Nearly 70 years ago Franklin Delano Roosevelt outlined a bold new strategy in the war on poverty. In his broadcast of the State of the Union Address on January 11th, 1944 he argued that the political rights outlined in the Constitution had "proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness," and that it was time to add a new economic Bill of Rights. Those rights are even more necessary in the shadow of the Great Recession. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs and their homes. Our small business economy has been crushed by big box retailers, our middle class is shrinking, and the economic gains of the last century are being rolled back. That economic frailty has allowed big business interests to push for lower wages and less workplace protections even as corporate profits continue to soar. Our children are faced with overcrowded and underfunded schools, and have to submit themselves to a lifetime of student debt in order to attend college. Our elderly, our poor and our sickly depend on social security programs that have been weakened by budget cuts and austerity measures when they need them the most. This is unacceptable for any country claiming to be the greatest nation in the world. It is time that we recognize the economic needs of our citizens, time to stop leaving them at the mercy of Walmart and the big banks. It is time to codify a new set of rights to ensure that our middle class is not erased, and that our lower class is not enslaved to debt. As FDR said, "true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. Necessitous men are not free men."

My petition is to take issue with Democratic talk about compromise, which involves both sides giving back something that they have gained. But the Republicans have gained everything--tax breaks, loopholes, lowering of rates for eight years, business benefits and then proceeded to use that money to make more money, resulting in the failures of 2008, which were predicated on greed and self-interest. We on the other hand did nothing but lose, we lost our houses; we lost our jobs; yet, we paid back their debts and now they say we should give more. But we have gained nothing over the last eight years, we've even lost our senior SS increases for two years. Why should we compromise when the other side got everything; moreover, in our case the benefits we earn we paid into. They are not "freebies" or gifts. And your perks were add-ons to your already swollen accounts; while what is being asked of us is our life's blood!....

I see too much power ( money ) concentrated in the hands of too few people, namely oil company CEOs. Our government is being subverted by very wealthy oil barons. Their only concern is profits.

Student loan debt is enormous and those with it can not even discharge it in bankruptcy. Student loan holders should be forgiven all their debts if they declare bankruptcy. It is not a fair system that penalizes those seeking education loans compared to those with other types of loans.

Please Give us what we voted for

Our Government wants us yo finance the upper class. By paying more than our fair share in all taxes, fed. state, property and sale related[ includes gas and utilities. Tell your congressional representatives we need equity.

This removal of the cap would help social security remain solvent by bringing in more money from those wealthy individuals who have reached the limits and no longer pay in to it. Surely those whose income is high enough that $110,000 is taken out for social security, they can afford to continue to have it taken out once they go beyond that figure.

Republicans in Michigan are pushing "right to work" legislation under the guise that it is about freedom of association. We should extend this concept to all associations. Therefore, it should also be voluntary to pay Michigan state taxes. The government should welcome this as it will allow them to better respond to the needs of their residents.

A MICHIGAN RESIDENT SHALL NOT BE REQUIRED AS A CONDITION OF OBTAINING OR CONTINUING RESIDENCE TO; PAY PROPERTY TAX, FEES, ASSESSMENTS, OR OTHER CHARGES OR EXPENSES OF ANY KIND OR AMOUNT OR PROVIDE ANYTHING OF VALUE TO STATE REVENUES; REFRAIN OR RESIGN FROM MEMBERSHIP IN, VOLUNTARY AFFILIATION WITH, OR VOLUNTARY FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF STATE GOVERNMENT.

right to form and join unions, without having to sign pledge cards and have to do it again after employer harassment , job termination and other anti union busting schemes. A pledge card needs to be signed once and that should be enough.

I am self employed and pay 15% of everything I make into Social Security and Medicare. I will have difficulty retiring at all if these vital programs are cut. I grew up in the military and worked for the military for a short time and have witnessed first hand how much waste of money occurs in this department of government. I've also read how the military budget has now doubled in size so that 40% of all military spending on the planet is done by the United States.

Currently, Americans pay Social Security payroll tax only on earnings below $110,100. That means that people with high income pay a much lower tax rate than those with low income. Eliminating the cap will greatly increase Social Security revenues, and allow it to continue much longer into the future. Republicans in Congress say that they will allow federal revenues to increase, not by increasing tax rates, but by eliminating loopholes. The cap is a loophole that has hobbled Social Security. It is inherently unfair. Let's eliminate it now!