It appears we are headed for a shutdown of the Federal Government. I believe that much more is at stake than how much we trim the deficit. If the far right has their way, we will face an America in which the table is sharply slanted toward the wealthy, allowing them to rake money into their pockets at will. This is evident once you realize that Republican Paul Ryan has proposed a tax cut in his long-term plan to reduce the deficit. His plan would benefit high income earners a great deal, even as it would gut Medicare and Medicaid, placing a deeper burden on retirees and the poor.
It seems we never learn from history. We need three things to balance the budget:
- An increase in revenue, fueled by modest and reasonable tax increases on the wealthiest Americans
- Prudent reductions in federal spending that don't unduly affect the vulnerable
- Policies to create a vibrant and sustainable economy
3 comments:
I agree. I am waiting to see if the government cuts or eliminates the budget supporting 127 nationwide health care clinics for the homeless. If the government decides to eliminate these clinics, all they're doing is cost shifting healthcare for the most vulnerable to the local ER's which are barely sustainable now. This is a brilliant idea. The State of New Hampshire is already eliminating funding to support subsidized housing for the mentally ill. I do not know where the people will go in our "short term shelters" which have become long term housing. Compassion anyone?
How about eliminating subsidies to businesses, especially big ones? Libertarian dogma abhors interfering in the market place in favor of or against businesses.
You lay out the problem so clearly in your three well articulated points but unfortunately I can only think of Bill Maher's recent comments: "Governing this country with the Republicans is like rooming with a meth addict," he said. "You want to address real-life problems like when the rent is due, and they're saying, 'How could you even think of that stuff when there's police scanner voices coming out of the air conditioning unit?!'"
Of course they do that as a distraction to cover the fact that they are stealing from all of us to give to a small elite. Here's the narrative that sums it all up: Ronald Reagan transformed this country morally. Before Reagan it was considered immoral to steal from the poor and give to the rich. Since then, it's been the cool thing to do....and the statistics of who holds the nation's wealth since then show the sad decline of the middle class. Nearly everything they do is to further that goal.
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