America Speaks in LA – They Want Economic Recovery, No Social Security Cuts

[Joanne98]

The America Speaks meetings held in 19 cities across the country today, funded to the tune of $1 billion dollars by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, were a study in how subtle messaging and deficit hyping can mold and shape opinions that move the public toward right-wing solutions about slashing social spending. Despite an insistence of neutrality, organizers of this series of town hall meetings allowed their agenda to show through, particularly in their presentation of options for how to deal with the nation’s fiscal future. But attendees in Los Angeles and around the country weren’t totally buying it in the first half of the meeting.

Prior to the event, which attracted about 100 people from the Los Angeles area to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals courthouse in Pasadena, around 40 people protested outside, demanding no cuts to Social Security. You can see a video I shot about that at right.

America Speaks has the support of a number of Washington-based organizations, and they claim to represent a broad spectrum of ideological interests. But the main funder is Pete Peterson, who has waged a decades-long effort to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. And this emphasis was certainly reflected in the event today.

Attendees were divided up into discussion tables, and led along by a national simulcast from Philadelphia, one of the 19 cities involved. The very first speaker was David Walker, the former Comptroller General of the US and a longtime member of the hype machine about the federal budget deficit. Recently, on CNBC, Walker talked longingly about debtor’s prisons in the context of “personal responsibility.” Walker was booed by several people at the Los Angeles meeting. In his speech, he talked about the inescapability of structural deficits and being “very concerned for my country and my family’s future.”

The entire event was absolutely designed to create a panic about the deficit among the participants. Slickly produced scare videos talking about the dire straits of the budget were prevalent. Multiple charts and graphs without precise numbers or percentages were handed out. Speakers discussed how “most Americans are concerned about the deficits and debt,” and how we cannot grow our way out of the problem. The current state of the economy, which needs an increase in aggregate demand, mostly in the form of government spending, to avoid a relapse into recession, got a short mention at the beginning of the discussion, an inclusion which seemed forced and tacked-on. Overall, there was about 15 minutes of discussion of the current economic problems, and 5 hours on the deficit. Organizers stressed that their solutions are designed to kick in after the country hits recovery, but the compounded effect of stressing deficits over and over is undeniable. There was no slick video about the need for economic recovery, put it that way.

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/06/26/america-speaks-in-la-they-want-economic-recovery-no-social-security-cuts/

[stray cat]

1. and someone else to pay for both?

[Bluenorthwest]

5. That's very Republican sounding

Someone else. Because Americans don't pay taxes themselves. Right. Keep telling Americans that they don't pay, that is going to be golden for you.

[jaxx]

2. Once again they resort to scare tactics.

There is something really vile about the scum who prey on people's fears.

[BeFree]

3. Their solution is?

Seems to me that they think if we waived all the taxes that rich people pay,
everything would be just fine.

In fact, if we gave rich people more money, things would be even better for all the poor people?

[fasttense]

4. Don't worry, Pete Peterson will get better at the brainwashing.

By November all the people coming out of those meetings will be chanting Billionaire Pete Peterson's talking points like zombie's going after fresh brains.

I can see this one popping up already even here on DU: "Our children will be left with the burden of the Baby Boomer's Social Security costs." Which of course is pure fiction since we have paid for both our parents and our own retirements, since Raygun and Greenspan reforms took hold.

This one always gets me: "Social Security was never meant to be a retirement fund." Well, that was the way Ronnie Raygun and Alan Greenspan sold doubling our Social Security withholdings. So, it would cover our "Retirement." And how come Social Security is defining our "retirement" age, if it's not meant for retirement?

I like the way they talk out of both their mouth and their a**.