What Digby Said [Some paragraphing added for emphasis]:
So you've probably heard about the Big Deal that's (surprise!) congealing today, at the very last minute... I'm a little surprised at how shocked people seem to be. I'ts [sic] about what I expected: trillions in cuts, no revenue, a Super Commission with a mandate to cut even more and an up or down vote requirement, and a trigger with mandated cuts if that Commission vote fails. It's pretty much a combination of the worst aspects of all the Republican plans that have been floated...But, hey; who cares about a few cripples and old farts, anyway? Fox's fall lineup should be full of entertainment -- and there will be new apps for your new iPhone; and there will be new iPads, and Kindles; and cool new clothes!
Unfortunately, the trigger means there will be "entitlement cuts" in the next round:
[Inset quote from HuffingtonPost]Under the new proposal, if the new legislative body composed of 12 members of both parties doesn't come up with a bill that cuts at least $1.8 trillion by Thanksgiving, entitlement programs will automatically be slashed.For me this isn't a shocking disappointment. I have felt that this whole process was a disaster from the beginning and it really doesn't matter to me if the Democrats eke out a couple of concessions about defense cuts or close a few loopholes "in return" for these cuts.
The Super Congress will be made up of six Democrats and six Republicans from both chambers. Under the reported framework, legislation the new congressional committee writes would be fast-tracked through the regular Congress and could not be filibustered or amended.
The parties are negotiating the outlines of the super panel's mandate, deciding roughly how much in cuts must come from defense spending, how much from seniors, how much from veterans, etc.
That isn't "shared sacrifice," it's asking the poorest, oldest and sickest among us to give up a piece of their meager security in exchange for the wealthy giving up some tip money and the defense industry giving up a couple of points of profit.
It's stripping the nation of necessary educational, safety and environmental protections while the wealthy greedily absorb more and more of the nation's wealth and the corporations and financial industry gamble with the rest.
The idea that they are even talking about this at a time of nearly 10% official unemployment with the economy looking like it's going back into recession (if it ever left) makes this debate surreal and bizarre. To cut the safety net and shred discretionary spending in massive numbers at a time like this is mind boggling.
That it's happening under a Democratic President and a Democratic Senate is profoundly depressing.
But it's happening. And sadly, I still think it will be mostly Democrats who end up voting for it.
Of course there will be, silly. There always has been, hasn't there? And the price of alcohol will be pretty stable, so it'll be a good time to PAR-TAY! Sure it will. That will just make up for everything.
Everything.
Won't it?
Noch Einmal, Mit Schwein (via Drudge Lite):
“If the final bill is passed by establishment Republicans and House Democrats and does not include a balanced budget amendment as a requirement, it will be completely unacceptable and will be seen as a violation of the mandate that the tea party and likeminded people gave Republicans in 2010,” said Ryan Hecker, the leader of a crowd-sourced tea party effort called the Contract From America.And as Digby also said, "Just keep in mind that progressives should want to do all this."
“The tea party didn’t help elect Republicans because they liked Republicans. They elected Republicans to give them a second chance. And if they go moderate on this, then they have ruined their second chance, and there will be a real effort to replace them with those who will stand up for economic conservative values,” said Hecker, who helped conservative House Republicans rally support for the amendment.
Und: Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont):
Sen. Bernie Sanders issued the following statement today after he voted against a Senate deficit- reduction proposal:
The Republicans have been absolutely determined to make certain that the rich and large corporations not contribute one penny for deficit reduction, and that all of the sacrifice comes from the middle class and working families in terms of cuts in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, LIHEAP, community health centers, education, Head Start, nutrition, MILC, affordable housing and many other vitally important programs.
I cannot support legislation like the Reid proposal which balances the budget on the backs of struggling Americans while not requiring one penny of sacrifice from the wealthiest people in our country. That is not only grotesquely immoral, it is bad economic policy.
No comments:
Post a Comment