IT'S A CROCK!

It has been some time since my last blog post, but that doesn't mean I haven't been paying attention...I just haven't lately been motivated to write...but, SURPRISE!, I DO have some thoughts on what is going on in our Country today.

I use to love to tell a farcical tale about swiping an old bag lady's shopping bag.  The story prodded the listener to ask what was in the bag, which gave me the opportunity to deliver the punch line," a crock of s**t, just like this story."  And that's exactly what I think of our Congress and it's "sequester" drama.  It's all a crock of s**t. 

Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor and currently Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at The University of California recently wrote a blog titled "The Sequester and The Tea Party Plot."  His analysis started with:

Imagine a plot to undermine the government of the United States, to destroy much of its capacity to do the public's business, and to sow distrust among the population.

Imagine further that the plotters infiltrate Congress and state governments, reshape their districts to give them disproportionate influence in Washington, and use the media to spread big lies about the government.

Finally, imagine they not only paralyze the government but are on the verge of dismantling pieces of it.

 

Far-fetched? Perhaps. But take a look at what's been happening in Washington and many state capitals since Tea Party fanatics gained effective control of the Republican Party, and you'd be forgiven if you see parallels.

 

Tea Party Republicans are crowing about the "sequestration" cuts beginning today (Friday). "This will be the first significant tea party victory in that we got what we set out to do in changing Washington," says Rep. Tim Huelskamp (Kan.), a Tea Partier who was first elected in 2010.

Sequestration is only the start. What they set out to do was not simply change Washington but eviscerate the U.S. government -- "drown it in the bathtub," in the words of their guru Grover Norquist -- slashing Social Security and Medicare, ending worker protections we've had since the 1930s, eroding civil rights and voting rights, terminating programs that have helped the poor for generations, and making it impossible for the government to invest in our future.

 

Sequestration grew out of a strategy hatched soon after they took over the House in 2011, to achieve their goals by holding hostage the full faith and credit of the United States -- notwithstanding the Constitution's instruction that the public debt of the United States "not be questioned."
To avoid default on the public debt, the White House and House Republicans agreed to harsh and arbitrary "sequestered" spending cuts if they couldn't come up with a more reasonable deal in the interim. But the Tea Partiers had no intention of agreeing to anything more reasonable. They knew the only way to dismember the federal government was through large spending cuts without tax increases.

Nor do they seem to mind the higher unemployment their strategy will almost certainly bring about. Sequestration combined with January's fiscal cliff deal is expected to slow economic growth by 1.5 percentage points this year - dangerous for an economy now crawling at about 2 percent. It will be even worse if the Tea Partiers refuse to extend the government's spending authority, which expires March 27.

A conspiracy theorist might think they welcome more joblessness because they want Americans to be even more fearful and angry. Tea Partiers use fear and anger in their war against the government -- blaming the anemic recovery on government deficits and the government's size, and selling a poisonous snake-oil of austerity economics and trickle-down economics as the remedy.
They likewise use the disruption and paralysis they've sown in Washington to persuade Americans government is necessarily dysfunctional, and politics inherently bad. Their continuing showdowns and standoffs are, in this sense, part of the plot.

I did some research on government spending:

We are projected to spend LESS in 2013 (in inflation adjusted dollars AND as a % of GDP) than we did in 2009! And we DID spend less in both 2010 and 2011 (again, in inflation adjusted dollars AND as a % of GDP) than we did in 2009!  And that's with unfunded wars started under false pretenses by George and Dick!

So, “conservatives”, just STOP with this crock about how our spending is out of control.  Can we cut MORE?  Absolutely yes!  But we've already capped discretionary spending and, as the economic recovery strengthens, we'll automatically cut tens if not hundreds of billions per year in "social safety net" spending that was automatically triggered by the Great Recession. Not to mention the hundreds of billions in additional revenues we'll generate due to a growing, strengthening economy.

Now, for the important facts: The last three years, the feds have taken in an average of just 15.4% of GDP in revenue.   Since the end of WWII, the average has been 18.1% (and over 19% under Clinton). If we'd been collecting that 18.1% over the last three years, our debt/deficits would be $1.2 trillion smaller... I think we have a revenue problem but until the Republicans stop letting Grover Norquist run this Country, we will not change our tax structure and set a course for full recovery.

Wake up America....there are those in our government that are not interested in finding a solution...their only objective is to sow fear and anger and ultimately get reelected!  Sad!  Very, very sad!

And The Journey continues!