Intro: "Republicans portray themselves as champions of fiscal responsibility. But as Michael Tomasky argues, they need the debt to push through their radical and unpopular agenda."
GOP Senators Orin Hatch and Mitch McConnell spaek to reporters on Capitol Hill, 06/29/11. (photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
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Granny, this undercover "KochTeaRethug" live in a dimension of the "Twilight Zone," that was never mentioned Rod Serling in the opening credits; it's called the "Clueless Sector."
So hit the road you KochBaggerRethu glican! Go back to your own losers' blogsites and bore each other to death with your lies.
Just have to say THANK YOU angelfish! I do so hope you're correct
What is very discouraging is that Obama conceded all of the Bush tax cuts in exchange for partial paltry unemployment benefits....and did not at the time start to make it clear that this would exacerbate the debt situation.
And now he is on to the "Just like your family, the federal govt...etc etc
I would propose that social justice such as it is existed for a brief moment in response to the threat of communism. Since the collapse of the world-wide left, and the new imperialism of globalisation....(not just the raw materials from the 3rd world....also cheap cheap labor)
Since then, the war on the working class, on the middle class is vicious and savage.
Hard times....hard times.
The US is politically totally dysfunctional. It cannot address the real problems it faces because the right wing has created so many fantasies and boogiemen to scare people. We are in the case described exactly by Adam Curtis' "Power of Nightmares." We are scared of shadows like the national debt, unfunded mandates, welfare, social security and so on -- all of which are not problems. The real problem is the cost of empire and the steady reduction in corporate income taxes.
America does not have a financial crisis. The world's dozen or so biggest banks have a financial crisis. They have about 600 to 1000 trillion dollars of bad debt and investments on their books. They are determined to make the governments of the world "re-capitalize them"; that is, buy out all of their bad debts. In order to do that, the living standards of every human on earth will have to go down dramatically. That is what the Republicans and Democrats are committed to doing -- solving the debt crisis of big banks.
Wake up America before it is too late.
Either approach is totally irresponsible and irrational and is contrary to any possible logical association with the word "conservative".
Only the Federal and State, Local Monies are not theirs. So it is time to put your taxes into escrow...let them eat crow! Where is cheney's gun when you need it?
Actually the money belongs to all Americans. When you talk about your family budget, all income is pooled, then split up. First you pay for food, shelter, medical, and expenses related to maintaining an income. Next you make sure each family member has sufficient funds corresponding to their standing as a money earner, chore doer or favorite kid. The last thing you put in your budget is for a howitzer to blow up your neighbor's house.
The US is buying the Howitzers first, keep all the money away from those that have little or no income.
Holding back our taxes will only serve as a reason to point the howitzers at us.
But, when it comes to "money" how about two basic demands:
1) public employee pension funds should be controlled by the employees and not given over to the investment banks and private money managers. here in nyc the public pension funds have more than $100 billion in assets. Think what we could do with $100 billion. How about pulling all of these funds out of wall street and starting a real community development bank which makes investments by building affordable housing for its members as well as other working class people?
2) how about creating genuine public financial institutions? The state of North Dakota has its own state bank. this means when the state has to borrow monies it borrows from itself and given that it considers itself a pretty good risk it gives itself a decent interest rate. North Dakota is the only state in the union without serious fiscal woes. Think what we could do with public control of public monies!
You is bad, bad people. Busness will show us jobs and even let some of us work at them! The bosses will get lots of money, giving us poor dumb slobs an incentive to work as hard as they do and get a promotion to be a rich boss, so we can play golf all day.
No, no; this is a very, very bad, bad evil, idea.
"We see it all over the place. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Ohio Governor John Kasich could have behaved more like other governors around the country who’ve won labor concessions, like New York Democrat Andrew Cuomo".
So, the alternative to Scott Walker is Andrew Cuomo? Sorry folks but this is not a real alternative. Cuomo's budget was the same attack on working people as the ones coming from those that Thomasky sees as the "evil republicans." It also cuts other vital services to the states most needy and vulnerable citizens. It is an outrage and the fact that organized labor and the rest of the working population did not have the power to fight back is a trajedy.
For those not from New York -- the reason Cuomo "needed" "concessions" from labor is that he refused to reinstitute the millionaires tax for the wealthiest New Yorkers and has not called for the state to actually collect the stock tranfer tax that is already on the books. These two things alone would give NY State billions in surplus.
