Repeat after me:
The House Republican budget adds $6 trillion to the debt in the next decade yet the GOP is balking at raising the debt limit.
The House Republican budget adds $6 trillion to the debt in the next decade yet the GOP is balking at raising the debt limit.
The House Republican budget adds $6 trillion to the debt in the next decade yet the GOP is balking at raising the debt limit.
The House Republican budget adds $6 trillion to the debt in the next decade yet the GOP is balking at raising the debt limit.
The House Republican budget adds $6 trillion to the debt in the next decade yet the GOP is balking at raising the debt limit.
The House Republican budget adds $6 trillion to the debt in the next decade yet the GOP is balking at raising the debt limit.
The House Republican budget adds $6 trillion to the debt in the next decade yet the GOP is balking at raising the debt limit.
The House Republican budget adds $6 trillion to the debt in the next decade yet the GOP is balking at raising the debt limit.
The House Republican budget adds $6 trillion to the debt in the next decade yet the GOP is balking at raising the debt limit.
The House Republican budget adds $6 trillion to the debt in the next decade yet the GOP is balking at raising the debt limit.
Got it?
The CBO found that spending cuts in the Republican plan would be outpaced by deficit increasing tax cuts for the rich. I do NOT understand why the press doesn’t shove this fact in front of every Republican who says the debt limit cannot be raised unless their new spending cuts are put in place. The Republican plan – written by Paul Ryan – contains everything Republicans can think of in terms of spending cuts and would add more debt than we have ever seen over a 10-year period in American history! Yet Ryan and other House GOP leaders continue to make outrageous statements to the contrary – without being embarrassed and without anyone calling them on it.
In contrast to the Republican budget, the CBO said, "the economic feedback from the President’s proposals would increase their cumulative impact on deficits from 2012 through 2016 – which is estimated to be nearly $1.0 trillion excluding any aggregate economic effects – by between $10 billion and $30 billion. From 2017 to 2021, the effects of the proposals on the economy could further boost the cumulative increase in deficits – estimated to be about $1.8 trillion, excluding any aggregate economic effects – by as much as $217 billion or could reduce it by up to $8 billion" because "projected deficits fall due to the tax base increasing even when gross national product (GNP) decreases."
It is ironic that the Republicans always talk about how the Democrats are always trying to redistribute wealth. Yet you get redistribution of wealth with this plan – except the money is being redistributed from the poor and the middle class to the rich. They say it is so that the rich will create new jobs for America. Yeah, right. If you believe that, have a look at George Bush's record of job creation. We lost millions of jobs to other countries like Mexico and India during his two terms.
Robbing from the poor to pay the rich. It doesn’t make sense, does it?
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Time to stand up to the bullies
Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) declared last week that if Senate Democrats refused to accept “a modest down payment on fiscal discipline and reform, I say, ‘Shut it down!’ ” And the crowd of about 100 Tea Partiers echoed: “Shut it down!
As the shouting persisted, it became clear that the government of the most powerful country in the world was being held hostage by a band of fanatics who (1) represent a very small proportion of our population; (2) hate government so much that they relished the idea of closing its doors, no matter the cost; and (3) have neither respect nor patience for the normal democratic give-and-take between competing parties and points of view.
In no other modern country do threats to shut down the government become a routine way of doing business. Because the Tea Partiers in the House were eager for a shutdown and President Obama was so determined to avoid one – and to stay out of the spotlight until the final days – Speaker John Boehner had the upper hand.
In our repertoire of American dysfunction, we are on the verge of adding shutdown abuse to another abuse – the filibuster in the Senate.
Republicans won an extension of tax cuts for the wealthy in December and now one on spending cuts. But at least Obama got some economic stimulus out of last year’s tax deal. The latest agreement on $38 billion in cuts – about 3/4th of the cuts they wanted – which will cause a modest setback to the economy. Thankfully, the administration and Senate leader Harry Reid pushed Boehner toward more “sensible” cuts, protected important programs such as Head Start, and stopped the GOP’s proposed policy changes on family planning, the environment, and other issues. But to my horror, Republicans, with control of just one house of Congress, defined the terms of debate.
