You're Used To The Careful Old Democratic Candidates, Walking On Eggshells Not To Offend Anyone... Now Meet Nick Ruiz (D-FL)

It's time for America to move into the 21st century, and one way to make that happen is by electing leaders unbound by the hypocrisies of the past. Nick Ruiz was the very first congressional candidate Blue America endorsed in this cycle. He's not your father's or grampa's Democratic candidate. If the Democratic Party is going to have a future that doesn't include merging with the GOP, Nick and men and women like him are that future. I kind of wish the music wasn't quite so loud but... well, you know the kids today. Please watch it all the way through. Nick knows full well that "change" can just be a handy slogan. His idea of change means doing things differently, building on lessons we've learned from past mistakes and past successes. Please consider making a contribution to his campaign, even if just $5 or $10.

This morning Nick addressed his concept of the Public Trust, a concept that's at the core of his campaign to responsibly change the way we run our society. You like Elizabeth Warren? Nick Ruiz takes the next step.

In addition to progressive taxation, and military pullback-- we will have to introduce new and creative ways of financing our society’s needs in the face of globalization. Such an idea is a new federal agency called the Public Trust.
 
Let’s use the recent initial public offering (IPO) by LinkedIn as an example. Roughly 100 million shares were ‘floated,’ or made available, for the IPO. The new federal institution I propose, called the Public Trust, would receive 10 million shares by law, or 10% of the float. Within the Public Trust, federal traders would trade (e.g. buy and sell, long and short) for the profit of the people. Just like any other mutual or hedge fund.
 
On the first day of LinkedIn trade, May 19, 2011-- LinkedIn (LNKD) opened at around $80 per share, and closed at around $95-– that’s a $15 per share profit on the day. Therefore, the Public Trust would have earned around $150 million on day one of trading for that particular stock, which is to say, Main Street would have earned $150 million to use for public sector financing of education, community reinvestment, green energy research and development, various aspects of the U.S. Social Safety Net-- even gas subsidies at the pump, to give consumers some pricing relief.
 
Imagine if the Public Trust, by law, received delivery of 10% of every float (e.g. equities, commodities, derivatives, etc.). Main Street would make billions of dollars in annual revenue for the purpose of reinvestment in America. Make sense? It’s that simple. This would provide sorely needed revenue that the Republicans claim is nowhere to be found.
 
In a world of increasingly sophisticated financialization and distribution of everything-- goods and services, labor, research and development-- the broader public must be able to take part in such global commerce in ways previously unimaginable. Our current employment and prosperity model lags behind what is truly necessary and possible today, and needs a new vision in order to bring public income and prosperity to twenty-first century levels. Wall Street has become unhinged from Main Street, and indeed, is cannibalizing Main Street-- that disrepair must be corrected, if the country as a whole is to prosper.
 
America must never lose the ability to imagine a different set of circumstances. Americans don’t have to live in country where all of the tax breaks, subsidies and prosperity go to Big Oil, global traders and corporations.
 
"Change" is not a slogan.
 
"Change" means doing things differently-- put a progressive Democrat in Congress.

You're never going to see a tweet from Sandy Adams, the corporate shill Nick is running against, like this:


You can contribute to his ability to get out his message here, through ActBlue.

This morning, in light of the message Democrats and independents in the Buffalo suburbs sent to the Republican Party last night, Nick had his own message for Paul Ryan and local lemming Sandy Adams.

"The NY-26 election to Congress of Democrat Kathy Hochul over Republican Jane Corwin last night obliterates any doubt some may have had about whether or not Americans want Medicare. Americans, not only want Medicare, but they will vote out anyone who conspires to weaken or destroy it. Paul Ryan (WI-1)-- this is your wake up call; you should renounce the heinous piece of legislation you have crafted as a mistake. And you should instead, support Raul Grijalva and the CPC's People's Budget. In 2012. Every Republican that voted for Ryan's austerity budget in the House stands to replaced-- including all nineteen of the Florida Republican representatives-- with special notice to my opponent, Sandy Adams (FL-24). The Republicans are fond of mandates, this is their mandate, coming home to them in spades."