Category Archives: Deficit

Cutting Defense Spending Does Not Have To Compromise Military Readiness.

Posted on by

Although Teapublicans insist on cutting government spending despite our fragile economic recovery, they categorically refuse to consider cuts to our defense budget.  They claim such cuts will leave the US vulnerable to attack.  So, when they passed the Ryan budget plan in the House, they included significant budget increases for the Pentagon.

In doing so, they disregarded a Pentagon report requested by Senator Bernie Sanders that shows, over the past decade, the government has awarded contracts totaling $1.1 trillion to defense contractors and their parent companies found guilty of defrauding the government.  In other words, when a military contractor is found guilty of defrauding the government, we demand a settlement.  Then we give them an opportunity to do it again!

If Teapublicans are serious about cutting deficits, the military/industrial complex is the very first place they should look.  Not the last.  The military budget is so bloated the Pentagon can’t even determine what happened to the $60 billion or so that has gone missing in Iraq and Afghanistan!

The money that can be saved by cutting Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security pales by comparison to the money that could be saved just by increasing oversight of military spending.  Moreover, the money spent on safety nets tends to go right back into our economy, while much of the money wasted on military fraud tends to line the pockets of CEOs and foreign dictators.

Of course, Teapublicans don’t want to stop with cuts to safety nets.  They want to hack away money from education, too; money that is truly an investment in our future.  Money that will pay us back in innovation and future increased tax revenues, as opposed to excess military spending that will result in more fraud and waste.

Both parties say this election will determine the future of our nation for generations.  The question is what future do you want?  More military and more wars?  Or a better standard of living for our youth and our seniors?

It seems like an easy choice for me.

A Message To Moderate Republicans:

Posted on by

To those long-time Republicans who fondly remember the Party of Lincoln, the party that held the Union together against the forces of slavery, the party that supported the “live and let live” principles of Goldwater, the party that stood with Reagan against the Soviet Union:  I have some very bad news for you.

That Republican Party no longer exists.

It was hijacked by neo-cons who started a “pre-emptive” war and resorted to torture in defiance of the Geneva Conventions.  These “new conservatives” bought votes with their unfunded Medicare drug plan.  They abandoned fiscal responsiblity by running up huge deficits and massive debt.  And they drove our economy off a cliff.

But they aren’t the only hijackers of your once proud party.  Your party has also been taken over by a group of intolerant zealots who intend to force their own unforgiving brand of Christianity on everyone; people who want to create a nanny state that dictates behavior, particularly that of women, gays and the poor.

Then, in 2010, your party embraced the “Tea Party” and yet another extreme agenda.  These people hate – I mean HATE – our government and anyone who supports it.  They hate public education, “entitlements” and government regulation – even to preserve the environment.  They refuse to compromise.  If anyone even mentions the word, they’re labeled RINOs (Republican in name only) and pushed aside.  They hate immigrants and people of color – any color but white.  And, if they don’t get their way, they threaten to exercise their “Second Amendment rights.”

Despite your best intentions, you won’t be able to fix the Republican Party from within.  There are simply too many of them and too few of you.  There is no Ronald Reagan waiting in the wings to save your party.  Instead, you have “leaders” such as Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum and Paul Ryan – the rising star who follows the self-centered principles of Ayn Rand, instead of those of Lincoln, Goldwater and Reagan.

Sooner or later, you’ll realize that the only real options left for moderate Republicans are to become Independents with no hope of choosing candidates, to form a new party, or to join the Democratic Party which has become the party of fiscal responsibility.

As someone raised Republican turned Independent turned Democrat, I can assure you that you will be very welcome in our party.

How “Starve The Beast” Became “Starve The Poor.”

Posted on by

For years, Teapublicans have marched to a tune called “Starve The Beast.”  The premise is that government has gotten too big and expensive so, in order to bring it under control, they must deprive it of the revenue needed to fund it.  As band-leader-in-chief, President George W. Bush cut taxes, primarily for the wealthy.

As a result of those tax cuts, two unfunded wars and a bill designed to buy the votes of seniors in time for the 2004 election, the Bush administration squandered the Clinton-era budget surpluses and led us into massive deficits and an ever-growing national debt.

