Mr. President and Members of Congress:

We do not accept the proposition that the most urgent challenge the country faces is to cut the deficit and that the price of doing so must be deep cuts to social programs and basic services. We do not believe, as some argue, that the Pentagon and other national security agencies should be immune from any significant reductions, or that the wealthiest Americans and large corporations should not be required to contribute a fair share of the cost of maintaining the government that has enabled them to benefit so richly.

We call upon you to redirect your efforts and federal resources to:

• End the war in Afghanistan now, bring all our troops home and care for and support them upon their return;


• Create good jobs at living wages: invest in our communities and our people to sustainably grow the economy and put people back to work;


• Assure communities devastated by natural disasters that reconstruction is performed in the public interest with full transparency under the direction and control of local, state and federal governments and is accountable to the people.


• Train and hire veterans, the unemployed and youth from historically disadvantaged communities to perform cleanup and reconstruction as a part of a broader national jobs program to rehabilitate inner cities, build affordable energy-efficient homes, repair/replace public infrastructure and develop sustainable manufacturing for the 21st Century.


• Redirect our nation’s resources from war and uncontrolled Pentagon spending to fund social programs and public services, protect and improve Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, repair the social safety net, meet the challenge of climate change, and reduce poverty and inequality.


• Rely foremost on determined diplomacy and patient negotiation, rather than military power to respond to international disputes, differences or conflicts;
  Require those at the top of the income ladder, giant corporations and financial speculators to pay their fair share of taxes.

Our views are shared by a majority opinion of the American people. Those who seek to preserve their privileges and sustain present levels of military spending while prescribing greater austerity for the rest of us are outside the mainstream.

We ask that you summon the personal courage and moral fortitude to transcend partisan differences to serve the common good and public interest.