Paul Krugman- The Biggest Losers

[n2doc]

The pundit consensus seems to be that Republicans lost in the just-concluded budget deal. Overall spending will be a bit higher than the level mandated by the sequester, the straitjacket imposed back in 2011. Meanwhile, Democrats avoided making any concessions on Social Security or Medicare. Call this one for Team D, I guess.

But if Republicans arguably lost this round, the unemployed lost even more: Extended benefits weren’t renewed, so 1.3 million workers will be cut off at the end of this month, and many more will see their benefits run out in the months that follow. And if you take a longer perspective — if you look at what has happened since Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in 2010 — what you see is a triumph of anti-government ideology that has had enormously destructive effects on American workers.

First, some facts about government spending.

One of the truly remarkable things about American political discourse at the end of 2013 is the fixed conviction among many conservatives that the Obama era has been one of enormous growth in government. Where do they think this surge in government spending has taken place? Well, it’s true that one major new program — the Affordable Care Act — is going into effect. But it’s not nearly as big as people imagine. Once Obamacare is fully implemented, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that it will add only about 3 percent to overall federal spending. And, if you ask people ranting about runaway government what other programs they’re talking about, you draw a blank.

Meanwhile, the actual numbers show that over the past three years we’ve been living through an era of unprecedented government downsizing. Government employment is down sharply; so is total government spending (including state and local governments) adjusted for inflation, which has fallen almost 3 percent since 2010 and around 5 percent per capita.

more

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/13/opinion/krugman-the-biggest-losers.html

[Laelth]

1. k&r for exposure. n/t

-Laelth

[Chiquitita]

2. Couldn't sleep last night

Because I visited my husband's second grade class yesterday. All Krugman said is true and it is severely hurting our children. I saw a school where almost all the kids' families are exploited by our low wage, no investment in human beings economy. It was family day -- the few parents who were able to get off work were there. Most kids looked at their grey, chicken? nugget $1.10 lunches listlessly with mask of emotional hurt. The joblessness, the cutting of unemployment, the cutting of food stamps, will make these children's lives harder, cause more emotional pain, the trauma of depressed or frightened parents.

When we feed our kids industrial waste at school and invite the parents and no one comes, we have to start FIGHTING BACK DAMMIT!

[Cosmocat]

3. Same as the Clinton years

This dog and pony show is a repeat.

They spend like fiends and big government when they have the white house, then go into "fiscal conservative" mode screaming about how are children are being saddled with debt and go into complete clown show mode when a D has the white house.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. ^^THIS^^ +infinity

[RoccoR5955]

4. K & R n/t

[Doctor_J]

6. yep, the Paul Ryan Budget, which we voted against last year, is now being

peddled by big media as a loss for right wingers.