Tonight in his nationally televised address President Obama called for "modest adjustments [read brutal cuts] "so that Medicare is still there for future generations." [presumably because Republicans being having achieved "modest adjustments" to Medicare through their blackmail campaign will just leave it alone in future?]
And in exchange for these "modest adjustments" he said:
"Finally, let’s ask the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations to give up some of their tax breaks and special deductions.
"This balanced approach asks everyone to give a little without requiring anyone to sacrifice too much. It would reduce the deficit by around $4 trillion and put us on a path to pay down our debt. And the cuts wouldn’t happen so abruptly that they’d be a drag on our economy, or prevent us from helping small business and middle-class families get back on their feet right now."
Will it be OK if Grandma has to pay more for medicine whether she can afford to or not, if only some billionaire has to forgo a deduction for his corporate jet?
We can all line up and breath a sigh of relief that "at least we got something?"
Why this pathetic groveling for a fig leaf? Are we supposed to be please with that?
While many in my own party aren’t happy with the painful cuts it makes, enough will be willing to accept them if the burden is fairly shared.
So, Democrats are going to go along with this nightmare -- so long as we can get an irrelevant fig-leaf we can point to as "shared sacrifice?"
Apparently so:
So the debate right now isn’t about whether we need to make tough choices. Democrats and Republicans agree on the amount of deficit reduction we need. The debate is about how it should be done.
I don't know about you, but I DON'T CARE A FIG IF BILLIONAIRES CAN DEDUCT THEIR TRAVEL EXPENSES or NOT!
I care about health care and Social Security! And Jobs.
And I don't give a damn for "shared sacrifice." I don't want ANY sacrifice whatsoever!
And the fact that a DEMOCRATIC President is screwing us with this "shared sacrifice" and "living within our means" garbage is the worst betrayal of my lifetime!
And it will NOT be made right if only billionaires have to lose a few loopholes!
So, here's my "Modest Proposal." Let's STOP with the NONSENSE!! Stop buying into the cool-aid talking points designed only to deflect the ignorant from asking the brutal question:
"Why the hell are we being asked to sacrifice at all when we did nothing to create the deficit? If the debt was created by two unfunded wars and $700 billion in tax cuts for the top 2% why the HELL shouldn't we demand that ...
for a START -- before we consider ANY cuts to ANY programs that benefit us or ANY benefits we receive that EVERY PENNY in tax cuts received by the top 2% and EVERY war profiteer who benefited from these wars of choice repay it all!
Screw "shared sacrifice!" Let's tax the rich instead. If we're going to do anything about the deficit let's raise their taxes until we close the deficit created by lowering their taxes!
Beneath all the posturing and posing HERE's what this means back in the real world:
A Scene From Our Unshared Sacrifices:
The old lady at the pharmacy counter obviously wore an adult diaper. That tell-tale sharp urine scent half-masked by sweet-smelling chemicals emanated from her, and the Rude Pundit stood right behind her yesterday, waiting to pick up the pills that prevent him from going on a five-state killing spree. She was getting three prescriptions. The total was $6.00. This puzzled the old lady. She had never paid anything before, and even this seemingly small amount was obviously causing her consternation. The cashier checked with the pharmacist, who said that there had been a minor change to her plan, and now she had to pay a little for the scrips, a buck-fifty, three bucks. She apologized and put aside the couple of other things she was going to purchase to pay for the medicine.
So for some of us it's a choice between medicine and a quart of orange juice. And for others? They won't get their deductions for jet travel!
And we're supposed to swallow that?
Apparently the Congressional switchboards are broken down with callers demanding that Congress "do something" to pass a debt ceiling. If only the President or really ANYONE in Washington gave a damn about who's really doing the sacrificing.