Rather than being alarmed by these Bush decisions, Teapublicans reveled in them.  And, when the economy collapsed in 2008, Teapublicans recognized two opportunities:  One, by blocking every attempt to speed up the recovery, they hope to make President Obama a one-term president.  Two, by howling about the enormous deficit and debt they created, they hope to make it easier to cut government and the things Teapublicans seem to hate most: Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

They say Americans can no longer afford such programs.  They point to the long-term “instability” of Medicaid and Medicare while failing to admit that much of that instability is caused by the skyrocketing medical and pharmaceutical costs they refuse to address.  I believe their hatred for “Obamacare” is driven by the fact that it will help mitigate costs, thereby saving Medicaid and Medicare.

Likewise, Teapublicans seem to relish every new report on Social Security that shows the program running out of funds in the not-too-distant future.  They point to the large group of retiring Baby Boomers as the reason the program needs to be privatized (gotta get it out of the clutches of big government, you know).

What they fail to mention is how easily Social Security could be permanently fixed.  Either increasing individual contributions to the plan by little more than 1 percent or removing the cap on incomes above $106,000 would protect Social Security for future generations.  But that wouldn’t allow Teapublicans to meet their long-term goals of privatizing Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.

As for the people whose health care would be left at the mercy of large, greedy insurance companies and the retirees who might be relegated to dumpster-diving the next time the stock markets crash, no worries.

Teapublicans are more than willing to starve the poor in order to Starve The Beast.

GAO Report Shows Why “Obamacare” Is Necessary.

Posted on by

There were many reasons why health care reform was necessary when President Obama and the Democratic Congress were overwhelmingly elected to office in 2008.  Not only were health care costs climbing at a rate more than 3 times that of inflation.  Medicare and Medicaid were being overwhelmed by increased costs and unregulated fraud.  More than 30 million people were without access to affordable health care.  Insurance companies were denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions.  Insurers were also placing lifetime limits on health care for customers.

In addition, corporations were exporting jobs to places like China, Vietnam and Indonesia in order to avoid paying employee benefits.

Faced with these overwhelming problems, along with an economy that had fallen off a cliff and massive unemployment, President Obama and the Democratic majority had little choice but to find ways to bring the health care industry under control.

Of course, Republicans did not want to help.  To enlist their support, Democrats chose to abandon their preference for single-payer universal care.  Instead, they embraced the Republican idea of insurance mandates through private companies.  After all, the idea had worked in Massachussetts under “Romneycare.”  Indeed, the program had proven to be popular.

Not surprisingly, in their anti-Obama fervor, Republicans immediately labeled the plan as “socialist.”  And despite lengthy negotiations in which they offered dozens of amendments and killed the public option, Congressional Republicans voted against their own concept.

Let’s fast forward to 2012:  Several provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) have already been proven to work.  Children up to age 26 may now be covered under their parents’ insurance plans.  Insurance companies may no longer refuse coverage to those with pre-existing conditions.  A number of wellness programs have been implemented.  And Medicare fraud has been curtailed.

However, the majority of the provisions of the PPACA, including those which will have the greatest impact on costs, will not take effect until 2014.  But there’s a chance that we may not be allowed to see those benefits.

If the conservative-laden Supreme Court rules that “Obamacare” is unconstitutional, the ever-increasing number of people (now roughly 60 million) who will be unable to afford health care will grow.  And health care costs will continue to rise, dragging down our economy and jeopardizing Medicare.

And what of the federal deficits and debt that Teapublicans claim to be so worried about?

According to a report by the Government Accountabiity Office, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) would have “a major effect on the structural gap between revenues and spending driven by rising health care costs and demographics gap.” In other words, “Obamacare” would go a long way toward reducing our deficits and debt.

Without the PPACA, we can expect the cost of health care, along with our deficits and debt, to grow dramatically.

The Teapublican Time Machine.

Posted on by

For several years, Teapublicans, especially white pre-Baby Boomers, have fondly remembered the days of their childhood when life was simple. When they could gas up the ’57 Chevy for $3.00 and cruise Main St. all night. It was a white-dominated “Father Knows Best” society of tidy neighborhoods with white picket fences.

Now those same Teapublicans seem determined to take us back to that era.

