Obama Announces Re-election Bid

[Jill]

Originally Posted by Fair&Balanced

Jill:

I agree with much of what you say, particularly the growing income disparity and the lost decade (2001-2010) for the middle class resulting in large part from a shift in policies that made it more advantageous for the wealthy to be able to acquire more wealth by producing nothing rather than focusing on innovation and productivity.

And I agree that the current slash and burn mentality of many of the proposed spending cuts will lead to even greater income disparity and the further stagnation of the middle class as well as limiting the US ability to retool the economy in a way that will restore US competitiveness.

But we do need to address the debt. It is unsustainable and will continue to be a drag on any economic growth and/or prosperity for the middle class. And it will require shared sacrifices, including some programs that may be hard to let go.

The problem is building consensus in an atmosphere of extremism. I dont have the answer of how to achieve that.

The best way to address the debt is to reinstate PAYGO -- and this time, mean it. No more of these freaking loopholes that allow bullshit like the Bush/Republican tax cuts, which didn't have to be paid for because they were only "temporary" and set to expire in 10 years -- the outside window for being allowed to be left out of the budget.

Oh, but wait, they didn't really mean it. Now they'll hold the country hostage unless they're extended 2 more years. Oh yeah, and still NOT PAID FOR.

And Medicare Part D? NOT PAID FOR! (And don't even get me started on how the Bush Administration intentionally lied to Congress about its true cost in order to get it passed.)

And the Afghanistan and Iraq wars? NOT PAID FOR!

Close your eyes and picture a single raindrop falling into the Atlantic Ocean. That's what "defunding" Planned Parenthood and NPR would be like. Pensions for government employees? chump change.

We cannot -- simply can NOT -- keep spending money without raising taxes to pay for the spending. Can't. It's just the most absurd notion on the face of this earth. And even more absurd to think we'll solve the debt problem by slashing what is usually primary medical care for poor women (and men, too, btw), which amounts to a measly $375 million a year, while raising the limit on tax exempt gifts from $1 MILLION to freaking $FIVE MILLION for individuals, and handing out $4 BILLION in subsidies to the single most profitable business on the planet; oil companies!

Those 400 top wage-earners I mentioned above? They netted an approximate 17% federal tax rate. And it's being reduced even further! How in the hell are we supposed to make up all that lost revenue? If we added up every dime that's spent on public broadcasting, Planned Parenthood and every single other hated service Republicans want to defund, you might be able to fill a bucket of water from the Atlantic.

We need the wealthy in this country to start coughing up their fair share. And yes, their fair share is going to be more than what's considered fair for someone making $12,000 a year. They didn't get to be multi-millionaires and billionaires without the help of the $12,000 a year schmoes somewhere along the road. If they're going to make it on the backs of the poor, it's obnoxious beyond words to then want to take away even more from people who already have nothing.

The poor and middle class in this country have nothing more to give. This turnip has been wrung dry. Ain't no mo blood in it. The government can't squeeze anything else out of us without it ending up costing them even more money. For every $1 spent on providing poor women pap smears and breast exams, the government saves $4 in higher medical costs of treating uterine, cervical and breast cancers that would otherwise have gone undetected. Yes, that's right, Planned Parenthood actually creates a net savings for the government.

And don't let the Paul Ryans of the country fool you. They're about to hold the entire economic stability of this country at gunpoint over an issue that they already passed in Ryan's budget bill! Yup. The Ryan budget raises the debt ceiling every single year for the next 10 years. Every. Year. Built in. No new voting on it every year, it's just automatic.

But they want people to believe that raising the debt ceiling isn't the answer -- cutting spending is the answer, then spew a bunch of crap that'll save 5 cents for every hundred million they're going to hand over to their crony friends and corporations. They're lying to the American public. Stop buying it and start holding them accountable for the truth.

It's the only way we're going to be able to fix this mess.