Children Pledging Allegiance to “the Chinese Government that Lends us Money”
WASHINGTON — The Employment Policies Institute (EPI) launched “stage 1” of a high-profile, multi-million dollar ad campaign highlighting the threat posed by unsustainable borrowing and spending yesterday. The ad blitz comes on the heels of new projections from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) predicting over $9 trillion in deficit spending.
The campaign includes a new national television commercial, which is currently airing on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, and CNBC. Additionally, full-page ads are running in The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Times, The Washington Examiner, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The Las Vegas Review-Journal. The group also launched a new website, www.DefeatTheDebt.com, devoted to educating the public about the enormous federal deficit.
The newspaper advertisements will feature three different ad concepts. While two of the ad concepts will focus on putting a trillion dollars into perspective, the third concept asks “Who is John Galt?” The ad goes on to offer the following points:
* In New York City, 1% of taxpayers pay almost 50% of the city’s income taxes.
* In California, the top 1% pay nearly 47% of the state’s income taxes.
* The top 1% of American earners pay 40% of all federal income taxes.
The national television commercial begins with students standing in a classroom as if to recite the pledge of allegiance. Instead they say:
I pledge allegiance to America’s debt…and to the Chinese government that lends us money… And to the interest…for which we pay…compoundable…with higher taxes…and lower pay…until the day we die.
“This campaign is all about getting people to understand the frightening reality of the massive federal deficit,” said EPI Executive Director Richard Berman. “People do not realize just how much nine trillion dollars is and what it will take for our country to get out from under that level of debt. Americans also don’t realize how much money we now owe to foreign governments and just how unsustainable our current level of spending is. We have to do something to defeat the debt NOW, or we will live to regret it.”
The Employment Policies Institute is a nonprofit research organization dedicated to studying public policy issues that affect the American economy.
Here’s the commercial.
Children: I pledge allegiance to America’s debt, and to the Chinese government that lends us money. And to the interest, for which we pay, compoundable, with higher taxes and lower pay until the day we die.
VO: American tax payers owe more than $500 million in interest payments every day to cover our government?s debt, much of that debt is owe to foreign governments. Go to DefeatTheDebt.com.
Girl: Debt Stinks.
Very interesting post, thanks lots.