Tax Day Tea Parties putting pressure on Obama
by MELISSA JUN ROWLEY, Contributing Writer
This year’s tax day took off with tea bags flying, as protestors across the country rallied for re-creations of 1773’s Boston Tea Party to express their disdain for the Obama administration’s fiscal policies. Activists took to throwing tea bags onto the White House lawn, hanging tea bags from their clothing, dumping boxes of tea into local rivers, and sending tea leaves to their state representatives.
While there is some speculation that the demonstration was sparked by incessant coverage and commentary by Fox News and the support of former Republican leaders, organizers of the nationwide rebellion say it was created as a non-partisan grassroots movement. According to the website TaxDayTeaParty.com, the event was put together by Smart Girl Politics, Top Conservatives on Twitter, the Don’t Go Movement and “many other online groups/coalitions.”
Advocates of today’s Tea Party say the idea first began on February 19 at the Chicago Mercentile Exchange when CNBC commentator Rick Santelli criticized government spending, and said the Americans should protest by forming a tea party.
While some of today’s demonstrators held angry signs objecting Obama’s economics outside the White House, the president talked about the country’s path to financial recovery right across the street at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. He said his stimulus package, which includes tax cuts, is already creating financial relief.
“Make no mistake: this tax cut will reach 120 million families and put $120 billion directly into their pockets, and it includes the most American workers ever to get a tax cut,’’ said the president. “This tax cut also keeps a fundamental promise: that Americans who work hard should be able to make a decent living.’’
During this time of economic uncertainty, just 100 days after Obama has taken office, it is difficult to determine if his financial plans should be criticized or praised. Right now, it appears that the only truth in front of us is that our country is in trouble. But alongside this fact, there lies another actuality.
It is by all means our president’s duty to see to it that the most effective action is taken in delivering a fiscal remedy to the United States. But the responsibility does not belong to the Obama administration alone. It belongs to us.
Taking part in symbolic gestures such as today’s tea party rallies is one way of communicating our concerns and needs with the government. Another method of initiating dialogue with the White House about current issues is writing to our representatives. The pen may just be mightier than the sword.
Learn how to write to your representative through the House of Representatives or USA.gov. Also, it’s 2009, after all. Write a blog post (or, if you’re lazy, tweet) and leave the link in the comments. We want to know what the Causecast community thinks about the tax day tea parties.
Image by sterno74, flickr
- Posted by Causecast
Related Articles
-
Betacup Offers $10,000 Prize For Sustainable Coffee Cup Design Contest
Over 58 billion disposable coffee cups are tossed into landfills each year. Put your design skill...
- 03.19.10
- |
- 03:46pm
-
Roshaneh Zafar, Winner Of 2010 Global Leadership Award, Empowers Women In Pakistan With Microfinance
For almost 15 year, Roshaneh Zafar has helped Pakistani women find economic empowerment. Find out...
- 03.19.10
- |
- 02:30pm
-
Beyond Sport Awards: How Sports Inspire Social Change
The Beyond Sport Awards honor individuals and organizations that use sports to improve communitie...
- 03.18.10
- |
- 06:02pm
-
Lt. Dan Choi Arrested At 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Protest In Washington, D.C.
Following a 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' protest in the nation's capital, discharged lieutenant and ga...
- 03.18.10
- |
- 11:53am
-
National Safe Place Week: Keeping Homeless Teens Safe
Over a million American teens find themselves homeless each year. In honor of National Safe Place...
- 03.17.10
- |
- 04:44pm
The tea party idea has nothing to do with "tea bags". It is a shame to see people in the streets not really knowing this fact. I believe that before you protest, you need to know exactly what you are doing...and not decorate yourself like you are an extra at Colonial Williamsburg. What happened during the original "tea party" is not like what is going on today. It is fine to protest if you truly feel and know that your tax dollars are being severely abused (where was all this outrage with the Bush Administration?). But, what many of the protestors do not understand is that to combat this major recession, the government (of last resort), has to tackle this problem by getting us back in the driver's seat of producing, innovating, and investing in our future. If we do not starting investing money now in areas such as health care, environment, and, yes, even helping the banks (with restrictions), then we will just keep falling and become knocked out of our world leadership role. This country has to invest heavily now in becoming a world leader, because our old world leadership status is gone...finished...kaput....the world has changed, and we got to get with the program. Those old manufacturing jobs are gone and not coming back, the way we used to do business is gone...not coming back...we have to actually change our way of thinking in this country..and to handle a fiscal problem of this scale, means we will have to get in the driver's seat of production, innovation, and actually be in the top of the 21st century information/environmental/innovation age, or we will be very behind. To solve this huge recession, and get us "on point", this nation has to invest a huge sums of money to do that. You pay to play. Many of the tea party activists that I see, simply do not understand just how much this world has changed, and the reality of what we have to do to even keep our spot as a global leader.
This is pretty pathetic. What exactly do they stand for?