They can’t seem to grasp that those post-war days are really gone. Those days simply can’t, and won’t, be duplicated. Moreover, Teapublicans can’t seem to grasp the cultural dynamics that created the era they so fondly remember. It was an era of union-based manufacturing jobs that paid well enough to allow Mom to stay home with the kids. It was an era of small retailers, instead of big box chains; of neighborhood diners, instead of fast food chains. It was an era when everyone understood the importance of government and of working together – an attitude necessary for the defeat of Hitler and Hirohito. And it was an era when most of the products we used were made in the USA.

What these nostalgia-loving Teapublicans too easily forget are the seamy underpinnings of that era. African-Americans were segregated and denied the vote. Women were left out of business and politics. Young women were disdained and abandoned if they were unlucky enough to get pregnant before marriage. They were not allowed to attend school. Many were sent away to religious schools to be “rehabilitated” and have their babies in seclusion before giving them up for adoption. Many were simply barred from leaving home so the neighbors wouldn’t find out that they had become “fallen” women. If they chose to keep their babies, they received no child care payments. And if they didn’t want to have their babies, their choices consisted of tumbling down stairs, coat hangars, lye or back-alley butchers.

Yet the Santorum and Gingrich led Teapublicans want to revisit those days. Indeed, the policies being pushed by these candidates may well turn the “way back clock” back past the 60s and 50s, past the horrors of World War II, past the Great Depression, and past the Roaring 20s…all the way back to the 1800s, the days of Robber Barons. A time prior to the formation of the middle class. A time when there were no safety nets for those who were down on their luck. A time when rich industrialists ran everything, and when everyone else slaved 7 days a week to scratch out an existence.

Lest you think I exaggerate, consider the following legislative initiatives and proposals: All of the Teapublican candidates are on record as saying they would cut taxes, especially for the rich and for large corporations. They would eliminate capital gains taxes for the wealthy. At the same time, they would raise taxes on the poor. They would repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act making it impossible for tens of millions Americans to afford health insurance. And they would cut or destroy Medicare and Social Security.

They would drastically cut government, eliminating the Departments of Education and Commerce at a time when our economy is just beginning to show signs of recovery. They would eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency allowing large corporations to pollute our water and air at will with no consequences. They would continue or increase oil subsidies under the GOP’s “drill, baby drill” mantra. At the same time, they would eliminate subsidies for sustainable sources of energy.

They would likely start yet another war by attacking Iran, unleashing a torrent of hatred from the entire Muslim world and destablizing the Middle East and most of Asia. They would deny women the right to control their own bodies, even making it more difficult to obtain contraception. And perhaps most alarming of all, they would weaken the Constitutional separation of church and state.

Interestingly, despite the Teapublican candidate’s promises to shrink the federal government and cut the national debt, their fiscal policy proposals would actually increase the national debt according to the non-partisan US Budget Watch, while President Obama’s proposals would begin to shrink the deficit!

Even if you’re not a progressive as I am, a trip backward in the Teapublican time machine has to be an alarming prospect for all but the most right wing religious zealots.

Masters Of The Double Standard.

Posted on by

The field of Teapublican “presidential” (and I use the term loosely) candidates have proven, once and for all, that Teapublicans are almost completely devoid of ethics. I’d call them hypocrites, but we’re talking about Teapublicans here, so, for their benefit, I’ll try to use small words.

Teapublicans famously fight for so-called family values, yet many support Newt Gingrich who is twice divorced and whose second wife stated that Newt demanded an “open” marriage. In other words, a marriage that would allow him to boink anyone he wanted. So much for the “sanctity” of marriage issue.

Gingrich also admitted to 84 ethics violations while Speaker of the House and resigned in disgrace. Most of these violations were the result of Newt gaming the system to enrich himself. So much for the anti-Washington, anti-corruption issue.

Turning to the front-runner, Teapublicans are furious with so-called “Obamacare.” But what did President Obama use as a model for his health care reform? Why “Romneycare,” of course. You simply can’t be against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and support Mitt Romney. So much for the government health care issue.

Romney is also a “Vulture Capitalist” (Newt’s words, not mine) who led a private equity firm that purchased undervalued corporations with other peoples’ money, saddled the corporations with large management fees then sold off their assests while laying off thousands of American workers. So much for the jobs issue.

