Deficit

The media and much of the blogosphere are framing the coming debt ceiling decision, somewhen in the March to early May period, as one in which the Republican-majority House of Representatives may refuse to extend the Federal debt ceiling, forcing both a Government shut-down, and also a possible US default in paying its debt obligations to its creditors. more »

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The media and much of the blogosphere are framing the coming debt ceiling decision as one in which the Republican-majority House may refuse to extend the Federal debt ceiling, thus forcing both a Government shut-down, and also a possible default of the US in paying its debt obligations to its creditors. more »

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Republicans are saying they are going to either gut the government or shut it down. They mean it. It's gut or shut, and they are not going to allow a third choice. This is not just posturing and they are not likely to engage in bipartisan bargaining. Their rhetoric has painted them into a corner with their base. We should take them at their word and prepare. more »

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In a little more than a month, the President will give his State of the Union speech. There's every reason to believe that, in it, he will state that, in all sincerity, he believes that the United States Government has a deficit problem and a national debt problem that must be brought under control.

He will tell us that the Government is running out of money. more »

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The country’s huge debt was caused by tax cuts for the rich and increases in military spending. But debt-cutting recommendations from the D.C. Elite never suggest restoring taxes on the rich and cutting military spending. Go figure. Instead they suggest cutting the things government does for We, the People. The D.C. Elite is not We, the People. Let's stop this in its tracks. more »

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Congress passed tax cuts for the rich and cut the estate tax way down, adding $800 billion to the deficit and placing Social Security on the chopping block. more »

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If you like your Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, courts, roads, trains and the rest of what government does for We, the People, then you should pay attention to this. Early next year the Republicans will demand severe cuts to everything or they will allow the country to default on its debt. They mean it and they are planning for it. more »

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Right-wing billionaire Pete Peterson continues to use the Washington Post as an outlet for deceptive anti-tax and anti-government propaganda. His "Fiscal Times" is a factory for churning out James Frey-like mendacity, which the Post then deceptively packages and distributes as "journalism." For those of you who have forgotten, James Frey's deception, in his book A Million Little Pieces, was to pose as a former drug addict who got clean through the force of his own unaided will.

The Washington Post, on the other hand, poses as a newspaper.

The latest Peterson production, "Analysis examines what it's like to be a 'rich' family in America," is a grab-bag of misinformation and fiscal ignorance. This "analysis" was written by the latest Frey from Peterson's shop, someone named Karen Hube, and it's based on two phony premises: First, that "President Obama and others have repeatedly used (that level of income) to define what it means to be 'rich' in America today," and second, that it's a hardship to get by on $250,000 a year. more »

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Yesterday I wrote that the President may have sacrificed his long-term vision on trade and economic/industrial policy to day-to-day concerns and politics. The tax-cut deal is another indicator that a big-picture vision has been sacrificed. more »

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At the Strengthen Social Security campaign we made two graphs demonstrating how the Fiscal Commission's final proposal would affect typical earners at all ends of the spectrum. The results are devastating. If you are not shocked, you are not looking closely enough. Check it out below, or click here for the graphs, explanatory note and underlying data all in one file.

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