There has been much hand wringing, wailing, and gnashing of teeth by the Villagers. Like the chart offered by someone here has shown, the press has now gone crazy with their hair on fire reporting of the "fiscal cliff".
O Noez! Doom!
Now, I am not an economist, which is probably all to the better here. But I don't think that this "fiscal cliff" is as dire as people are making out. Basically, in my observations, the only thing that will happen is that the uber rich won't get as much money every year as before.
OR WILL THEY?
My parents were your typical middle middle class family. He was middle management for the Federal government (GS 12), she stayed at home raising us until we could do things by herself then went back to work (GS 9). My father retired in 1986 or so and then, like so many of his generation, went to work doing hourly stuff until he couldn't do it anymore.
And as I recall, we did DAMN good under Clinton. The whole country did. Why? Because people could afford to buy stuff. They weren't burdened by too much debt and could spend their extra money on goods and services. Those goods and services provided jobs to millions of people. Those jobs enabled people to pay off their debts and raised revenues for the government.
And so on.
But Republicans have turned this into a zero sum operation. There is only so much money and any changes will be catastrophic. And the Village has bought into it.
Basically because of the Military Industrial Complex, but that's another diary.
But I say "jump". Others on the left have said the same thing as well. Lawrence O'Donnell has called it a "fiscal curb".
Yes, necessary programs will get severe cuts in the middle of an economic downturn and people will hurt. But in the long run, the deficit WILL be reduced and revenues WILL go up and people WILL go back to work.
But we have to BELIEVE this will happen. It will take a collective Leap of Faith to make it work.
So call the President. Call your Senators. Call your Representatives. Tell them to hold firm and jump.