In addition, Romney has admitted to “parking” large amounts of money in off-shore bank accounts to avoid paying taxes. And though he has not yet released his tax returns, he estimates that his tax rate is “somewhere in the area of 15 percent.” Given that Mitt is a multi-millionaire, that’s a nice area to be in, especially considering that much of the middle class is taxed at a rate of 30-35 perecent! And, if Romney is elected and allowed to institute his recommended tax policies, his tax rate will dramatically drop while the tax rate for the middle class will remain virtually unchanged. And the tax rate for the poor will actually go up! Moreover, Romney’s tax plan will add tens of billions of dollars to the deficit. So much for the deficit and debt issues.

Voter support for these two only shows that Teapublicans are not really for anything. They’re simply against Obama. And many of them don’t even know why.

Seven Common Sense Ways To Fix Our Economy.

Posted on by

1 – Re-institute the Glass-Steagall Act.

The Glass-Steagall Act was initially signed into law in 1933 to prevent a repeat of the conditions that led to the Great Depression. The law created a firewall between banks of deposit and investment banks, recognizing that a bank of deposit is entrusted with maintaining the financial security of its deposits while an investment bank, such as a stock brokerage, engages in inherently risky activities. When the same financial institution is allowed to participate in both acitivities, the deposits are placed at risk. And since the government insures deposits through the FDIC, it’s also at risk.

Unfortunately, the law was repealed in 1999 and the lax regulation of the Bush administration allowed banks to collapse as the result of the very conditions the law was designed to prevent.

2 – Return Capital Gains Taxes to Reagan-era levels.

During the Reagan administration, the maximum rate on capital gains (money derived from investments) was raised to 28 percent. But, to reward their wealthy masters, Teapublicans have cut the rate to just 15 percent and they want to eliminate capital gains taxes altogether.

Since the wealthiest 1 percent of our population makes most, if not all, its money from capital gains on investments, that means millionaires and billionaires pay an income tax rate of 15 percent or less. On the other hand, many of us who make money from salaries or as sole proprietors pay an income tax of up to 33 or 35 percent, not including payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare. See the problem?

3 – Return Income Taxes to Clinton-era levels.

Under Reagan, the maximum federal income tax rate averaged 65.70 percent. Under Clinton, the maximum income tax rate was 39.60 percent. Under Bush, the maximum income tax rate dropped to 35 percent leading to massive federal deficits.

Obviously, our current maximum tax rate has weakened our economy.  And unless we find ways to generate more revenue, we will be unable to decrease our debt or repair our infrastructure.

4 – Eliminate the cap on Social Security Withholding.

For the past several years Social Security taxes are withheld on only the first $106,800 of taxable income. By eliminating the cap, we would generate a great deal more money for Social Security, and by paying benefits to only those who actually need them, the Social Security trust fund would be solvent well into the forseeable future, perhaps permanently.

5 – Cut unnecessary duplication of city, county, state and federal offices.

If you want to build a commercial operation today, you may have to trek to as many as four offices to obtain the necessary permits. That’s because each level of government has its own unique regulations. Since environmental issues are necessarily different between Los Angeles, CA and Siren, WI, the need for different regulations is understandable. But why not streamline processes by combining similar functions in a single office? This would not only cut red tape, it would increase efficiency and cut costs.

6 – Buy local.

For the past 40 years, US manufacturers have shipped raw materials to other nations.  Then shipped the finished products back to the US.  This is not only destroying our economy, it is destroying our environment.  In fact, a case can be made that an enormous Hummer SUV is more environmentally friendly than a Prius.  That’s because the Hummer is made primarily in the US.  Eschewing foreign-made products would do wonders for American workers and everyone who breathes.

7 – Buy small.

Walmart, Target, Amazon, etc. are killing local retail stores which has led to the hollowing out of our central cities and the loss of jobs.  Yes, “big box” stores hire many employees, but they often pay less, provide fewer benefits and contribute less to the local economies.  Moreover, by emphasizing cheaper foreign-made products they continue to depress US manufacturing. 

Everyone likes lower prices and greater selection.  But who wouldn’t be willing to pay a bit more if it means our family members, friends and neighbors can keep or get a decent job? 

Origins Of The Right’s Misplaced Hate Of Obama.

Posted on by

I confess that I’ve long been confused about the intense (and, I believe irrational) hatred of President Obama, when it appears to me that he has been guilty of nothing more than trying to correct the problems created by the previous administration.

