A Message from the President
We the People… is the beginning of an effort to educate and unite 25 million Americans who care enough about what is happening to Middle Class American families to do something about it. Millions of families have been affected by the loss of a job, a foreclosure or the lack of healthcare insurance. Of the 10,000 registered lobbyists in Washington, none lobby for the American Dream. However, if enough people come together through this effort, We the People… as an organization can become that advocate for national policies that benefit the American Middle Class.
First, we need you and individuals like you to register your information on this website (name, email and zip), make a small contribution if you can (anything is greatly appreciated) to help us develop and move this organization forward and share the importance of this website and information with family and friends. We need enough people to come together and help create this movement to give it credibility as an organization. In turn, we will provide you with updates on our progress and invite you to share your ideas for solutions with us by emailing or writing them to me.
Here are a few reasons why Middle Class families are in such pain.
-Over 20 million Americans are unemployed, underemployed or have been out of work for over six months. (African Americans, Latinos and Young Adults have been hit the hardest)
-Average wages have not moved much over the last 30 years while the price of basic necessities has gone up quite a bit.
-Over 40 million Americans are living without healthcare insurance and 45,000 people die every year in the United States of America because they don’t have it.
-Banks are foreclosing on homes at a rate of about 3 million a year.
-The cost of higher education is putting it out of reach for many Middle Class families
-Many retirees lack the resources needed for a comfortable retirement because the value of their homes and retirement accounts have taken a direct hit since the recession of 2008.
You only occasionally hear about these things in the news. However, these are the core issues that We the People… intends to focus on initially. In time, you will be guiding this organization by your choices and setting the agenda yourselves.
What can we do? Individually, not a whole lot. But working together, the possibilities are great. Here’s what you can do:
1. Start by lending your voice to this effort and register your name, email and zip code on this website.
2. If you can, make a small contribution so we can continue this work.
3. Share this website with family and friends. You can use our Facebook and Twitter links to help you do this. Please Like us on our Facebook page
Let’s start with healthcare as this affects over 40 million Americans. We the People… would like to educate the American public regarding a national healthcare plan. We have to have a national healthcare discussion not only to discuss why healthcare costs are spiraling out of control, but because it’s a matter of life and death.
In 2003, I needed open-heart surgery to replace my aortic valve. Without that surgery, I had two weeks to live. I did not have health insurance at the time. I was fortunate enough to have a private foundation cover the costs of that operation. Many are not so fortunate and die as a result of not having healthcare insurance. Feel free to share your own medical story on our Facebook page.
For a number of reasons, people often have a knee-jerk reaction when you mention national healthcare. Here is a link to the Physicians for a National Health Program website that answers many of these questions http://www.pnhp.org/facts/single-payer-faq.
There is currently an effort in Congress led by Representative John Conyers of Michigan and others to move this national healthcare issue forward. However this effort will never see the light of day unless enough people demand it.
So help create this movement by registering on this website. Make a small donation if you can. And share this information with family and friends. Together we can make a difference for everyone on this and other issues.
Richard Patenaude
