I'm finally venturing into the pool here, after many years of infrequent commenting and little time to offer any diary worth reading - there are some great writers on this site and since the viewpoints mirror my own so much, i just tend to leave it to the more verbally gifted to keep me informed.
So enough with the pleasantries - I am writing today because of an observation I've made during last week's debate about how our Bush re-tread R-Money is gonna cut taxes 20% across the board and save the universe. His 5 points (sic) plan incessantly laid out during the debate is straight outta some Mao social engineering textbook, but I digress: These cuts have the egalitarian goal of slim-lining the federal government according to Willard, but with the hidden consequence of passing the costs of social services straight on down to the state and local governments. This in effect is what Romney's version of trickle down government will do - cut Federal funding and leave states still in need of basic services - mental health, education, vet's benefits (I can keep ticking off vital services millions of Americans rely on serviced by state and local governments) - to 'figure it out' if you as a state comptroller or county executive can't source enough revenue to maintain current levels of service. Read below the French baroque-y thingy if you want to ingest more.
Think for a minute about parking meters. Specifically, Chicago's parking meters and the sour grapes everyone has over the 2008 deal that privatized the earnings for their new owner, Chicago Parking Meters. The outcome of this deal yielded no benefits the consumers, added no new parking spaces or service improvements save for lighter wallets of those who drive into the greater Chicago area. It gave the city of Chicago a brief and one time revenue boost with the sale, but with such budget holes left from the crash of '08/'09, the money was quickly absorbed. One of the more common reasons for the sale was that the city didn't have the means to modernize its parking meters or parking system so selling it all off en-masse was the preferred method. It reminded me very much of Bush arguing that the federal government shouldn't be a negotiator for lower drug prices when he was pushing Medicare Part D. Modernizing the parking system WOULD create jobs and IS what the city should've done, instead they took the easy way out and now
After leaving office a year ago, Daley, along with his former corporation counsel and two top press aides, went to work for Katten Muchin Rosenmann LLP, the law firm that handled the parking meter deal for the city.
article link
The trickle down government of Romney/Ryan's dream will perform this malformed jujitsu on any state/city/county/local government to again, privatize the earnings by forcing these governing bodies to outsource what are considered basic social services to private, for-profit entities because no one else is available to fill the need. Think WellPoint County nursing homes or University of Phoenix elementary school. By taking and amping up the cost of services to 11 so he and his cronies can yell Yay Capitalism! from the highest steps on Bullshit Mountain, the price of parking in Chicago will pale in comparison to how much once public but now for-profit elementary schools will cost.
To R-money and his pal Boy, Wonder???, society is gonna be for sale - all done in the fake name of debt reduction. Debts don't matter to this guy, so long as their serviceable and consume less than 80% of our GDP (the other 20 for military) he won't do a damn thing to bring it down, akin to him spearheading a brokered solution for a sovereign Palestine.
It's hard to imagine we as a nation surviving or even tolerating what I've intoned here. Again, this is casual observance that has overflowed into this stream of thoughts laid out above. I'm grateful for anyone to read it or even comment. Yes, it would be nice to have some further in-depth numbers and links to support my thoughts, but time is money and I need to go earn some. Cheers!