Q&A: Van Jones, Rebuild the Dream

Aired 09/04/11I am currently focusing the show on the breakdown and restoration of the American Dream. Recent guests include Rob Johnson, Richard Eskow, Drew Dellinger, Jacob Hacker, Paul Pierson, and David Cay Johnston. Today I'll be joined by VAN JONES, co-Founder and President of REBUILD THE DREAM. Learn more at rebuildthedream.com Introducing the American Dream Movement, Jones said, "It is the American Dream that the GOP's "slash and burn" agenda is killing off. We need a movement dedicated to renewing the idea that hard work pays in our country; that you can make it if you try; that America remains a land committed to dignity, justice and opportunity for all. Right now, this very idea is on the GOP chopping block. And we must rescue it now -- or risk losing it forever.America will not make it through this crisis healthy and whole if -- at the first sign of trouble -- we are willing to throw away our teachers, police officers, firefighters, nurses and others who make our communities and country strong. Their daily work is essential to the smooth functioning and long-term success of our nation. An attack on them is an attack on the backbone of America. Nobody objects to politicians cutting budgetary fat. But the GOP program everywhere is so reckless that it would actually cut muscle, bone and marrow, too. This approach is both shortsighted and immoral. We should rise up against it -- in our millions."VAN JONES is Co-Founder and President of REBUILD THE DREAM, and a co-founder of three other successful non-profit organizations: the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Color of Change and Green For All. Jones served as the green jobs advisor in the Obama White House in 2009, and is currently a senior fellow at the Center For American Progress and a senior policy advisor at Green For All. He holds a joint appointment at Princeton University, as a distinguished visiting fellow in both the Center for African American Studies and in the Program in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He is the author of The Green Collar Economy.http://ourfuture.org/conference 10 CRITICAL STEPS TO GET OUR ECONOMY BACK ON TRACKI. Invest in America's InfrastructureII. Create 21st Century Energy JobsIII. Invest in Public EducationIV. Offer Medicare for AllV. Make Work PayVI. Secure Social SecurityVII. Return to Fairer Tax RatesVIII. End the Wars and Invest at HomeIX. Tax Wall Street SpeculationX. Strengthen Democracy