sending up trail balloons about cutting Social Security benefits, raising the retirement age (which is just sleight-of-hand way of cutting benefits) or cutting the health care benefits for military service personal.

Um, Jon, you mean TRIAL balloons and military service PERSONNEL.

/editor

P.S. “Personal” is also in the third paragraph.

there are no deficit hawks in congress when they’re giving / spending money for the rich… they only surface and bloviate about spending and the deficit when the subject of giving unemployment benefits to those laid-off by the trans-nationals as they outsource, or when it comes to giving food stamps and other support to the 1 in 7 americans living in poverty, or when it comes to funding education or rebuilding the country’s crumbling / aged infrastructure, or providing health care to the 50 MILLION + american’s without insurance… oh – then they come out of the woodwork and shout in their loudest voices about all this ‘careless’ spending and how we need to ‘control the deficit’ and how we need to ‘pay as we go’…

Deficits matter, (if it’s job creation, middle class tax relief, infrastructure, health care, preventative care, education, police, fire departments, consumer protection, industry regulation, research, innovation, science,, etc), but not if it’s war and rich patrons’ tax breaks. How dare anybody suggest the poor rich folks who have been “hardest hit” by this recession put off buying that second yacht for another year! There are THREE coasts in this country! How do you expect them to lounge on them all with just the one yacht?

A huge portion of the deficit is accounted for by the Bush tax cuts, two wars, and the recession. A coherent argument requires educating the voters as to how we got here. It wasn’t entitlement programs. It wasn’t SS. It wasn’t even HC — although those expenditures are skyrocketing.

When we have a president who wants to extend the tax cuts, won’t even talk about cutting the cost of fighting wars, has failed to address the recession adequately, but rather harps on the deficit and entitlement and HC programs as its main causes, we have lost the messaging battle COMPLETELY.

This is an epic bipartisan-seeking, ass-covering messaging fail which may lose both the House and Senate.

I might add that this is the result of a hair-splitting, too-cute-by-half, one-from-column-A-and-one-from-column-B, issue-by-issue, values-free approach to governing. With no overriding goal or philosophy.

That’s what so cool about Obama, he’s going to force those 50 million to buy insurance even if they can’t afford food. What a guy !

A huge portion of the deficit is accounted for by the Bush tax cuts, two wars, and the recession.

True. But the SOLUTION for deficits is to cut SS, Medicare, Medicaid, welfare, food stamps, unemployment insurance, esp to make room for more wars and keeping taxes on the nonworking rich lower than taxes on working stiffs. Get with the program.

BTW, if you want to find the deficit hawks, tune into cnbc for a nanosecond. You will get more than your fill.

(D-ND), Evan Bayh (D-IN), and Joe Lieberman (I-CT), and 31 House Democrats have squawked about letting those tax cuts for the rich expire as Bush’s law had originally intended

should read;

(D-ND), Evan Bayh (D-IN), and Joe Lieberman (I-CT), and 31 House Democrats have squawked about ending the process of giving middle class assets to the rich,, as Bush’s law had originally intended

Oh, but there is a goal and a philosophy.

The need to absorb surplus capital is both. The wealth generated by trading in derivatives has to be invested somewhere to generate even more surplus capital. Investing in charter schools fits the bill nicely. See New Orleans. Set up a system where teachers are hired then let go 4-5 years later to make room for replacement low-wage teachers. Destroying the teachers unions is a major goal in this philosophy, the de-professionalisation of teachers. Teach the kids basic reading, writing and math skills (the old 3 r’s) sufficient to employ them as low-wage workers in the service industries. No need for “professionals” to do that. The constant search of capital for more surplus capital.

We won’t be able to bring down this deficit overnight, given that the recovery is still taking hold and families across the country still need help. … Just as it would be a terrible mistake to borrow against our children’s future to pay our way today, it would be equally wrong to neglect their future by failing to invest in areas that will determine our economic success in this new century.

@ comments 7 and 10

There are two possibilities here. First, he knows what he’s doing and intends what is happening. That may be the correct explanation. He may indeed have radically different goals than we do.

But I tend to favor a second explanation: He is incompetent — and so are the folks around him. That is, his goals are the same as ours but his strategy and tactics are fundamentally the wrong ones. He came in believing his own arrogant uninformed bullshit: that only so much was possible, incrementalism was necessary, one must start by giving the other side what they want most, and then surely a few Rs would go along. But he was deeply wrong about ALL of it.

And now he’s completely fucked — and so are we.

