welcome back to the big picture i'm sam sacks in for tom hartman coming up in this half hour a balanced budget may sound like a good idea but it loses much of its appeal when you realize what this republican plan will actually do to our country oh and while they're out if they want to classify pizza as a vegetable has anyone told the g.o.p. that kids can't vote and internets they only take problem will once again explain

why the one percent he did step up and prove their patriotism. screwed we all are with the work republicans are doing in congress this week first there's what's going on with nutritional standards for school lunches the old phrase kids eat your fruits and vegetables has been replaced by a new phrase courtesy of the republican party kids eat your pizza and french fries earlier this year the u.s.d.a. set of guidelines to make school lunches healthier for children but this week house republicans and build a spending bill so blow up those new health guidelines under the new republican plan tomato sauce and pizza will still be considered about shabelle as well french fries yes right now tomato sauce in fries are considered vegetables under current

guidelines and republicans want to keep it that way since you know new regulations are so burdensome. that means schools can serve pizza and french fries every day and meet the basic nutritional requirements for school lunches somewhere herman cain is rejoicing unclear when someone will break the news to republican leadership that tomatoes are actually fruits or tell them the story about when ronald reagan tried to do something similar in one thousand nine hundred one and classify trip as a vegetable in failed thanks to a public outcry. but republicans taking a stand for pizza is harmless compared to what they will be voting on later this week and that is a balanced budget amendment and if you really want to know the dark vision republicans have of america's future then you need to know what a balance a budget budget amendment would do here's shine some light on this is so dorothy mahanta editorial fellow with mother jones magazine so arthur welcome having me

good to have you on so let's hear people or no let's define what a balanced budget amendment is. it's really just a simple as it sounds in one sense it would require the federal government to spend no more than it takes in every year now the ways in which this is radical or that the amendment would restrict the government spending whatever it whatever it takes and rather it would restrict the government spending based on what it spent in the previous year now paul ryan who's the republican budget chairman he drew up he he had a budget that was pretty much slammed by liberals by democrats as being a pretty a pretty drastic budget in terms of trust and it was a program which has some republicans so. just give you a sense that budget would be unconstitutional under the sort of balanced budget amendment the republicans are pitching now this is radical the whole right but this

is radical the paul ryan plan so there was a study so. if you want to capital percent spending at eighteen percent of g.d.p. government spending. according to the center on budget and policy priorities for analyzed what a balanced budget amendment like this would do fifty fifteen million people would be put out of work. it would double the unemployment rate it would shrink our economy by seventeen percent yet according to a c.n.n. poll earlier this year seventy four percent of americans support a balanced budget amendment so why is that do they just not know what it is i mean what's the deal i think i think with the deal here is that we're publicans a really good at pitching these budget ideas in simple terms for instance they very often use an argument that budget the federal government budgeting system is just like budgeting for your family you know trying to figure out how much you can be able to spend on vacations. sending your kid on. sports equipment for your kids all this kind of thing the fact is though if i don't government actually spent

like family spent. then. families always spend more than they take and they take out loans all of this sort of thing republicans especially nowadays right republicans have really mastered the art of couching the budget in these simple terms when in fact it's much more complicated than that. you just wrote a piece on this for mother jones and you talk about. bruce bartlett who used to be over budget advisor what was his take on the balanced budget amendment that it's completely work unworkable and complete catastrophe. now bartlett's created is the exact expression much exactly this is a guy who's who's reasonable who tripled the national debt ridden triple the national debt and these are and these are things that bartlett in his writing and his analysis he'll embrace he will say you know i i was i was a proud jack kemp guy served in the reagan administration for bush but the kinds of

the kind of budget years concert billet he's seeing on the republican side now he traces back to the desire on the republicans part to tax and to see so in that broad tax cuts without ever paying for them and he sees this is as a very irresponsible thing. that a balanced budget amendment would would be sort of another huge iteration of basically so i mean. reagan tripled to the day. bush added george w. bush to another six trillion dollars or something but so the fact the republicans right now are screaming that we need to balance the budget is pretty ironic but it's complete hypocrisy for sure so they consistently added to that so what so we can get rid of that argument that they want to personally care about that since one thing they have been consistent on since reagan is tax cuts for wealthy people and the thing about about this they're balanced budget amendment is that to

