Our Phony Budget Battles Are All Smoke and Mirrors

[upstatecajun]

Weeks of highly publicized debates - some in Congress, more in the mass media - brought Republicans and Democrats to a budget deal. To maximize public attention, they threatened a possible government shutdown. Both parties said that large government deficits and accumulated debt were "serious problems." They agreed that solving them required only spending cuts, not revenue increases. In unison, they repeated, "we" must "learn to live within our means."


In fact, both sides never actually engaged the deficit and the debt. They limited themselves to purely cosmetic, symbol-laden cuts (Republicans) and refusals to cut (Democrats). Aiming at the 2012 election, both parties used the deficit and budget debates purely to impress their voters.

http://www.alternet.org/economy/150631/our_phony_budget_battles_are_all_smoke_and_mirrors/

[Bigmack]

1. It's all illusion.. like pro 'rasslin...

Political theater.

Read....Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle By Chris Hedges

[loudsue]

7. Chris Hedges gets it.

It is a game to the critters that run our government. It's just an acting job, pure and simple.

[midnight]

2. When the Paul Ryans, or the Scott Walkers care about Deficits, they will stop giving tax breaks to

G.E.'s of the State, or the Koch's of the Country...


"Democrats and Republicans did not even discuss, let alone agree on, tax increases on the wealthy or on corporations as ways to cut deficits. At the same time, their proposals for cutting spending were economically insignificant. In short, the two parties' deficit-reduction campaigns were fakes."

[lonestarnot]

3. Just fantastic fluff that makes one's hair spontaneously combust.

[xchrom]

4. the kabuki drama rolls on. nt

[Search4Justice]

8. My thoughts exactly.n/t

[Edweird]

5. Good cop/Bad cop. Obama's slightly less bad cuts 'save' us from the GOP.

Of course, it's BS. "Those guys want gouge both
you eyes out. I'm going to 'save' you from them
by only gouging one of your eyes out (for now)."

[Thunderstruck]

6. Common knowledge. And we engage and embrace it like there's no tomorrow.

[Marblehead]

9. Really discouraging.

We need boots on the ground.