So many trillions in paper money had been printed during Bushco, that it became dangerous to release the numbers anymore. They stopped publishing the numbers. What do they call it M 1 or M 3 ?. Many of those trillions were loaded up on pallets and sent to the Middle East for Military Contractors. Much of it is spent on bribing Insurgents and officials. Everyone connected carried no note smaller than a hundred dollar bill. If they bought a cup of coffee, nobody had any change. They just laughed it off.

Then, more trillions had to be printed to bail out the international banks.

Then Obama had to print trillions more for the banks.

There is lots of money for War, Bankers, Oil Companies, Giant Agribusiness and other countries. Yet there is no money or for us.

Funny, isn’t it?

There is lots of money for War, Bankers, Oil Companies, Giant Agribusiness and other countries. Yet there is no money or for us.

Be patient. It’s trickling down. I can hear it now. Oh, shit, my toilet’s running again.

Iraq War spending accounted for half of all federal spending while it lasted.

“our Children” won’t HAVE a future if their parents are impoverished. Our government knows this. while Obama is looking “forward” he neglects the present.
and it’s become abundantly clear why he doesn’t want “to look back”.
Thus we have a president and a country in limbo

I don’t think that the 2 concepts/ideas you posit about BHO are mutually exclusive, although I disagree with your notion that BHO “has the same goals” as we do. In that I have to disagree: I think BHO’s goals are diametrically opposite to what he said in his campaign. I think he LIED big time.

But I do think BHO & his cabinet, etc, are also incompetent.

Once Thatcher in the UK and Reagan here started the process of deregulating the financial sector, de-industrializing and busting the unions both sides of the political spectrum climbed aboard the neoliberal train. Neither Obama, Summers, Geithner et al are incompetent. They are doing exactly what the capitalist class wants them to do – ensure the continued viability of financial capitalism. These people learned that more surplus capital (profit) can be generated through financial transactions than manufacturing. GM made more money through GMAC than they did making cars/trucks. Has anybody heard anything from the administration or Congress about rebuilding the manufacturing base of the US?

in response to #12: It’s the First explanation. If it weren’t, Obama would never have been the keynote speaker at the 2004 Dem. convention. The speach gig was post-interview. Getting rid of the New Deal, replacing it with the New Steal, that IS the agenda. Any circumvention of this realization is self-delusion.

I think it would be instructive to see how many of the “deficit hawks” are either rich and pampered scions of political or business dynasties, or the recipients of large amounts of corporate funding — or both.

Of course, some of them may have learned the wrong lessons from the Reagan Reaction. Evan Bayh’s dad was a much better Senator than Evan, but he was defeated by Dan Quayle and the Pulliam media machine (aka Dan’s mom’s side of the family), and ever since Evan’s run away from his father’s good name and legacy as fast as his little legs could carry him.

Have to disagree. He is not incompetent.

IF he was not getting what he wanted…. He would sometimes say that it isn’t working out or that ‘I didn’t get what I wanted.’
But, everything is touted as a big success.
And if it is not a Big Success yet, (future BS) then He says that we just need a little more bipartisanship to get it done. When I hear that, my mind translates to ‘move more to the right’.

I understand how a more palatable explanation is more desired, and wants to be seen. But it is the worse explanation that is the true one.

Not ending the war b/c he doesn’t want to. Not b/c he can’t figure out how. See also, G-Bay, torture, state secrets, etc.

Everyone connected carried no note smaller than a hundred dollar bill. If they bought a cup of coffee, nobody had any change. They just laughed it off.

that’s interesting…..not doubting you, but I am curious about how you know this? Anything somewhere I can read about this?

I have always assumed that the 12 billion dollars cash, was hidden away smuggled out etc.

I go back and forth between the two (not mutually exclusive) theories. I think I tend to favor the same-goals-but-incompetent theory over the different-goals-manipulative theory because the latter is so depressing. But I have at different times adhered to both explanations.

Have to disagree. He is not incompetent. IF he was not getting what he wanted…. He would sometimes say that it isn’t working out or that ‘I didn’t get what I wanted.’ But, everything is touted as a big success.

You may be correct. But incompetence AND arrogance can account for that also.

You’re kidding me right? You are really asking where Democrats went once an issue became difficult?

Let’s see –
Canada? Nope, no actual threat of jail time.
A bar? Maybe, albeit a gay one.
Church? Who are we kidding, we all know that’s bull
To their parents? Most likely.

In summary, who cares? You have been fully exposed for the rats you are. I am a “teabagger” as you say. Open wide. They are hairy and they won’t taste good. But you’ve earned it.

