The new crop of Republican deficit hawks are seeking billions of dollars in cuts to education, health care, public broadcasting, environmental protection and pension funds.  “It’s necessary for everyone to sacrifice in order to reduce the deficit,” they say.

Funny that they’re not asking the wealthy or large corporations to do the same.

Indeed, $70 billion of the deficit consists of the Bush era tax cuts for the wealthy.  And large corporations?  In addition to their ever-lower taxes (Cutting taxes on corporations creates jobs, don’t you know?), they enjoy a raft of tax loopholes, tax incentives and outright subsidies.  For example, the world’s most profitable companies (Big Oil) are actually paid to search for oil.  And we provide grants to universities to create new and better pharamceuticals.  Then we allow the large pharamceutical companies to patent the new drugs and sell them to our population at obscene prices.

So when you hear Republicans talk about sacrifices, ask them what sacrifices they’re willing to make.  Are they going to opt out of their government paid health care?  Are they going to cut their salaries?  Are they going to raise taxes on the large corporations that contribute to their political campaigns?

You know the answer.