raise taxes on anyone it's going to require two thirds majority is not right that there is right now now that the distinction between between that version the balance version and what we're likely to see on friday. based on reports were coming out today the amendment that will be voted on on friday would have that two thirds vote in karma in other words. it's a somewhat softer version of the earlies earlier amendment which required a two thirds majority in both the house and the senate in order to raise any revenue through tax increases or do you think they're kind of lowering their sights there's a there do think that this might have a chance if i don't i i i frankly i don't think they they have any real sense that this will happen and even if it were to make it out of the house it would still you know run to a brick wall called the senate where the democrats still have control i think they see this as a very key sort of dog whistle if you will to a lot of their supporters around the country. you know there's no there's no

obvious reason why they had to bring this idea back into the play this week it's really curious. you know between everything going on the super committee between issues going on with trying to come up with another spending bill for the rest of this year. they definitely have their hands full there but your own will be watching this with some great insights or thanks for thanks for coming. as we just talked about despite the devastating consequences of a balanced budget amendment it's still i'll be popular among voters after all it sounds reasonable a balanced budgets sounds like a good thing but remember this is brought to us by the same party that passed the clean skies that it allows for more pollution and a healthy forest that allows for more trees to be got them so when it comes to messaging and using certain words republicans are experts and we all need to know this because it's ruining our democracy here's what tom had to say about it

recently for progress is that the republicans they need to know how republicans talk luckily republicans occasionally let their lingo slip like back in one thousand nine hundred eighty six when newt gingrich's gopac memo was leaked which instructed republicans on what specific words to use when talking about other republicans and conservative policies and which words to use when talking about democrats and progressive policies the memo reads language is listed as a key mechanism of control used by majority party we believe that you could have a significant impact on your complaint and your campaign and the way you communicate if we helped a little that is why we have created this list of words and phrases when talking about republican campaigns newt gingrich wrote use these words commitment dream family freedom liberty passion prosperity strength and vision success he wrote

next time you watch a republican actually he did write that i did next time i read a republican you watch a republican campaign can't campaign it play a little drinking game with how often you hear these words used again rich memo then lays out the words to be used when describing democratic campaigns words like bizarre bureaucracy coercion corruption of our in danger liberal pathetic shame taxes welfare. these may seem like trivial words that don't have an effect when it comes to political messaging words are extremely important as right wing pollster frank luntz pointed out during the health care debate back in two thousand and nine if you call it a public option the american people are split if you call it the government option the public is part of it well mainly against it you don't like it's a great point and not from now on all couldn't called the government. by so called news took the bait and executive bill sammon sent out an e-mail to his team of talking heads saying friendly reminder let's not slip back into calling it the

public option please use the term government run health insurance or when brevity is a concern government option whenever possible like sheep the talking heads over at fox so-called use obeyed frank a lot some self is quite a wordsmith back in two thousand and six luntz wrote a memo for republicans identifying certain words they should never say and instead offering replacement words as the once writes in his memo sometimes it is not what you say that matters but what you don't say from today forward you are the language police from today forward these are the words never to say again and here they are this is the republican game plan actually here they are never say government instead you know rule that out and say washington never say tax reform and tax simplification never say estate tax instead say the death tax never say

capitalism instead say free market out of this is this is the republican i mean is to is to is to always go in that direction never say undocumented workers instead say illegal aliens never say drilling for oil instead say exploring for energy never say school choice and says a sequel opportunity in education and never say health care choice instead say the right to choose so even if it is this very very systematic minute delays of language in the american political discourse this is the republican game plan laid out. and this is the only way they can win elections this and disenfranchising people keeping people from voting voter id laws and things like that but basically this by boiling down often complex issues where the right answer can only be found through rigorous debate and turning them into quick easy to remember catch phrases

and buzz words let's eliminate the dead debate around how much people like paris hilton should pay a state taxes stead just call it a drug is death tax let's eliminate the debate over how we should handle undocumented immigrants and instead dehumanised them by calling them illegal aliens forget about debating the safety of deepwater oil drilling at the b.p. gulf disaster now oil companies are just exploring for energy. you know the sad thing how much of this is worked and sure enough we've stopped having rational debate in this country emotional words are now used to grab people's attention and transform their minds and it's largely these little sound bites and commercials on t.v. replace the role of the bait among the electorate president obama's boil down to a socialist with little discussion of what a socialist really is i doubt most americans know rich people are called creators

with little discussion about how jobs are really created new tax plans like nine nine nine are praised for their simplicity rather than either their effectiveness or their just plain old flat out stupidity. one french political thinker alexis de tocqueville ventured to the united states the early nineteenth century eight hundred thirty four as i recall to observe firsthand what life was like in the new democratic nation he made this observation which he wrote his book democracy in america the greatest of america lies not in being more of a lightened than any other nation but rather in her ability to repair her thoughts throughout history our nation has repaired our faults through debate through an informed electorate making the right decisions but in a scorched earth bid to win elections republicans have destroyed that american tradition and replaced it with political manipulation and until we bring back real