It's time for us to totally reject this kind of "kindler and gentler" austerity from the likes of Mr. Thomasky and the rest of the neoliberal class and propose real alternatives.
"We see it all over the place. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Ohio Governor John Kasich could have behaved more like other governors around the country who’ve won labor concessions, like New York Democrat Andrew Cuomo."
So, Andrew Cuomo (and other like-minded neo-liberal democrats) is the alternative? Sorry, Mr. Tomasky, no way.
For those not from NY, the only reason Cuomo "needed" "concessions" was that he refused to restore the state's millionaires tax or to collect the stock transfer tax still on the books. These two things alone would give NYS a huge surplus. So, no Mr. Tomasky, Cuomo-like democrats who call for a "kinder, gentler" austerity is no alternative at all (Mayor Michale Bloomberg is also calling for similar draconian cuts even though the city still has a surplus!).
Cuomo's budget is every bit as much of an attack on working people, the poor, the elderly etc., as what has been proposed by those "evil republicans" that Tomasky decries...and now, Cuomo's big economic development plan for the depressed upstate region is to lift the ban on hydrolic fracturing.
Mr. Tomasky is in fact not proposing any alternative at all.
How come it has taken this long for anyone out there who calls themselves a Reporter, especially a POLITICAL Reporter who has an actual public commentary outlet to express themselves to thousands, if not millions of readers, to begin to REALIZE AND EXPRESS THE STARK RAVING FACT THAT THE DEFICITS RUN UP UNDER BuSh WERE DELIBERATE..?
After 20 years of trying to Legislate a 'Smaller Government' (impotent government) into existence on behalf of Global Corporate Want and GREED, the Bushie-NeoCON-GOPS--> National Backstabbers and Manipulators, decided to simply drain the treasury into their Global Corporate Sponsors' Pockets, run up massive, overwhelming deficits and hence, STARVE THE GOVERNMENT TO DEATH- i.e.- STARVE THE ENTIRE NEW DEAL, GREAT SOCIETY, MODERN US GOVERNMENT FRAMEWORK TO DEATH, right along with everything created under that framework, Social Security, Medicare, Worker Rights, EPA, OSHA, FDA, You name it... Anything and everything that 'INTERFERES' with Global Corporate Profits. Such as those pesky REGULATIONS and those profit shrinking TAXES and those damned revenue shrinking SOCIAL PROGRAMS.
Its all about GREED.
And its all being sold as the path to prosperity for ALL through 'American' Media which is now almost exclusively owned and exploited by just a very few GLOBAL Corporations for the sake of GLOBAL Corporations.
REPUBLICANS are NOT wasting their invested monies in their own businesses....They ARE wasting America's dollars they have not contributed their fair share to maintain our NATION financial stability.
If they were not EXEMPT from the many TAX BREAKS they receive as ENTITLEMENTS, they would rethink and refocus their values for our nation with a REAL Budget. If Republicans were locked into the same health care system they place all POOR citizens into, they would rethink and refocus. If the Republicans were TAXED HIGHER for their CORPORATE OWNED businesses in other countries thereby out-sourcing jobs, they would rethink and refocus and increase employment in our Nation they serve as ELECTED OFFICIALS. They would rethink and refocus!
Republicans are HYPOCRITS! They are FORGETTING our NATION is a Melting Pot of Multi-race of people, a land of Plenty, Opportunities, Liberty, Freedom etc.
Albeit, they are trying to undermine and strip away the rights of the poor disadvanted, the unemployed, etc. They will be right here seeing the devestation they are pouring out in our Nation. Only their MISFORTUNES will be WORSE! They will curse themselves!!
This technique was used by Henry Ford to build his company from a firm operated out of a garage to an empire. His workers could buy homes--he even helped them get financing. And above all, Ford employees could buy Ford cars.
A return to this concept will mean more disposable income, more consumption, more production to fill demand (as long as we don't send it to China), and more taxes paid (plus lower unemployment).
The government isn't going to bring this about. But Wal-Mart, whose employees cannot afford to shop there and have been known to receive food stamp applications with their employment paperwork, could be a trendsetter with ease. It worked in Sam Walton's day--it can again.
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