Sign the petition: Expand Social Security!

MoveOn members have a long, successful track record of defending Social Security—and we'll do it again if it comes under attack. But now is a moment when going on the defensive isn't enough. It's time to make the case for strengthening this critical and popular program by expanding it. Join our friends at Social Security Works by telling your members of Congress and President Obama: now is the time to expand Social Security! Click here to add your name.

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Dear MoveOn member,

I'm Michael Phelan of the organization Social Security Works, and I started a petition to the United States Congress and President Barack Obama, which says:

Social Security is more than America's retirement program—it provides an economic bedrock, protecting the disabled, survivors, and veterans.

Now is the time to protect and expand Social Security!

Right now in Washington, there is a coordinated attack on Social Security. Congressional Republicans and their Wall Street cronies are attempting to divide the American people through phony, manufactured crises.

The truth of the matter is that Social Security has a surplus of $2.8 trillion.¹ If no changes are made, it can pay out every benefit owed to every eligible American for the next 18 years and around 80% of benefits owed after that. And if millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share, we can not only extend the life of the Social Security trust fund, but we can expand benefits for every American.

Social Security is more than America's retirement program—it provides an economic bedrock, protecting the disabled, survivors, and veterans. Click here to tell Congress: now is the time to protect and expand Social Security!

Expanding Social Security is simple: It means making our Social Security system work even better by ensuring that benefits are able to meet the costs that seniors and people with disabilities face every day. It means a stronger Social Security Administration that can ensure that people can access the benefits they earn throughout their working lives.

What we should not be doing is considering cuts such as the disastrous Chained CPI, or the new Republican plan to cut Social Security for 11 million Americans living with disabilities, including 3 million children.²

Stand with Social Security Works and MoveOn.org in demanding that congressional Republicans drop their phony crisis and stop threatening the earned benefits of millions of Americans. Demand that they listen to the American people and expand, not cut, Social Security!

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

–Michael

Sources:

1. "Social Security Income, Outgo, and Assets," Official Social Security Website, accessed February 15, 2015
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/progdata/assets.html

2. "Republicans planning stealth attack on Social Security, Democrats fear", The Washington Post, February 9, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=302990&id=108685-10220574-BB7O4nx&t=2

This petition was created on MoveOn's online petition site, where anyone can start their own online petitions. Social Security Works didn't pay us to send this email—we never rent or sell the MoveOn.org list.

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Start a monthly donation here or chip in a one-time donation here.

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This email was sent to eddie alfaro on February 18, 2015. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Final countdown for Net Neutrality

Can you make a quick call to your members of Congress to make sure we seal the victory for Net Neutrality?

Dear MoveOn member,

We're right on the verge of winning a huge victory for the future of the Internet.

We know that it's a lot easier to come close to a victory than to actually secure it. That's why we've got to do everything we can to make sure that when the FCC votes next Thursday on Net Neutrality rules, we, the Internet users, the small businesses, the entrepreneurs, the artists, the bloggers, the grassroots—win.

In the last few days, Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, and the members of Congress who do their bidding have ramped up their campaign to sabotage Net Neutrality, threatening to undo the progress we've made. 

Congress is on recess this week, so we have a chance to reach our representatives while they're at home.

Can you call make a call right now to save Net Neutrality?

Here's where to call:

Senator Charles Schumer
New York District Office: 212-486-4430

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
New York District Office: 212-688-6262

Representative Gregory Meeks
Arverne District Office: 347-230-4032

You can tell them: "Don't let Verizon and Comcast block the FCC's rules to protect the open Internet that we all depend on."

Then click here to report your calls—which helps track the impact we're making together. 

The cable industry's friends in Congress are throwing everything they've got at us—launching a frivolous investigation, readying legislation, even likening the open Internet rules FCC Chairman Wheeler proposed to Internet censorship, which is the opposite of what it is.¹ They're stooping low, but if we keep the pressure on, we will prevail. We've come this far; let's bring this home.

Thanks for all you do.

–Maria, Ben W., Josh, Jadzia, and the rest of the team

Source:

1. "The GOP game plan on net neutrality," Politico, February 12, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=303020&id=108604-10220574-ZsxSt7x&t=2

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Start a monthly donation here or chip in a one-time donation here.

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This email was sent to eddie alfaro on February 17, 2015. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Leave your message at the tone

We're launching VoicemailsforWarren.com because Elizabeth Warren needs to hear from us about why she should run for president. Will you call and leave your message today?

Dear MoveOn member,

We've shared the story before of Elizabeth Warren's decision to run for the Senate a number of years back. In her book, A Fighting Chance, Warren narrates the key moment that persuaded her to run: A woman had walked two miles to hear Warren speak and share her struggle to find a job. Though Warren had previously decided in her "heart of hearts" not to run, that woman, herself teetering "on the ragged edge of the middle class," asked Warren if she would fight for her. That was the moment that Senator Warren committed to the race—and the progressive movement's been benefiting ever since.¹

We can help recreate that moment—this time with an even bigger election at stake—by helping Sen. Warren to hear our personal, heartfelt messages explaining why we want her in the race for president.

