Robert Reich: Why the Right-Wing Bullies Will Hold The Nation Hostage Again and Again

[marmar]

Why the Right-Wing Bullies Will Hold The Nation Hostage Again and Again
Saturday, April 9, 2011


When I was a small boy I was bullied more than most, mainly because I was a foot shorter than than everyone else. They demanded the cupcake my mother had packed in my lunchbox, or, they said, they’d beat me up. After a close call in the boy’s room, I paid up. Weeks later, they demanded half my sandwich as well. I gave in to that one, too. But I could see what was coming next. They’d demand everything else. Somewhere along the line I decided I’d have a take a stand. The fight wasn’t pleasant. But the bullies stopped their bullying.

I hope the President decides he has to take a stand, and the sooner the better. Last December he caved in to Republican demands that the Bush tax cut be extended to wealthier Americans for two more years, at a cost of more than $60 billion. That was only the beginning — the equivalent of my cupcake.

Last night he gave away more than half the sandwich — $39 billion less than was budgeted for 2010, $79 billion less than he originally requested. Non-defense discretionary spending — basically, everything from roads and bridges to schools and innumerable programs for the poor — has been slashed.

The right-wing bullies are emboldened. They will hold the nation hostage again and again. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://robertreich.org/post/4467669419

[somone]

1. Practice makes perfect

especially when you have a willing partner

[abelenkpe]

2. Y'know

I remember many posters on this board saying the same thing during the debate over extending tax cuts for the rich.

[xxqqqzme]

3. "...And that, at a deeper level,

the increasingly lopsided distribution of income and wealth has robbed the vast working middle class of the purchasing power they need to keep the economy going at full capacity..."


The California Democratic Convention is at the end of April. Reich is the keynote speaker, at the big Saturday night dinner. It is the first time in 4 years there has been a speaker worthy of my time & money. Looking forward to it.