Crossposted from Hillbilly Report.
It goes to show just how dysfunctional our government has become to ordinary Americans. Despite the fact that millions of us are still out of work because of the greed and excess of the last thirty years and resulting crashed economy politicians cannot focus on real problems. They must manufacture them and use them to call for more pain from those who can least afford it while rewarding those who could and in fact those who caused the problems to begin with. Now with an ineffective Democratic President that agrees more with Republicans than his own party constantly rolling over we have gotten a very bad deal to solve a manufactured crisis.
Because this deal catered completely to Republicans. While they got huge spending cuts they did not give up one cent in revenue increases. Despite the bully pulpit our President let them drive the debate away from real problems and ignore the reality most Americans live in:
This proposed debt ceiling deal tentatively concludes a needlessly manufactured crisis and will do great harm to our nation. The debt we are undertaking now and scheduled to undertake over the next ten years is solely the product of past decisions (primarily unfunded wars, an unfunded prescription drug benefit and two rounds of tax cuts under President George W. Bush) and the recession-related revenue losses caused by the financial crisis generated by financial deregulation and weak oversight. We should end the need to legislatively raise the debt ceiling, since debt decisions are already made when budget bills are passed, and we should hold our elected officials accountable for the budget decisions they make. There is no economic necessity to undertake spending cuts or deficit reduction plans at this point in the economic recovery, when high unemployment is expected to persist for several more years. Jobs should be the priority and jobs are the path to get our nation’s fiscal situation to a responsible place. A long-term deficit reduction at this time should only be done if coupled with substantial deficit-related supports to the economy to rapidly lower unemployment this year and next.
http://www.epi.org/...
In other words we just rewarded those who caused our debt and held our country hostage with a sweet deal. A deal which will result in not one problem Americans in the real world face being solved and in fact will punish them further. And for what?? To throw more money away to the greedy idiots who care nothing for anyone but themselves:
Tax cuts enacted last December account for roughly $800 billion (one-third) of the increased borrowing authority needed to maintain obligations to citizens and creditors through 2012; a two-year extension of all the Bush tax cuts is now being fully financed with deep spending cuts.
The really outrageous part is that it does nothing to adress the jobs crisis Americans face. In fact, get ready for more job losses as spending cuts kick in. Worse yet, spending caps inserted in the "compromise" will not even allow us to make basic investments in our own country and people:
The spending caps do not allow the budget to meet our nation’s basic needs for public investment, regulation and other domestic needs. The spending caps will reduce non-security domestic spending to just 1.8% of GDP in 2021, the lowest level since the 1950s and the amount we now spend on public investment. Thus, this spending level will not allow us to both maintain current levels of public investment and the normal functions for housing, criminal justice, regulatory enforcement and other needs.
Even more draconian, this plan calls for a "bi-partisan" committee to agree on new spending cuts and new ways to allow Corporations and the very wealthy to steal what is left of the American dream while completely ignoring the problems real Americans face. In fact this "bi-partisan" commission will essentially function as a Republican tool to do Republican things. Slash much-needed programs from people who rely on them while asking nothing from the greediest and least patriotic among us. Yes it allows the Republicans to have another temper-tantrum and recieve everything they want in return:
House Speaker Boehner has already suggested that the Republican delegation will be unwilling to support tax increases or revenue-raising tax reform. If so, this would simply continue the one-sided approach to deficit reduction, and would place Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits at great risk. This is all the more true since domestic spending will already have been substantially reduced as part of the initial cuts. Consequently, this new process is likely to lead to a very unbalanced fiscal policy approach.
If no agreement is reached, further cuts to spending will be automatically triggered, including cuts to defense and non-defense programs beginning in 2013. If triggered, those cuts would kick in while unemployment is between 8 and 9% and lead to higher unemployment and lower family incomes.
In other words all this was hatched, sold and passed for one reason. To keep you out of a job and if you are working to keep your wages low. We have real crises that were ignored to do this and keep the elites from sacrificing anything.
Which leads me to conclude one thing. We indeed have a one-party system in America. While grassroots Democrats are not afraid to fight for what they believe in our leadership has completely sold us out. Whether they are just too stupid or cowardly or if they really believe in the principles of the Republican Party matters little. The truth is Republicans always get their way either way.
Unless and until we demand someone fight for us things will never change and our country will never recover. The enemies of Americanism and their apolegists have won once again and our whole nation will suffer as a result. In these trying times we need bold and courageous Progressive leaders more than ever and instead we got cowardly or complicit right-wing one-party rule.
That is why right now more than ever I am calling for any real Progressive to stand up, represent us and throw their name in a primary against President Obama. We have seen all we need to see from him and it is obvious his heart is with the other side of the fight. As always the only values that aren't represented or tried are the very ones that could save our country, Progressive ones.
This deal and this President have lost me. Had I known in 2008 that I was voting for a Republican I would have just went ahead and voted for John McCain. At least then Republicans would have gotten the blame for the problems they caused instead of being rewarded by a President that knows nothing of common sense and more importantly loyalty.
Either way we got screwed without a kiss yet again. Democratic apolegists can spin it any way they see fit but the only thing that has come out of yet another cowardly capitulation is this. The realization that my party cares nothing about the ideals it was founded on and looks upon me as part of the problem not the solution.
That is why absent a Progressive challenger in 2012 I will just be staying at home. If Republicans led by President Obama want to keep destroying the fabric of this country and continue making everyone but themselves suffer they will be able to but at least I will not have to live with the thought that I voted for it yet again because there was no other alternative.
The lesser of two evils is still evil.