I can't even call it that without getting a bad taste in my mouth but, from the
LA Times, here is what the Republican Congress is setting up. They are making budget cuts to prepare the way for discussion of their sacred cow: tax cuts for the rich that will cost $30 billion more than the budget cuts:
In tandem with the spending-cut bill, Congress has prepared legislation to extend some of the temporary tax cuts that it enacted in 2001 and 2003. The spending bill would save $40 billion over the next five years. The tax bill, which Republican congressional leaders hope to bring to a vote early next year, would cost $70 billion.
And while we are on the subject here are two pieces on the budget cuts that show just how Scroogelike they are:
Budget Bill Cuts Critical Health Care Services for Low-Income Children, Families and Elders
Congress Passes Budget Bill, Cuts Support for Nation's Neediest
We need to hammer Republicans on their Scroogelike behavior. And then we have to be prepared for the discussion of tax cuts that will come. And this recent EPI Briefing Paper pdf shows, among other things, just how unproductive the tax cuts have been for the economy. When compared with previous recoveries, one of which even had tax increases, Bush's economic recovery really fails to measure up.