Upon reflection, I believe it stems from the Right’s unfailing belief in the so-called “free” market.

When the economy, led by the housing market and a lack of common-sense regulations, careened off a cliff in late 2008, the Bush administration recommended a bill to Congress that called for the US to spend billions in order to prop up the failing banks. Lacking the support of Republican leaders in Congress, the measure initially failed. But when the stock markets crashed as a result, enough Congressmen were persuaded to change their votes and the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) went into effect.

The program ultimately stabilized the markets and the economy enough to prevent the Great Recession from turning into a second Great Depresssion. Yet many Republicans were furious. They believed TARP to be a government intrusion into the infallibility of free market principles. When President Obama subsequently offered government-backed loans to General Motors and Chrysler in order to stave off the collapse of the American automobile industry, the free market Republicans and Libertarians went ballistic.

Capitalizing on an idea by a Republican strategist, groups such as the Koch-funded American FreedomWorks spent millions to rally free market believers to protest. They labeled the movement a modern day Tea Party. It turned out to be the perfect way to inspire the Republican base which was dispirited following the 2008 elections.

Teapublicans deluded themselves into believing that the Great Recession was not the fault of the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act or the Bush administration’s lax oversight of the financial industry.

They focused, instead, on President Obama’s attempts to fend off an economic Armegeddon. In addition, they convinced themselves that the national debt, which had doubled under President Bush, was now the fault of President Obama. They believed the auto bail-outs and economic stimulus were evidence that the administration was moving toward socialism. The President’s eventual signing of a bill to reform the out-of-control healthcare system added even more fuel to the torches being carried by the Tea Party.

When viewed in context, the Teapublican fears seem irrational. But when viewed through a partisan lens and slavish devotion to free market principles, regardless of their consequences, the fears are understandable, if not logical.

Moreover, this helps to explain why so many lower and middle class Americans vote against their self-interest by supporting Republican candidates determined to transfer wealth upward through tax breaks for the wealthy.

Over many years of listening to Fox News pundits and Rush-to-the-table Limbaugh, these people have become convinced that all of their problems will be solved if only we rid ourselves of government intrusion and allow Teapublican leaders to work their free market magic. Indeed, these voters are likely convinced that the only thing standing between them and unimagined riches are evil Democrats, who in their Teapublican minds, are trying to replace capitalism with socialism, or worse yet, communism or fascism.

Never mind that many of these people don’t have a clue of what any of these “isms” actually mean. Hence the Tea Party signs that read “Keep your government hands off my Medicare.”

A Look Into The Future of Teapublican Budget Cuts.

Posted on by

Despite the fact that our $14 trillion debt was largely created by Teapublican presidents, now that we have a Democratic president, the Teapublican-controlled Congress is dead set on forcing enormous budget cuts at any cost.

Set aside for a moment that their primary agenda is to end regulations for their corporate masters and to starve only those departments that are contrary to their ideology (primarily the EPA and the Dept. of Education). The real concern is what such draconian cuts will do to our economy.

If you want to see a preview of the consequences, you need only to look to Greece.

As you likely know, the Greek government is in danger of default. To “cure” its ills, Germany along with the other nations that are part of the European Union, agreed to bail out Greece. But only if Greece would enact drastic spending cuts and large tax hikes.

The result? It would seem that the “cure” is in danger of killing the patient. Indeed, the cuts have put the entire European Union in recession. And the symptoms have spread to the US. Every time the European Union sneezes, our markets react.

The problem is that the new austerity measures have resulted in more Greeks losing their jobs. And without jobs, the Greeks are unable to pay the increased taxes. Many have been forced to pay taxes out of their savings (if they have savings). Many can’t pay their taxes at all. That only results in more deficits, more spending cuts, more tax increases, and so on.

Although Greece is the most extreme example of an economy in trouble, it’s not alone.

Ireland’s economy is also particularly weak. You may remember that before the global recession, Ireland was called the “Celtic Tiger” having built its reputation by luring foreign corporations (many from the US) through some of the lowest corporate taxes in the world. Indeed, Teapublicans have repeatedly cited Ireland as a model for reforming our own corporate tax structure.

One would hope that our nation could learn from these examples of what not to do. But, since Teapublicans mostly ignore anything beyond our borders (except for oil deposits), I’m not hopeful.