BTW, I strongly agree with your summary of effects here.

For $100 Billion dollars, we could certainly close the border with Mexico.
But we don’t.

–
Why?

B/c we don’t want to.
Cheap labor is desired, and the border remains open.

There are so many topics where the hand wringing can occupy the papers, the radio, the blogs, the comments, etc. But it is a waste of time.

War is funded, supplemental is passed. Why?
B/c that is what they want.
– But the people don’t want it.
who cares? they are not in charge.

There are simple explanations that take all the worrying away.

Usually, ‘what makes money for big companies?’ will lead you to the correct outcome. No letters, petitions, or protests need be done.

So is it true that the Green Party Senate Candidate in PA has been disqualified?

————-
I have turned away from ‘more better democrats.’

Looks like the candidacy was …… ?
ruined?

http://melpacker.com/

Jon, out of curiosity, how many of the Dems squawking to keep the top bracket cuts in place actually voted for them in the first place? My guess on the Senate side is 0.

The obvious question to them would be, if you couldn’t support tax cuts in 2001 or 2003, how the hell can you support them now? Of course, no one in the mainstream media will ever pose that question.

I also spoke with Rep. King about the tax cut expirations facing Congress, and he didn’t mince words about his disappointment with John Boehner’s remarks from last weekend on that subject. King questioned the wisdom of playing the “hole card” at the beginning of negotiations rather than the end, and said that the conservative caucus felt discouraged by his apparent concession. Thirty Democrats have signed up to extend all of the expiring tax cuts, which means Pelosi and Barack Obama are on the extreme side in this debate.

King also talks about the Tea Party and Constitution Day, for which his office released the following celebratory statement:

“Our Founding Fathers who drafted the United States Constitution were brilliant men who understood the threat posed to individual liberties by a large and intrusive federal government,” said King. “One of the ways the Founding Fathers sought to limit the power of the federal government was by reserving powers to the individual states, and to the people themselves, at the expense of a national government that would otherwise inappropriately claim them. The inclusion of the Tenth Amendment in the Bill of Rights was a means by which our Founding Fathers intended to stop the destructive reach of a growing federal government.”

“Events occurring on September 17, 2010, underscore the importance of the Tenth Amendment. Today’s federal government has become so brazen that it claims the ability to penalize Americans for failing to purchase government approved health insurance, a power the Constitution’s drafters never sanctioned. It is the Tenth Amendment that stands in the way of these kinds of attempted power grabs by the federal government, and as Americans celebrate the anniversary of the Constitution’s signing they should also celebrate the inclusio

I also spoke with Rep. King about the tax cut expirations facing Congress, and he didn’t mince words about his disappointment with John Boehner’s remarks from last weekend on that subject. King questioned the wisdom of playing the “hole card” at the beginning of negotiations rather than the end, and said that the conservative caucus felt discouraged by his apparent concession. Thirty Democrats have signed up to extend all of the expiring tax cuts, which means Pelosi and Barack Obama are on the extreme side in this debate.

King also talks about the Tea Party and Constitution Day, for which his office released the following celebratory statement:

“Our Founding Fathers who drafted the United States Constitution were brilliant men who understood the threat posed to individual liberties by a large and intrusive federal government,” said King. “One of the ways the Founding Fathers sought to limit the power of the federal government was by reserving powers to the individual states, and to the people themselves, at the expense of a national government that would otherwise inappropriately claim them. The inclusion of the Tenth Amendment in the Bill of Rights was a means by which our Founding Fathers intended to stop the destructive reach of a growing federal government.”

“Events occurring on September 17, 2010, underscore the importance of the Tenth Amendment. Today’s federal government has become so brazen that it claims the ability to penalize Americans for failing to purchase government approved health insurance, a power the Constitution’s drafters never sanctioned. It is the Tenth Amendment that stands in the way of these kinds of attempted power grabs by the federal government, and as Americans celebrate the anniversary of the Constitution’s signing they should also celebrate the inclusiotrrewyte

My Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick was one of the 31 alleged “Democrats” that wrote the ransom note. Now Kirkpatrick has been perhaps the biggest deficit peacock in the House; she is the one with the bill cutting the pay of House members so we can save a few million dollars, and one of her other big pet projects is getting rid of the “black liquor” tax credit, which she touted as saving the U.S. $24 billion over 10 years.
I called her office yesterday and basically mocked her for showing so much concern for the whole 10 or so multi-millionaires in her district ($800 billion in concern) that she would throw away her entire carefully-crafted persona as a deficit warrior. I asked the phone guy in her office how it was supposed to look to a constituent such as myself that she would kick a $800 billion hole in future budgets while press-releasing the crap out of us over her pay cut and black liquor theatrics? He said it wasn’t his place to say. No kidding…

Woo-woo!

