Paul Krugman writes: "But let's be frank. It's getting harder and harder to trust Mr. Obama's motives in the budget fight, given the way his economic rhetoric has veered to the right. In fact, if all you did was listen to his speeches, you might conclude that he basically shares the GOP's diagnosis of what ails our economy and what should be done to fix it."
Portrait, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, 06/15/09. (photo: Fred R. Conrad/NYT)
What Obama Wants
08 July 11
On Thursday, President Obama met with Republicans to discuss a debt deal. We don't know exactly what was proposed, but news reports before the meeting suggested that Mr. Obama is offering huge spending cuts, possibly including cuts to Social Security and an end to Medicare's status as a program available in full to all Americans, regardless of income.
Obviously, the details matter a lot, but progressives, and Democrats in general, are understandably very worried. Should they be? In a word, yes.
Now, this might just be theater: Mr. Obama may be pulling an anti-Corleone, making Republicans an offer they can't accept. The reports say that the Obama plan also involves significant new revenues, a notion that remains anathema to the Republican base. So the goal may be to paint the GOP into a corner, making Republicans look like intransigent extremists - which they are.
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You either learn to play the game or sit on the sidelines and watch; but don't get your panties all in a bunch over it. Life goes on.
It is a game with very well known and understood rules. Obama is playing to lose. He's been bought off. The basic move in political games is control the frame and context of the debate. Obama has allowed the republicans an uncontested free hand in doing that. They have posed the problem as spending in the very long term -- 30 years. Their problem is the so-called "unfunded liabilities" the USG has for Social Security and Medicare over the next 30 years. They are simply ignoring the budget problems of this year.
The correct frame or context is past 10 years -- war and massive tax cuts for the rich, all on borrowed money. The long term debt, the unfunded mandates, are actually already planned for.
The republicans want to steal money from the future (i.e., people's social security income) and spend it today on war and tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. This is what Obama should be making clear to the people. Instead, he plays entirely on the republican frame. What an idiot! Or a traitor!
First is the notion that cutting government services and consequently jobs, will in any sane universe revive the job market. Second, is as Paul Krugman points out, the irrational belief that both sides of a disagreement are defacto both right.
With each fiscal 'crisis' since Obama has become President, he walks over to the right another step. Each time we see the results do not help the economy. All the recovery we have seen came from the center position where Obama started. As he walks over to the right, the economic recovery stumbles. And still he believes them,
Maybe, Obama is not as intelligent as he talks?
I really hope that from the group of Sen. Sanders, ex Sen. Feingold, Gov. Howard Dean, ex Rep Weiner, ex Rep Grayson, Rep Ellison and many others, including Van Jones; leaders with the chutzpah to tell the Republicans they have failed, now let the people with functioning brains run the show.
Oh, and end the wars, already; for crying out loud!
NO JOBS = NO TAX REVENUES = NO CONSUMER SPENDING = DEATH OF COMPANIES/ RESORTS ETC.
THE REPUGNICANS DON'T EVEN HAVE THE COMMON SENSE FORD HAD when he made sure is auto workers could afford to BUY the cars they were slaving over!
All goes nowhere. The MSM ignore the marches, no matter how many show up. At Best the Progressive Budget is laughed off because it cannot be passed.
We are wide awake and know exactly what is happening. We know who is backing who. We write our Congessmen and send our $$ to progressive groups that get villified.
You are damn right we are crying.
But still I am optimistic, the American public is waking up. THe MSM and the politicians are, as usual, way behind.
I really am.
The telephone number for the White House is 202-456-1414 or 202-456-llll.
Obama blew it, and there's likely no recovery. I can only home the Dems and those of us who have left the party and are now independent can come up with a positive, dynamic leader who cares most about our nation and world for the 2012 election.
We are nearing the end of the road. We need a great President.
"Government has to start living within its means, just like families do."
I watched in disgust as my gazzilionaire brother-in-law (formerly head of a major American airline and later the head of the 2nd largest advertising agency in the world) whined that his Social Security check hadn't yet come in the mail. This guy owns 3 multi-million dollar houses!!!
And we (the little guy) are supposed to live within our means so that this guy can get another check!!!????? WTF!
Right now, we have two major political parties. The Rich Party and the Richer Party.
What's become obvious is the need for a STRONG Third Party.
Maybe we should form a Poor Party. And since we're poor, alternative methods would be needed to get the country's attention.
Imagine if all the credit card processing clerks in the country went on strike. Just for one day!!!?
And the next day all the bank clerks went on strike for just one day!!?
Etc,etc.... Etcetera
Social Security should be paid on all of your income, and if that represents unduly high levels, then by all means, reduce it to 2% or 3% of income for everybody.
Hillary is/was no Progressive either. And the progressive candidate, Kucinich, was only invited to the debates so he could provide a comedic break by answering questions about space aliens.
Obama was the only hope. Pun very much intended.
The MSM, including MSNBC only to a lesser extent, marginalizes the Left, while they legitimize the far right. Even when they point out out how crazy these right wingers are, they still point out that they have many followers. A lefty says something and it is described as an untenable proposition.
Case in point, the budget debate and the Right Wing no tax increase position vs. the Progressive Budget's no cuts to the so-called entitlement programs.
The first is called crazy, but is something that could happen, the latter is mentioned in passing as something that cannot happen, so why discuss it.
The same happens to candidates.
We desperately need government spending to upgrade our infrastructure - that alone will bring jobs.
In what universe is cutting Medicare and Social Security going to bring about more jobs?
(Its Friday, we gotta have some humor)
Obama is a sock puppet for the bankers and corporations like GE -- in short, the investor class. Their main goal is to transfer a ton of the money that goes into social security and medicare to themselves. No republican could ever do that. But a democrat, esp. an Obama, could get away with it. And that is just what he is doing.
In this sense a republican president is better than Obama. When Bush set out to use the political capital of his second victory to "reform" (i.e., destroy) social security, he was stopped, dead in his tracks after the first week. The same would happen to any republican. But a democrat will do the same thing and not be questioned. The mass media just cannot understand the principle of "trangulation" or the British "third way." It is too deep for them. But it is really only getting a democrat to do what the republicans want.
The very least the Dems could do is explain how tax cuts placed by the Rep are subsidized by taxes on the lower earners.
Peter Brazaitis
facts.
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