Even this card-carrying, bleeding-heart, partisan, liberal can agree America has too much debt. The great debate is how we accumulated this debt and how we reduce it.
The accumulated of the debt seems like an Econ 101 class: if you spend more than you bring in, you’ll go in debt. But, it’s not that clear. Much of the spending was on two unfunded and ill-advised, bi-partisan wars. More debt was incurred through an unfunded prescription drug benefit. But, all too much of the debt was piled on because of tax cuts started by George W. Bush and continued by President Obama and, perpetuated by the collective clinging to President Reagan’s failed voodoo economics.
Because Congress in unwilling or unable to do its job, it created a “Super Committee” made of 6 from the Democratic Party and 6 from the Republican Party charged with negotiating a $1.2 Trillion deal or forcing automatic and substantial reductions to the Defense budget and social programs.
Many think Republicans in Congress really don’t want to cut defense and Democrats really don’t want to cut social programs, therefore they will really come to an agreement. But, as many GOP members have signed an oath to Grover Norquist to not raise taxes, Vegas bookmakers think the only question regarding the final results of negotiations is, my question is, Will the Democrats on the committee give away the farm or give away the moon?
The richest 400 families in America own more of the wealth of America than the bottom 150 million Americans combined. Will the Super Committee ask them pay any more in taxes? Will they be asked to pay the same rate they did during the Clinton years when they did very, very well economically? Or, is it more likely our elderly will be asked to pay more for their Medicare or take a cut in Social Security? Will the Democratic members give in to the continued call from Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats to cut benefits to our most impoverished Americans and chronically unemployed or unemployable?
Sadly, I predict capitulation and unilateral disarmament by the Democratic members of the Super Committee is forthcoming. I’ll be the first to gleefully point out my mistake if I’m wrong. It is logical to find revenue in tax increases and the removal of tax loopholes for the wealthiest among us to mitigate the expected cuts in government services to the poorest Americans and the already overburdened middle-class. But, my optimism is over-taxed.
During Bush Presidency, Current GOP Leaders Voted 19 Times To Increase Debt Limit By $4 Trillion.
When Bush was in office, the current Republican leaders viewed increasing the debt limit as vital to keeping America’s economy running. But with Obama in the White House, it’s nothing more than a political pawn.
"Keep in mind again, federal candidates, this was a war of Obama's choosing. This is not something the United States had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in."
The Acorn Doesn't Fall Far From the Hypocrite Tree
Liz Cheney, former VP Cheney's daughter was adament about how unnecessary and partisan it was to call for investigations into the Bush/Cheney regime's torture decisions, or Darth Cheney's secret meetings with oil companies and other pollutors to develop their Energy Policy. But, let Joe Sestak, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama have a discussion regarding Sestak's Sentorial plans and a full-blown investigation of the highest order is necessary.
"There is a lot here that just smells funny", she says in the interview. If the smell test is her criteria, it's good she finally had that olfactory surgery to get her nose working again. It seemed to malfunction for eight years.
Amid complaints about high taxes and calls for a smaller government, Americans paid their lowest level of taxes last year since Harry Truman's presidency, a USA TODAY analysis of federal data found.
Some conservative political movements such as the "Tea Party" have criticized federal spending as being out of control. While spending is up, taxes have fallen to exceptionally low levels.
Federal, state and local taxes — including income, property, sales and other taxes — consumed 9.2% of all personal income in 2009, the lowest rate since 1950, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reports. That rate is far below the historic average of 12% for the last half-century. The overall tax burden hit bottom in December at 8.8.% of income before rising slightly in the first three months of 2010.
"The idea that taxes are high right now is pretty much nuts,"...
Congressman Dave Reichert, on the other hand, can't seem to answer the question. In his defense, it looks like he knows it bullshit, but he just can't bring himself to say it.
According to Goforth, she received a letter of reprimand, but will keep her job. When we hear of any Republicans expressing their outrage, we'll pass it on.
“Is this indicative of what Senate Republicans think about our Commander-in-Chief?” Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Chip Forrester asked. “This email is reprehensible, insults the office of the President, and is embarrassing to all Tennesseans regardless of political party.
“I am calling on Sen. Black to reject this racist smear and fire this staffer who, on state government time, on state government computers, using a state government email account, launched this bigoted attack on our president,” Forrester said. “Keeping her on the staff would send the message that this type of behavior is condoned by the Senate Republican Caucus.
“Ms. Goforth does not seem to understand what she did wrong. She has apologized for ‘sending [the email] to the wrong list of people.’ I believe that any list of people would have recognized this email as offensive and hateful. The fact that a state employee would not understand that indicates that she is not fit for employment by the state of Tennessee.
“We have hundreds of state employees facing the possibility of losing their jobs due to the budget deficit and no fault of their own. I think we could save at least one of those jobs by firing Sherri Goforth.”
After watching two of the three senate committee hearings that dealt with heath care, I was reminded of a saying I once heard but for the life of me I can’t remember where I heard it: There is nothing more reliable than a man whose loyalty can be bought for hard cash.That pretty much sums up what passes for democracy in the United States at this time.I often tell my students, half in jest (although the humor often escapes them) that if democracy worked for the benefit of the people it would be illegal.
Some background is in order in case you missed the hearings.
President Obama and the Democratic congressional leaders have promised that they are going to fix our broken health care system.Finally.After all, it has only been sixty years since President Truman tried to initiate a system that would cover every person in the country rather than leave 45 million people without health care and another 50 million underinsured.23,000 people die every year in the United States because they do not have health insurance.Millions of people have said, “enough is enough.We must have a system that covers everyone.”
Health care is the talk of Washington and the airwaves.Obama and the insurance companies announced at the White House that the benevolent health care industry has agreed to cut health care costs by 1.5 percent over the next decade, saving $2 trillion.Mind you they also exacted a price:government will keep its hands off health care’s billions and billions of profits.
On capital hill the congress is holding hearings to devise ways to expand the broken system we have now: higher premiums; higher co-pays; higher deductibles while 14,000 workers loose their health care every day in this depression.Congress invited representatives of the health care industry, insurance companies, big pharma, and just about anyone who would reap profits from maintaining the current system to speak.They talked, and talked, and talked.
But some alternatives were not being talked about at all except by demonstrators whom the capital police hauled away and arrested.Their crime?To demand that representatives who favor a publicly financed, single-payer health care system be allowed at the table.Those filthy pinko, commie, fags.
Why is single payer not at the table?Members of the House and Senate are being loyal.The loyalty of members of the House and Senate have been bought for hard cash.The health care industry, which spent more than $500 million dollars in the last year on lobbying and campaign contributions, has great faith in the reliability ofthe members whom they have bought.Max Baucus, the chair of the Senate committee, received more money from the health care industry than any other member of congress.Every other member of the committee also received money from the industry.
“In 2003,” Bill Moyers reported last week, “a young Illinois state senator named Barack Obama told a local AFL-CIO meeting, ‘I am a proponent of a single-payer universal health care program.’There was only one thing standing in the way, Obama said six years ago:‘all of you know we might not get there immediately because first we have to take back the White House, we have to take back the Senate and we have to take back the House’”
Democrats now have the White House and the Senate and the House.What the hell happened to single-payer universal health care?