That's the purpose of Voicemails for Warren—a project to collect and deliver thousands of recorded messages asking and encouraging Elizabeth Warren to run for president in 2016.

Will you leave your message at the tone? Click here to visit VoicemailsforWarren.com and share your personal reason for wanting Sen. Warren to run.

Our strategy to get Sen. Warren into the race is firing on all cylinders. We're building real grassroots excitement in early states. Our visibility events in Iowa were all over the news last week—including an appearance on "The Rachel Maddow Show." More and more people are making the call for a contested primary, including progressive champion Van Jones, who said Elizabeth Warren is "the name that's on the lips of every grassroots Democrat right now."² Together, we're changing the conversation.

But one thing we're certain of is that Sen. Warren needs to know running for president right now is worth the grueling campaign it'll take to win. She needs to know the people who are counting on her to fight for them—against big banks, student debt, or dwindling retirement funds. In short, she needs to know our stories—and she needs to hear them in our voices.

So will you call and share your story today?

Tell the senator about the student loan debt holding back your career and ambitions. Or about the home that was taken from you by the banks in the Great Recession. Tell her about the job you or a loved one lost when manufacturing started being moved overseas. Or how your family would benefit from a raise in the federal minimum wage. Tell her about the hope you felt when you first heard one of her incredible speeches.

Whatever message you have for Sen. Warren—now's the time to share it. Visit VoicemailsforWarren.com today and leave your message for Elizabeth Warren.

We'll take the messages and deliver a compilation to Sen. Warren.

Thanks for all you do.

–Victoria, Bobby, Jo, Mark, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Elizabeth Warren's Supporters Persist on 2016, One Meeting at a Time," ABC News, February 3, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=303060&id=108598-10220574-b2S6PLx&t=5

2. "How is Hillary Clinton Prepping for 2016?" ABC News, February 10, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=303061&id=108598-10220574-b2S6PLx&t=6

We're part of a growing grassroots movement to convince Senator Warren to run for president. Help build the momentum—start a monthly donation here or chip in a one-time donation here.

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PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. This email was sent to eddie alfaro on February 16, 2015. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

The cat is out of the bag

I'm writing to ask for your help with a groundbreaking new project I'm starting with MoveOn.

Dear fellow MoveOn member,

Recently, award-winning director Jake Kornbluth and I worked with MoveOn to put together a video about the worst trade deal you've never heard of—the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), often called "NAFTA on steroids." 

If the TPP doesn't sound familiar, that's no accident: This giant story has been almost totally ignored by mainstream TV networks. (Interestingly, most TV networks are owned by corporations that would rake in profits if the deal goes through.) 

But the joke's on them. Thanks to MoveOn and social media, as well as the work of progressive allies, the cat is out of the bag. The video we made has already been viewed online THREE MILLION TIMES. 

This got us thinking: What if we could do this on all the issues that matter? 

This model has incredible potential to revitalize our democracy. That's why MoveOn and I are teaming up to launch a groundbreaking new project to reveal what's really going on in our economy, and how to fix it—bypassing the corporate media entirely.

We've already raised over $140,000—but we need $250,000 to launch. Can you chip in $3 to help us get this off the ground?

Yes, I'll chip in.

There's a lot we all need to understand. Student debt has skyrocketed. Inequality has thrown the entire economy out of balance. Wages haven't budged in decades.

 

And recently, I read a Washington Post headline that said, "Majority of U.S. public school students are in poverty."¹ The majority. In America. In 2015. Enough is enough.

Let's stop just wishing that corporate media would cover the real issues. We can do it ourselves.

We can create people-powered media. No advertisers to placate, no suits upstairs calling the shots—just the truth. 

And right now, in the lead-up to the 2016 election, it's never been more important. If we want a real "people's agenda" driving the debate for the next two years, we have to start building an informed citizenry now.

Can you chip in $3 to help us launch this media project?

Yes, I'll chip in to help bypass the corporate media—and reveal the truth about what's broken in our economy, and how to fix it.

Thanks for all you do.

–Robert Reich

Robert Reich, Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, was Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration. He has written thirteen books, including the best-sellers "Aftershock" and "The Work of Nations." His latest, "Beyond Outrage," is now out in paperback. His new film, "Inequality for All," is now available on Netflix, iTunes, DVD, and On Demand.  

 Source:

1. "Majority of U.S. public school students are in poverty," The Washington Post, January 16, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=302988&id=108543-10220574-fuja8Kx&t=1

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Start a monthly donation here or chip in a one-time donation here.

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This email was sent to eddie alfaro on February 15, 2015. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Tell Congress: We can't afford to outsource more jobs

Dear MoveOn member,

I'm Larry Cohen, president of the Communications Workers of America, and I started a petition to the United States House of Representatives, which says:

I've had enough of bad trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership that trade U.S. jobs to the lowest bidder and increase the power of multinational corporations and Wall Street over our democracy. I urge you to stand up to this corporate power grab and vote no on fast-track authority for the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Corporate lobbyists have been pushing for special rules in order to rush the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal through Congress. If they succeed, it will mean a loss of U.S. jobs and pressure to hold wages down for those that remain.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is being negotiated in secret, but negotiators are making big claims about boosting U.S. exports. We've been down this road before. The reality is that deals like this make it easier for corporations to keep wages low by trading U.S. jobs to the lowest bidder.