This is the first article I’ve read here that I can cheer. I’m fiscally conservative (less federal spending, flat tax above poverty level: ya make the money ya spend it) and socially liberal (pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, pro-end of drug war). In our two-party system I don’t have a dog in the fight.

Now, seriously, can you start a dem tea party? I know you are rolling your eyes but a two-party big tent for fiscal conservancy will garner dems more of the disenfranchised then they know. Americans will scratch and claw over abortion and gays but the tea party is signalling they will drop that for financial sense.

yes its been long established that only money going to programs that assist the poor and working poor and social security actually count as “spending” when deficit hyteria must be demagogued. even though social security is already paid for. also money going to black people is counted twice toward the deficit. All defense spending, tax cuts , congressional junkets etc., etc are sacrosanct and “stimulative”.

Bush and his supporters argued that the tax cuts would create jobs and increase federal revenue. The tax cuts did neither. Policy is always premised on a given result. When the result is not achieved, then the policy should be abandoned.

Cheney proclaimed the “Reagan proved that deficits do not matter” and used this as a justification. Why has no one asked a R if they still abide by this notion? Maybe deficits don’t matter when you are cutting taxes for the rich.

The tax cuts for all should be eliminated. Budgets are based on revenue and expenditures. You cannot be serious about the deficit while proclaiming revenue does not matter.

The deficit-trolls say we need shared sacrifice, cuts across the board, tax cuts for the rich and benefits cuts for the poor. That will unleash the miracle of free enterprise, as that Republican money trickles down.

Now, seriously, can you start a dem tea party? I know you are rolling your eyes but a two-party big tent for fiscal conservancy will garner dems more of the disenfranchised then they know.

Just wow. You are 180 degrees out with phase of reality. Go join the Libertarians, in truth, its the views of fiscal progressives that are being neglected in our political sphere. Go read President Nixon’s 1971 State of the Union address to see how politicians of both parties used to talk.
“It will be a full employment budget, a budget designed to be in balance if the economy were operating at its peak potential. By spending as if we were at full employment, we will help to bring about full employment”.
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=3110

Go read President Nixon’s 1971 State of the Union address

But the Tea Partiers know that Nixon was secretly a Socialist — just look what he did for Communist China.

Deficits do matter, but not in the way either the deficit hawks or the deficit doves think. Only the deficit owls have a clue. And here is what one of them says.

Jon, It’s great to point out the hypocrisy of the deficit hawks, which certainly isn’t difficult to do. But that hypocrisy doesn’t tough the argument that we have a long-term deficit problem and need to do something about it. So, my question is, do you agree with the deficit hawks about the existence of the problem? If not why not? If so, why do you agree, and what do you think we need to do solve the problem?

Btw. here’s a post on the deficit problem, to help you along.

Look, the job creation game is a less than zero sum game. Politicians may not know this; economists may not know this; the general public may not know this. Look part two: there is a VAST difference between the acquisition of wealth and the creation of wealth, and while those with power in the financial industry can do positive things to aid the wealth/new production creation process, the derivatives market is nothing more than a casino: large amounts of human and other resources go into this gambling operation but virtually nothing positive in even the marginal sense happens, so, like job creation it is a less than zero sum game, much less than zero sum. 41 years ago as a EE student I took my first programming class – writing software was and often is the greatest game you can play – I was also reading the Vonnegut book “Player Piano”… and so realized as the power of software/computing became obvious, that the massive efficiency gains possible from computing were going to come directly out of employment. At my first job I wrote software that could have replaced 90% of PCB test engineers! The WEB, to use an obvious example, is the greatest human being replacement system ever created. We as a society have to figure out what we are going to do with human beings and we have to do that in a public way, not in the coded BS ways that have been run up the flag pole. How do we organize our social structure if we continue to ‘weed out’ human beings? How do we train our young without the obvious, time tested mechanisms in place? I would ask the ‘Republicans’ how many millions of people they want to see killed as they pursue their anachronistic goals (which just happen to benefit the entrenched wealthy AND their own campaign coffers)? I mean, do we offer free trips to the Grand Canyon and install vast human injection systems to shove them all off the edge? We could be more efficient I’m sure but the Grand Canyon IS beautiful, wouldn’t it be humane to let those who are to be sacrificed have at least that much as their final experience?