Huh?
BRUSSELS (AP) — European countries should ease off their austerity and adopt more growth-friendly policies, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said Monday as he kicked off a series of meetings with the region's top leaders.
America's biggest trading partner and the world's largest economic bloc has entered the fourth year of a debt crisis, which has plunged many of the 27 EU nations into recession. The U.S. administration hopes Europe will relent in its focus on debt reduction, which has been hurting growth through spending cuts and tax increases. http://bigstory.ap.org/...
Wow, what great advise, perhaps Lew should tell the President to relent in his focus on debt reduction at home.
This galls me as it should everyone. This is beyond doublespeak. Obama is on the one hand pushing a grand bargain for us and simultaneously advising European nations to put the breaks on austerity.
Many have used the word stupid to describe the President's Chained CPI budget proposal on both policy and political grounds. In light of the above, I join you and go one step further, his budget proposal is contemptible.
Whose legacy is more important anyway, a president's or the people's he was elected to serve?
I've read many people's and pundit's reasoning for the President's move, but frankly, not one comforts me.
We are on the brink of compromising away the backbone of our society, the middle-class. I fear after thirty years of economic erosion, this could be the proverbial feather; opening the door to more cuts to the big three in future.
Make no mistake about this; more austerity will take us down, deepening and lengthening the U.S. depression and the pain will be shared by all, except those wealthy who are economically immune and stand to benefit from the sacrifices; especially if the Fix the Debters get their territorial protection and lower corporate tax rates from Sen. Baucus and company.
Why, I must ask the White House?
"Let the tax cuts expire," many more economically astute than I screamed to no avail last fall. And poll after poll demonstrates that we, the majority of the American people, would prefer paying more in taxes than cutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
Well, the White House blew that negotiation as it did the healthcare battle before, no public option or Medicare expansion.
Are we to be willing hostages of the ruling class who have the President's ear?
I don't think so and the polls coming in suggest that an overwhelming majority of those polled thus far oppose the CPI cuts as well.
If the CPI is enacted, the people's revenge will be heard at the ballot box in 2014. Independents broadly oppose the measure and who swings elections?
I'm calling and writing congress-critters, please join in and tell them to take Treasury Secretary Lew's advise and say no to austerity at home.
Please see the many good diaries in the group: Pushing back at the Grand Bargain.