"progressives" want economic justice... in 2007, wealth of the U.S.' richest 1% was $16.8 trillion:

[amborin]

"For real change to happen, progressive ideals must return to center stage in our national political
discourse. This will be neither easy nor quick—it will take years of work. But we can prevail.

It is up to us—citizens—to articulate the progressive vision. Progressive political leaders cannot do it alone. For all of their intelligence and good intentions, they are subject to overwhelming
short-term pressures. They will need the help of progressives throughout America. We must trumpet our values throughout the nation so that progressive political leaders will have the
backing they need to speak out far more freely.

<http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/thinkingpoints/ThinkingPoints_Introduction.pdf>



Berkekey's George Lakoff, on why Progressives face such an uphill battle in the U.S.:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo4whfUDPcU&feature=related>



<snip>

"The Progressive Value System:

How the values relate to one another

Nurturant morality is based on a fundamental ethic of care that says: Help, Don't Harm. From the central values of Empathy and Responsibility, the ethic of care leads naturally to the following set of values that characterizes the Nurturant Parent family:

Strength: You have to be strong and competent to carry out your responsibilities.
Safety and Protection: A nurturing parent wants his/her family to be safe, which requires that they protect them, and themselves, from harm. The motivation to protect others comes from empathy, and the ability to do so comes from responsibility and strength.


Fulfillment in Life: When we empathize with others and take care of them responsibly, we desire their well-being, and want their dreams to come true. Happy and fulfilled people want to see others happy and fulfilled. Correspondingly, unhappy, unfulfilled people tend not to want others to be happier than they are. It is, therefore, a moral requirement to be a happy, fulfilled person.
Fairness: When we care for others, we want to treat them fairly, help them to treat others fairly, and ensure that others do treat them fairly.


Freedom: Freedom allows us to meet our needs, fulfill our potential, realize our dreams, and help others to do so as well.

Opportunity: Caring for others means ensuring they have opportunities—to achieve fulfillment in life, to be treated fairly, and to be able to care for themselves and others.
Prosperity: Without prosperity, there can be no opportunity.

Community: Healthy communities are based on cooperation, honesty, trust, and open communication.
Cooperation: Responsibility to others requires cooperation and empathy. Cooperation is the basis for community, and requires open communication, honesty and trust.
Trust: Trust is needed for open communication and cooperation. We are trustworthy when we treat others fairly and responsibly.

Honesty: Honesty is the hallmark of open communication, and is necessary for trust and cooperation.

Open Communication: Open communication is at the heart of empathy and responsibility. To know how to care for others, we must communicate with them to understand their needs. Cooperation relies on two-way communication. "

from the progressive Rockridge Institute:

<http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/research/rockridge/stratinit.html>





2007 Congressional Budget Office report on U.S. wages, income, and trends:

<http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/80xx/doc8007/04-17-EarningsVariability.pdf>

we have staggering and growing income and wealth inequality in the U.S., and progressives want to change that






"The Center for American Progress reported how between 1979 and 2007, the average income of the bottom 50 percent of American households grew by 6%; the top 1% saw their income increase by 229 percent. "

<http://www.trinity.edu/~mkearl/strat.html>

[derby378]

1. Cool! They can pay off our National Debt!

Get those checkbooks open, Bushistas - your country needs you.

[dancely]

2. ooooo im so shocked

B-)