The Week in Review
Unemployment ticked up in May, the Labor Department reported on Friday. A new report issued on Thursday found that Social Security could stay strong for another 75 years if only 1.4 percent of the wealthiest Americans paid payroll taxes on income over $250,000 a year. Sen. Bernie Sanders has proposed such a bill. Social Security has been attacked by the Koch brothers, the billionaires who plan to sink some $400 million into political campaigns this year. To Sanders, the news raised a basic question: Has the United States become a country of the rich, by the rich and for the rich?
Unemployment
The United States economy added only 69,000 jobs in May. The Labor Department said the official unemployment rate rose to 8.2, up 0.1 percent from April. When workers forced into part-time jobs and those who gave up looking for work are counted, the real unemployment rate was 14.8 percent.
Of the Rich, By the Rich ...
The right-wing Koch brothers plan to spend $400 million on political campaigns this year, according to Politico. The sum surpasses the $370 million that John McCain raised for his entire 2008 presidential campaign. "When one wealthy family spends more money than was raised altogether by the last Republican presidential candidate, it tells us that we are no longer a country of the people, by the people and for the people. We are becoming a country of the rich, by the rich and for the rich," Bernie said. That's why he proposed a constitutional amendment to undo a Supreme Court ruling that let corporations and wealthy individuals spend unlimited amounts on campaigns.
Strengthen Social Security
Raising the Social Security payroll tax cap on incomes above $250,000 would strengthen the retirement program while affecting only 1.4 percent of the wealthiest workers in the United States. That's what the Center for Economic and Policy Research concluded in an analysis of a bill Bernie introduced. "The report makes clear that if we simply asked the top 1.4 percent of Americans to pay their fair share into the Social Security Trust Fund, Social Security would be solvent for the next 75 years," Bernie said.
Dental Crisis
Speaking Friday at the site of a soon-to-open dental clinic in Springfield, Vt., Sanders said Vermont is making progress on access to affordable dental care, but more must be done in Vermont and the nation to address the national crisis. More than 130 million Americans do not have dental insurance, according to a report prepared for a Senate subcommittee that Sanders chairs. In Vermont, Sanders said, 10 dental clinics at community health centers now serve more than 25,000 Vermonters. Sanders is also drafting legislation he plans to introduce in the Senate soon to address the national crisis.
