NYT chart - The Debt Crisis — What Should Congress Do?

[Inuca]

Charts readers' feedback to the question. Quite fascinating. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/07/29/us/politics/20110729-debt-matrix.html?ref=politics

[OmahaBlueDog]

1. What does Dave Ramsay tell couples in debt to do?

1) Reduce your spending (make a budget, sell the car with the payments, stop eating out...)
2) Increase your income (get a 2nd/3rd job, get an income producing hobby)

I don't know what's so difficult here. This mess started when we went to war and simultaneously cut taxes in the last decade.

[judy]

2. Oh, I am so tired of this...

What should Congress do?

As Bette Midler would say "What kind of asshole question is that!"
If Congress was in any way interested in "serving" as they love to say (aside of course from luminaries like Barbara Lee and Dennis Kucinich)
The answer is a no brainer:

Stop funding the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, and Somalia (besides Somalis are dying of hunger. Wouldn't it be better to feed them, than to spend money on unmanned drones, bomb and secret operations???)
Allow the wealthy, super wealthy and corporations to pay taxes just like anyone else
Universal healthcare (no more subsidies to insurance companies)
Help people keep their homes
Repair infrastructure
Once the deficit is lower (by the trillions from stopping the wars), pour it into energy research.
Etc. etc. you get the gist...

So why is there a question? We all know the answer...

[renate]

3. that's pretty cool

From the comments left, I think some of the "don't increase revenue" people are a little fuzzy on the subject of just who would be providing the added revenue. I'm still puzzled by the failure of the Democrats to make it crystal clear that the Republicans are risking the economy for the sake of the very rich, not for the middle class.

What a nifty idea for an interactive feature! Good for the NYT for coming up with it!

[Strelnikov_]

4. But the ReBagger Pols keep sayin nobody wants more revenue aka higher taxes

Kinda like the the health care debate.

The vast majority of the electorate says one thing. The politicians, particularly the ReBaggers, advance the position of a small segment as policy.




Life in this country really is beginning to resemble a Phillip K. Dick novel.