as well, at the expense of the needs of our country (infrastructure updates, employment for middle class, unemployment extensions for the 99ers, education, etc., etc., etc.).  What is happening is sheer CRAZINESS!  The ultimate aim of the Republicans is to repeal all the helpful programs of the past years that have been put into government, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, child care, education, etc.  They think it is good public policy to cut programs for the poor and middle class while continuing tax breaks for the millionaires and billionaires, the richest people in the entire world. 

If we don't stand up to the Republicans now, they will keep trying to bring down all the programs that help the poor.  We need to stand up and defeat this Tax proposal in which there was no compromise -- but only giving the Republicans everything they want.  An extension of 2 years will turn into a permanent extension down the road.  Unless the tax cuts for the rich are stopped now, our country is seriously in danger, with unsustainable deficits and a huge national debt.   This country has the most unequal distribution of income of any major industrial nation.  The top 1% in this country earns more than 23% of income, more than the entire bottom 50% of our population!  Many millionaires are saying we don't need tax breaks!  They are better citizens than our Congressional representatives!  They really love their country.  So we are giving money to some people who don't even want the break.  But there are other greedy people among the rich who want more and more and more!  We need to draw a line in the sand and say ENOUGH!  How much more do they want?  The top 1% owns more wealth than the bottom 90%!!!!  These greedy people on Wall Street who caused the recession are now earning more money than they did when we bailed them out!!!  ENOUGH ALREADY!!

As a senior member of our society, I am seeing my kids have a lower standard of living than my generation had.  This is appalling.  We are going backwards because of the policies instituted by Republicans that enhance the quality of living of the rich by taking away from the poor and middle class.  The middle class is disappearing, and the number of poor in our country is increasing by the minute.  The Republicans were unwilling to extend unemployment benefits to people who, through no fault of their own, have lost their jobs. The rich on Wall Street are getting the largest bonuses in history at the same time that middle class Americans are losing their homes and wondering how to keep food on their table.  Yet the Republicans see nothing wrong with this!!!  In fact, they insist on making it even worse for the middle class and poor by increasing the benefits for the rich.  We, the people who can see WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE need to call our "representatives" in Congress and give them holy hell if they are not standing up for us!

Surely we can negotiate a much better agreement than the one Obama made with the Republicans.  We, the people need to stand up and say no more tax breaks for the very wealthiest people in this country!