Government must provide economic security

From the debate today about the debt ceiling and deficits, you wouldn't know that America has, for the past two generations, led globally in modernizing medicine, developing the Internet, and providing top-notch higher education. We have long had the strongest economy, the biggest middle class and broadly shared prosperity. We've been on top.

But now we're slipping and the people of Nevada are struggling to get by. And what's mind-boggling is that many of our elected leaders seem almost happy to declare that our country is broke and only a few can enjoy life's bounty. Instead of imagining a future for our children to thrive in, they're saying it's time to pull back.

So let's be clear: The policies proposed by politicians contradict our defining American belief that our ambition is to create a future that is better for our children than it is for us -- and not just our children, but for all children.

Why isn't the greatest problem-solving nation solving problems? What will be the big achievements of the 21st century? Finding a cure for cancer? Designing super-fast trains and highways that transform transportation and energy consumption? Rebuilding our middle class and a ladder of economic opportunity?

We're miles from those achievements and headed in the wrong direction. Earlier this month, the Nevada Legislature passed the state budget for 2011-2012 that will force state workers to take a six unpaid furlough days each year for a total pay reduction of 4.8 percent on top of a 2.5 percent pay cut. The budget also includes cuts to higher education that will raise college tuition by 13 percent. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in Nevada increased from 12.1 percent to an even more staggering 12.4 percent -- the country's highest.

Elected leaders across the country are calling for the de-funding of foreclosure counselors and food aid for the poor and blocking job training and transportation infrastructure, all while upholding tax subsidies for profiteers and the super-rich. These are political choices, not economic ones, and they are intended to undermine the power of working people. The people of Nevada deserve better. The people of America deserve better.

It's time to recognize that the deficit our country faces is a moral deficit. We must begin where the American people want our future to be. That means returning balance to our economy. It means restoring progressive taxation. President Obama is right -- the Bush tax cuts for the rich must end. Billionaires should pay higher rates than millionaires, and millionaires should pay higher rates than the upper middle class. And we must end tax breaks for big corporations

Working people believe that we must start by preserving economic security for working Americans and our families, which begins with strengthening, not cutting, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

We must invest in America, both now and for the future. We need to spend $2.2 trillion just to shore up our existing national infrastructure. But to be able to compete with China, Germany and others, we need to invest another $2 trillion in the technologies of the 21st century -- in high-speed rail and clean energy buildings and the smart grid and universal broadband.

We know what Speaker John Boehner and his colleagues want. Their dream is different from ours -- it's based in a country defined by the political imperative of its wealthiest, not its heartland.

For the working people of Nevada and across the country, the American dream is rooted in the belief that everyone can be full participants in national life. In our dream, we the people make the rules so that hard work is rewarded with economic security and a future of greatness. Every person must ensure that our elected leaders understand the difference. That's the direction we must go, and the journey must begin now.

Richard L. Trumka is president of the AFL-CIO. Danny L. Thompson is executive secretary treasurer of the Nevada AFL-CIO.