Mother Jones: Will the GOP's Budget Cuts Gut the Middle Class?

[marmar]

Will the GOP's Budget Cuts Gut the Middle Class?

— By Andy Kroll
| Mon Jan. 17, 2011 3:00 AM PST


It’s the biggest task facing the new House Republican majority now settling into life in Washington: Making good on its promise to slash the federal budget and shrink the size of government. Top Republicans like House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy of California have pledged to slim government down to 2008 budget levels, a strategy that's been called "back-to-Bush." In early January, Boehner told reporters, "On September 24, we made clear in the that we want to go back to 2008 spending levels...There's no ifs, ands, or buts about it."

Problem is, no one knows where exactly House Republicans plan to apply the scalpel. It's not clear they themselves know where they’ll cut. The "Pledge to America" only calls for reductions to non-security discretionary programs; that means agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Homeland Security, and Defense Department would be exempt. The GOP's plan would cut non-security discretionary funding—the roughly one-third of government spending controlled by Congress, which excludes programs like Social Security and Medicare—by nearly 22 percent, shaving $105 billion off of President Obama’s $483 billion 2011 budget proposal.

Now, that doesn’t mean Republicans will slash one-fifth of all the budgets for non-security programs. They could gut some programs entirely, and leave others completely untouched to achieve the kind of savings they want. But they've provided no hints of what might be trimmed—or gutted.

But if you apply the GOP’s proposed cuts across the board—21.7 percent for all non-security programs—you get a glimpse of what's on the table and what could face the axe under Speaker Boehner. In fact, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has done just that. What it found was grim, with middle class Americans set to lose the most. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/01/republican-budget-cut-middle-class

[upi402]

1. Scrape the last flesh from the carcass, ya mean?

Yes, by design.

[Salviati]

2. If you're talking about removing 1/5 of the total,

It seems like "bone saw" would be a more appropriate metaphor than scalpel...

[freshwest]

3. Yes. One of two things will happen in the next few years as it settles out.

They'll keep quiet, as long as they feel they're better off than others, or complain about public workers and the poor using 'their' money.

Or they will raise hell, but only if they can see they'll join the ones they look down on now. I'm not saying they are cruel or arrogant; just more comfortable than those who have been losing everything, so they have supported the status quo.

[LiberalEsto]

4. It's not a question of "Will...?"

It's a question of whether the Democrats will go along with it.
And I'm very much afraid they will.

[mdmc]

5. ..