Obama’s argument is that government action is essential in making the United States more competitive, innovative, and in expanding opportunity for Americans who are being left behind. By distancing himself from this round of the budget debate, the president forfeited an opening to challenge the anti-government assumptions embedded in Republican arguments that are shaped far more by the Tea Party than the movement’s numbers in the country or its falling poll ratings would justify.
The vast majority of Americans oppose shutdowns. They do not share the aggressive antagonism toward government that is distorting our politics. Unless Obama gives voice to this sensible sentiment, we will face more episodes like this one. For if government is turned into something evil, no one has an obligation to stewardship of its institutions. Recklessness in pursuit of political victory becomes a virtue. Indifference to those who are served by or work in government becomes a badge of honor. In those Tea Party shouts of “Shut it down,” the “it” drips with contempt for the government – and as far as I am concerned, contempt for America. We cheer when drug dens or terrorist havens are shut down. There should be no glee over shutting down our American government.
Threatening the functioning of our government is not an acceptable tactic in a democracy! Period.
The Tea Party seems to be composed of small minds, small hearts, and little patriotism, I think, with their attitude of give-me-all-I-want-or-I-will-do-all-I-can-to-wreck-the-government-and-the-country. Hitler once told his commanders to lay waste to all of Germany because Germany had failed him. Sound familiar?
Obama seems to take the long strategic view. By sacrificing a pawn today, he may be much better positioned to do battle on the debt ceiling issue in May. At that time he needs the courage to defend the government he leads. He needs to declare that he will no longer bargain with those who use threats to shut down the government or force it to default on its debt as tools of intimidation.
I am most concerned that Obama is moving center-right in order to please the independent voters so that he has a chance at re-election. He once said that he would rather be a very good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president. I can only hope that once he is re-elected, he will move back to center-left and stand up to the Tea Party bullies.
As the shouting persisted, it became clear that the government of the most powerful country in the world was being held hostage by a band of fanatics who (1) represent a very small proportion of our population; (2) hate government so much that they relished the idea of closing its doors, no matter the cost; and (3) have neither respect nor patience for the normal democratic give-and-take between competing parties and points of view.
In no other modern country do threats to shut down the government become a routine way of doing business. Because the Tea Partiers in the House were eager for a shutdown and President Obama was so determined to avoid one – and to stay out of the spotlight until the final days – Speaker John Boehner had the upper hand.
In our repertoire of American dysfunction, we are on the verge of adding shutdown abuse to another abuse – the filibuster in the Senate.
Republicans won an extension of tax cuts for the wealthy in December and now one on spending cuts. But at least Obama got some economic stimulus out of last year’s tax deal. The latest agreement on $38 billion in cuts – about 3/4th of the cuts they wanted – which will cause a modest setback to the economy. Thankfully, the administration and Senate leader Harry Reid pushed Boehner toward more “sensible” cuts, protected important programs such as Head Start, and stopped the GOP’s proposed policy changes on family planning, the environment, and other issues. But to my horror, Republicans, with control of just one house of Congress, defined the terms of debate.
Obama’s argument is that government action is essential in making the United States more competitive, innovative, and in expanding opportunity for Americans who are being left behind. By distancing himself from this round of the budget debate, the president forfeited an opening to challenge the anti-government assumptions embedded in Republican arguments that are shaped far more by the Tea Party than the movement’s numbers in the country or its falling poll ratings would justify.
The vast majority of Americans oppose shutdowns. They do not share the aggressive antagonism toward government that is distorting our politics. Unless Obama gives voice to this sensible sentiment, we will face more episodes like this one. For if government is turned into something evil, no one has an obligation to stewardship of its institutions. Recklessness in pursuit of political victory becomes a virtue. Indifference to those who are served by or work in government becomes a badge of honor. In those Tea Party shouts of “Shut it down,” the “it” drips with contempt for the government – and as far as I am concerned, contempt for America. We cheer when drug dens or terrorist havens are shut down. There should be no glee over shutting down our American government.
Threatening the functioning of our government is not an acceptable tactic in a democracy! Period.
The Tea Party seems to be composed of small minds, small hearts, and little patriotism, I think, with their attitude of give-me-all-I-want-or-I-will-do-all-I-can-to-wreck-the-government-and-the-country. Hitler once told his commanders to lay waste to all of Germany because Germany had failed him. Sound familiar?