Now corporate lobbyists want Congress to help speed things along by authorizing trade promotion authority, a special set of “fast-track” rules for the deal so that it can be pushed through without allowing time for close review, debate, or amendments, and guaranteed a quick vote in both the House and Senate.¹

It’s no wonder the corporate lobby doesn’t want Congress to take a close look at what’s been going on behind the closed door of the negotiations. The deal gives special rights and benefits to companies that offshore investment and jobs and allows multinational corporations to sue governments if they legislate improvements in environmental, labor, consumer, or health standards that might impact future corporate profits.

Please take action today and tell your member of Congress to stand up to this corporate power grab and vote NO on fast-track authorization for the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

–Larry Cohen, CWA President

Source:

1. "Fast Tracking Obama's Trade Agreements," The Huffington Post, February 2, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=303007&id=108454-10220574-p3JLlMx&t=1

This petition was created on MoveOn's online petition site, where anyone can start their own online petitions. Communications Workers of America didn't pay us to send this email—we never rent or sell the MoveOn.org list.

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Start a monthly donation here or chip in a one-time donation here.

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This email was sent to eddie alfaro on February 13, 2015. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Painfully clear

We progressives have a problem. On issue after issue, the public is on our side. And yet, every one of these issues is completely and utterly gridlocked in Washington.

Dear MoveOn member,

Hello. This is former Labor Secretary Robert Reich. I'm writing to ask for your help with a groundbreaking new project I'm starting with MoveOn.

I'm going to explain it to you in depth, but just to cut to the chase, I'm also going to ask for money. So before I launch into this whole explanation, here's the link to donate, just so you have it handy.

OK, here's the deal: After the last election, it became painfully clear that we progressives have a problem.

On issue after issue, the public is on our side. Raising the minimum wage. Cracking down on Wall Street. Ending corporate welfare.

And yet, every one of these issues is completely and utterly gridlocked in Washington.

Why? That's a big question, and I know people who have written entire books on it. But one part of the problem is clear: We're losing the message war.

You see, when Republicans pick a message, they hammer on it over and over and over. Obamacare. Benghazi. Solyndra. It doesn't matter what the facts are—conservative thinktanks, the right-wing media, and Republican politicians pick one story and stick to it until it sinks in.

Progressives don't have anything like that kind of media support or message consistency. And that's what we're setting out to change.

Getting excited yet? If so, here again is that link to donate.

The way it's going to work is that we're putting together the most powerful and important proposals to improve the lives of the bottom 90 percent. Proposals that will impact tens of millions of Americans—and are supported by conservative voters and progressives alike.

But instead of waiting for CNN or the network news stations to give our ideas the attention they deserve, we're teaming up with the online experts at MoveOn to bypass the mainstream media and get our message in front of millions of Americans directly.

We know this can work. Because just last week, we created a video sounding the alarm about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a corporate-friendly trade deal that's been almost totally ignored by the corporate media.

In just a few days, the video was seen by THREE MILLION PEOPLE.

Do you know how much it costs to get millions of people to see a 60-second television ad? Our TPP video cost a fraction of that.

If we want to start making progress again on the big issues that matter, we need to change what we're doing. And I believe that together, with this plan, we can do it. Will you chip in $3 help us get this project off the ground?

Yes, I'll chip in today.

Thanks for all you do.

–Robert Reich

Robert Reich, Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley and Senior Fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies, was Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration. Time Magazine named him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the twentieth century. He has written thirteen books, including the best sellers "Aftershock" and "The Work of Nations." His latest, "Beyond Outrage," is now out in paperback. He is also a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine and chairman of Common Cause. His new film, "Inequality for All," is now available on Netflix, iTunes, DVD, and On Demand. 

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Start a monthly donation here or chip in a one-time donation here.

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This email was sent to eddie alfaro on February 12, 2015. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

Saturday in Brooklyn: Join the Run Warren Run Presidents Day event

☆YOU'RE INVITED!☆

Run Warren Run Presidents Day Action in Brooklyn

Host: Delphina P. Where: Grand Army plaza arch for the flash mob, Prospect park for the petitioning (in Brooklyn) When: Saturday, Feb. 14, at 12:00 p.m. What: MoveOn.org and Democracy for America members are coming together in communities across the country to share their support for the Run Warren Run campaign to draft Senator Elizabeth Warren to run for president. During this weekend's events, members will host teach-ins, flyering, marches, flash mobs, meetings, rallies, and "honk-and-waves" as cars and people pass by to sales, barbecues, and other traditional three-day-weekend activities. Can you join us at the Presidents Day action in Brooklyn to show support for the values and ideas Sen. Warren could bring to the presidential race? Yes, I'll be there! Sorry, I can't make it, but I'm interested in getting involved. Join 18 neighbors including: Steven R (Kew Gardens, NY) Melissa Q (Brooklyn, NY) Kay V (Sunnyside, NY) .... and others.