debate until the corporate media calls out republican talking points and you and i call out people who throw phrases around like job creators illegal aliens then we frankly won't be able to solve the complex problems facing our nation we're americans so we'll start acting like americans and demanding that our politicians and most importantly our media treat us like the well informed citizenry the thomas jefferson patient. of next what makes you a part of the one percent it would make sure a part of the ninety nine percent of the answer in tonight's deleted. drives the world of the year mongering used by politicians who made the decision to break through to the maid who can you trust no one who is in view with that noble

mission to receive where we had a state controlled capitalism and school factions when nobody dares to ask we do you are t. question more. the good the bad and the very very good to simply ugly the good. lansing mayor virg bernero as mayors from around america dispatching their police

forces to a baker occupy movements mayor but narrow in lansing michigan is doing things a bit differently he's welcoming the occupy the last month mayor bernero spoke at an occupy lansing rally and has continued cordial and cooperative relations with the occupiers ever since and his staff thinks that the rest of the country should follow their example. i think that our occupy protest has really been a model for the country in terms of how they've conducted themselves and in the relationship that we need to wean because stablish with that. mayor bloomberg in new york city should learn a few things from lance and the bad. rick perry with the wheels ready to come off the rick perry presidential campaign at any moment governor good hair stop by new hampshire today for a town hall event and it looks like perry put sheriff joe arpaio in charge of security because people were asked at the door if they were u.s. citizens apparently no foreigners were allowed in fact even journalists were asked

about their citizenship at the door steve peoples from the associated press tweeted quote at press check in for rick perry new hampshire town hall brass before u.s. citizens told only citizens allowed the perry campaign later clarified the policy and said that non-u.s. citizens would be allowed in as long as they are monitored by an official with the company hosting the event at all times this is bad on numerous levels one voters journalist should have to bring proof of citizenship just ask governor perry a question to anyone should be able to see how our democracy works we are the democratic model for the rest of the world right and three. three let's see. i'd like to. i think loops. in the very very ugly u.s. district judge henry when the kids this is the resident anita macklemore and her

two kids are three of the forty four million people in america who depend on food stamps to do enough food to eat unfortunately when bill clinton ended welfare as we know it back in one thousand nine hundred six a new federal law was created that forbids anyone who's been convicted of a drug felony from receiving food stamps benefits for life so with her and her kids facing starvation and you know macklemore was being convicted of a drug charge in the past lied under application to receive benefits and u.s. district judge henry wingate figured lying to your family should get you three and a half years behind bars that's what he sentenced macklemore to last week and that's think progress reported also last week a bank teller who perpetrated a three million dollar mortgage fraud scandal mississippi was sentenced to just two and a half years in prison so to recap lying on your application to feed your starving family gets you in prison one year longer than running a multimillion dollar mortgage scheme or something really screwed up about our

criminal justice system and it's a very very ugly. so with thanksgiving a week away republicans in congress have. given millionaires a lot to be thankful for. they protect them from tax increases given more corporate welfare more so-called free trade agreements congress's big good to the super rich after all more than half of all congressional members are millionaires. but there's one group of rich americans who went to congress today to say thanks but no thanks for all the goodies patriotic millionaires for fiscal spirit for fiscal strength a group made up of millionaires who want to see their taxes go up the senator on capitol hill today to meet with lawmakers and demand that any gang of twelve deficit reduction deal includes tax hikes on millionaires and billionaires so it looks like the message of the ninety nine percent has been picked up by the one

percent a few weeks ago tom weighed in on this phenomenon of the one percenters siding with the nine ninety nine percent and calling for tax hikes on themselves and it's the subject of tonight's belief that the banks are one percent in chicago had a little message they wanted to get out to the ninety nine percent movement camped out on the streets below to some of the chicago board of trade board leaflets out the window to rain down on the demonstrators below the leaflets read we are wall street and it's our jobs to make money go ahead and continue to take us down but you're only going to hurt yourselves it's going to happen when we can't find jobs on the street anymore guess what they're going to take ers. as we all know today that's not a threat it's a promise wall street has never had a crop taking that's not there whether it was the trillions they took when the economy blew up as a result of the housing bubble scheme or the trillions more they took from the taxpayers when they demanded bail out wall street has churns other people's money