Obama seems to take the long strategic view. By sacrificing a pawn today, he may be much better positioned to do battle on the debt ceiling issue in May. At that time he needs the courage to defend the government he leads. He needs to declare that he will no longer bargain with those who use threats to shut down the government or force it to default on its debt as tools of intimidation.
I am most concerned that Obama is moving center-right in order to please the independent voters so that he has a chance at re-election. He once said that he would rather be a very good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president. I can only hope that once he is re-elected, he will move back to center-left and stand up to the Tea Party bullies.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Under the disguise of deficit reduction
Even though the deficit did not matter to the Republicans when they were in control of the government, now that we have a Democrat as President they say we have to quit spending and adopt austerity, no matter the consequences – no matter that it will greatly hurt the most vulnerable people in our republic. To convince the public that it has to be done, the national budget is compared to a household, business or personal budget. In such circumstances it is true that one can not continue to incur increasing debt without going broke – unless income is increased at the same time.
But businesses, individuals, and the government can continuously carry debt as long as they keep up the payments.
The main difference between private debt and public debt is the ability to keep income coming in. Private debt does not necessarily have that ability. If the economy turns sour, a business or individual does not get needed income, they can default – or declare bankruptcy. The government has the ability to keep its income coming in. The United States must pay its debt – defaulting on our debt is out of the question. No matter what the ideology of one party or another, even though they threaten to shut down the government, none of them are really willing to have the government default on its debt.
We are stuck in an economic crisis that was largely the result of "Free Market" classical theory. That ideology failed. We have the proof of that failure – the Great Recession. But even so, the conservatives are unable to accept the facts and wish to continue on the same destructive path of cutting taxes for the rich because they are the ones who provide the jobs – only over the past 12 years those jobs have been provided to other countries, not Americans. Not only history but actual events do not seem to deter them from continuing to avoid taxes while they ship American jobs overseas. They believe what they believe – that their bottom line matter most. So they, through Fox “News” have brainwashed a willing right leaning faction of our pubic. To this particular group of people facts do not matter, only what they believe in their guts matter. And their guts tell them that Reagan’s trickle down theory works despite facts to the contrary.
Here are some facts:
1. The austerity policies of the Hoover administration, especially Andrew Mellon's advice to "liquidate" labor, stocks, farmers, and real estate to "purge the rottenness from the system" made the economy worse during the Depression era. Democrats ran successfully against "Hooverism" for forty years.
2. The budget was balanced as recently as the Clinton administration with Alan Greenspan worrying publicly that a rapidly disappearing national debt might not be good for the economy.
3. Rapidly rising inequality in both income and wealth is one of the most common indicators of a banana republic. Adjusting the progressive tax rate structure (i.e. having the rich pay just 3% more as they did under Clinton and Reagan) is a quick way to address that and reduce the deficit at the same time.
We know from past experience that cutting government spending in hard times leads to harder times (research the economic policies of Hoover). But classical economic theory says that in order to spend, the government must print money – which devalues the currency and causes inflation. That is what was done in the 1930s to put people to work. As a result, people could not afford to buy more than the basic necessities, with 25% of the population unable to afford that. That tells us that the classical economic theory does not work they way people think it should.
By saying that public debt is the same as private debt, Republicans have managed to convince a large segment of the public that the government is going broke. Of course they did not use that argument when the financing of the disastrous invasion and occupation if Iraq was in question. It is only now because they are suddenly beholden to those economic troglodytes, the Tea Party activists, who have some say in their re-election.
The far right demands that jobs be created while, at the same time, they are putting blocks in the way of any job creation policy. This demagoguery is testimony to their hypocrisy. It certainly makes one wonder if they really believe austerity is in the best interest of the country or are they doing this, as they have stated frequently, to push the Obama into failure? If the conservatives can keep the unemployment rate high, they just might be able to blame it on the President.
Using a constant barrage of FALSE facts and equivocations, scare tactics, and appeals to prejudices, Republicans have been able to convince a substantial sector of the public of their ‘righteousness’ – all to the detriment of good economic activity. It does not seem to matter to the conservative faction that their policies cause unemployment, that ‘trickle down economics’ does cause wealth to trickle down to the middle and lower classes, as long as the wealth continues to accumulate among the already rich and powerful.
