Robert Reich has a new column up about the $1.1 trillion Cromnibus bill that is a handout to a bevy of America's great corporate socialists:
Some believe the central political issue of our era is the size of the government. They're wrong. The central issue is whom the government is for.
Consider the new spending bill Congress and the President agreed to a few weeks ago.
It's not especially large by historic standards. Under the $1.1 trillion measure, government spending doesn't rise as a percent of the total economy. In fact, if the economy grows as expected, government spending will actually shrink over the next year.
The problem with the legislation is who gets the goodies and who's stuck with the tab.
Reich lays out a good frame for our times - government isn't the problem, who government works for is the problem.
Ronald Reagan loved to use the line: "I'm from the government and I am here to help" as a dig against Democrats, liberals and progressives.
Perhaps a new spin on that line should be: "I'm a Corporate Socialist (or Plutocrat if you prefer) and I'm here to help."
Because today's government has been bought and paid for by Big Business and works for the rich and powerful at the expense of everyone else.
Read the whole thing - it's a good preview of the economic issues the 2016 campaign and beyond should turn on:
The size of government isn't the problem. That's a canard used to hide the far larger problem.
The larger problem is that much of government is no longer working for the vast majority it's intended to serve. It's working instead for a small minority at the top.
If government were responding to the public's interest instead of the moneyed interests, it would be smaller and more efficient.
But unless or until we can reverse the vicious cycle of big money getting political favors that makes big money even bigger, we can't get the government we want and deserve.