and skims their vig off the top and they've been doing it in a pretty outrageous way what once was considered both immoral and illegal in the last thirty years since reagan stopping force in the sherman antitrust act is now normal leading to an explosion on wall street. it started back then continuing to this day of what was then called m. and a mergers and acquisitions from one hundred forty seven through nine hundred seventy nine before reagan and then a as america got wealthier and wealthier that well front to everyone we all got wealthier but then came fat sugar and reagan and milton friedman and i and rand in this bizarre notion that playing games by rules that work for everybody is just a quaint idea and instead the world should be reformed to make it easy for the predators as a result over the last thirty years most of all the new wealth created in america which is just the top one percent when reagan first began to really corrupt

capitalism as i noted in my book an equal protection most americans didn't even notice greed is good sounded reasonable to many people and for the first time in history school kids started saying they want to grow up to be rich instead of wanting to grow up to be somebody who changed the world like washington lincoln or martin luther king jr. but then after reagan kicked off today's massive concentration of wealth the top one percent just started taking more and more they took it all after all reagan made it legal in the last generation the richest one percent have seen their incomes almost quadruple but the average americans have seen their paychecks increase by only a dollar twenty three cents the average wealth of the top one percent is two hundred twenty five times greater than the average wealth of the typical family thirty years ago the typical c.e.o. made about forty times more than the typical employee now they take as much as two

hundred times more than their employees and wall street as much as two thousand times or ten thousand times more than their employees take take take but after thirty years we're now clearly seeing the results of trying to play a game with no rules are rules that are so skewed as to make things easy for the rich and hard for working people it's why working people took over madison wisconsin so i working people are taking over cities all across america because in that reagan era so-called free market capitalism was the fad from here to thatcher's u.k. to pinochet's chile we're now seeing the ninety nine percent revolt in nation after nation after nation that even though the one percent sitting high above chicago think it's is their job to take from everyone else a majority one percenters actually think it's their job to give. earlier this week filmmaker michael moore expressed the mentality of most one percenters want to give

back to the nation and make them so well. that even though i do well that i don't associate myself with those who do well i am devoting my life to those who do who have less and who have been who have been craft the pond by the system and that's how i spend my time my energy my money on trying to up in this system that i think is a system of violence it's a system that's unfair to the average working person in this country and it was a mistake to ever give me a dime from the day and michael moore isn't alone warren buffett for example famously called for his taxes to be raise effect and calling for it for years noting that there is class warfare going on in america right and it's his class the rich class the one percent of us that's when. but there's more as i said there's actually a majority among that one percent who are on the side of the ninety nine percent a

new survey of millionaires by the spectrum finds this sixty eight percent of millionaires people earning more than a million dollars a year in this nation support increasing taxes i'm millionaires that's right most millionaires want their own taxes to go up you know it's the it's that old interview with the german businessman who said i don't want to be a rich man in a poor country because over the last thirty years millionaires are pretty much gotten whatever they wanted from free trade deals that make c.e.o.'s incredibly rich while working wages to enormous tax cuts that created huge national deficit to corporate welfare in the form of wall street bailouts and big oil subsidies but now that a majority of millionaires want their taxes to go up they can't even get republicans in the senate to drop their filibuster and allow a debate on the issue the point is it's not about how much money you make that makes you the one percent for michael moore warren buffett there are plenty of patriotic one percenters it's about whether or not you think it's the job of the

rich to give back to the country that made you rich or if it's just the job of the rich to keep making more and more money. to make more money than they can spend in their lifetimes their children's lifetimes their grandchildren's like times or their great grandchildren is like sometimes well the nation around them deteriorates it's not about your bank account it's about your patriotism that ninety nine percent movement is the most patriotic thing happening in america let's just hope our politicians catch on so. that's the big picture more information of the stories we covered visit our website at harvard dot com free speech or give. also check out to you tube there are links to. this entire show is also available as a free video powered. and we have a fried tom hartman i phone and i pad up at the op store you can send us feedback at twitter underscore hartmann on facebook at underscore hartman and on our blogs

message boards and telephone comment line at tom hartman dot com and don't forget as tom always says democracy begins with you get out there get out there occupy something. your it. was. a very warm welcome to you this is your news today protesters on the street they have . been canceling your child seems that you seem to get with the status of the human experiments given. the weakness you see miss rap music would you accept those movies lately trying to

make sense of liberty county and its on changelings us financial template the responsibility to maintain a confidence in markets and think long wants to be seen trade imbalances recession looks to be nations close to collapsing in some time looking for clues plans. to fail switchblade sigyn feelable might think if the us crash seven smashed ceiling seems to dislike us here in the clubs and in streets the i think close proximity i'm just programs increasing. wealthy british style. sometimes might look. like that. market.