That leads me to the conclusion that being in power is the ultimate goal of the right – not helping this country pull out of a recession. It is their mission to convince the American public that austerity and deficit reduction is necessary and proper – while at the same time greatly reducing the taxes for millionaires – even if it destroys the fabric of this country. They seemed to be accomplishing their goal until the public in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and other states, woke up to the realization that under the disguise of deficit reduction they were being stripped of what little money and rights they had left in order to feed more profits to the Robber Barons’ Machine.
But businesses, individuals, and the government can continuously carry debt as long as they keep up the payments.
The main difference between private debt and public debt is the ability to keep income coming in. Private debt does not necessarily have that ability. If the economy turns sour, a business or individual does not get needed income, they can default – or declare bankruptcy. The government has the ability to keep its income coming in. The United States must pay its debt – defaulting on our debt is out of the question. No matter what the ideology of one party or another, even though they threaten to shut down the government, none of them are really willing to have the government default on its debt.
We are stuck in an economic crisis that was largely the result of "Free Market" classical theory. That ideology failed. We have the proof of that failure – the Great Recession. But even so, the conservatives are unable to accept the facts and wish to continue on the same destructive path of cutting taxes for the rich because they are the ones who provide the jobs – only over the past 12 years those jobs have been provided to other countries, not Americans. Not only history but actual events do not seem to deter them from continuing to avoid taxes while they ship American jobs overseas. They believe what they believe – that their bottom line matter most. So they, through Fox “News” have brainwashed a willing right leaning faction of our pubic. To this particular group of people facts do not matter, only what they believe in their guts matter. And their guts tell them that Reagan’s trickle down theory works despite facts to the contrary.
Here are some facts:
1. The austerity policies of the Hoover administration, especially Andrew Mellon's advice to "liquidate" labor, stocks, farmers, and real estate to "purge the rottenness from the system" made the economy worse during the Depression era. Democrats ran successfully against "Hooverism" for forty years.
2. The budget was balanced as recently as the Clinton administration with Alan Greenspan worrying publicly that a rapidly disappearing national debt might not be good for the economy.
3. Rapidly rising inequality in both income and wealth is one of the most common indicators of a banana republic. Adjusting the progressive tax rate structure (i.e. having the rich pay just 3% more as they did under Clinton and Reagan) is a quick way to address that and reduce the deficit at the same time.
We know from past experience that cutting government spending in hard times leads to harder times (research the economic policies of Hoover). But classical economic theory says that in order to spend, the government must print money – which devalues the currency and causes inflation. That is what was done in the 1930s to put people to work. As a result, people could not afford to buy more than the basic necessities, with 25% of the population unable to afford that. That tells us that the classical economic theory does not work they way people think it should.
By saying that public debt is the same as private debt, Republicans have managed to convince a large segment of the public that the government is going broke. Of course they did not use that argument when the financing of the disastrous invasion and occupation if Iraq was in question. It is only now because they are suddenly beholden to those economic troglodytes, the Tea Party activists, who have some say in their re-election.
The far right demands that jobs be created while, at the same time, they are putting blocks in the way of any job creation policy. This demagoguery is testimony to their hypocrisy. It certainly makes one wonder if they really believe austerity is in the best interest of the country or are they doing this, as they have stated frequently, to push the Obama into failure? If the conservatives can keep the unemployment rate high, they just might be able to blame it on the President.
Using a constant barrage of FALSE facts and equivocations, scare tactics, and appeals to prejudices, Republicans have been able to convince a substantial sector of the public of their ‘righteousness’ – all to the detriment of good economic activity. It does not seem to matter to the conservative faction that their policies cause unemployment, that ‘trickle down economics’ does cause wealth to trickle down to the middle and lower classes, as long as the wealth continues to accumulate among the already rich and powerful.
That leads me to the conclusion that being in power is the ultimate goal of the right – not helping this country pull out of a recession. It is their mission to convince the American public that austerity and deficit reduction is necessary and proper – while at the same time greatly reducing the taxes for millionaires – even if it destroys the fabric of this country. They seemed to be accomplishing their goal until the public in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and other states, woke up to the realization that under the disguise of deficit reduction they were being stripped of what little money and rights they had left in order to feed more profits to the Robber Barons’ Machine.
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