Super cutbacks loom

[blindpig]

Super cutbacks loom

A secret Star Chamber is meeting ­right now in Washington, D.C. Like those of Medieval English monarchies, this assembly flouts its abuse of power. Its sessions are held behind closed doors, far from members of the public whose fate they are deciding.

The 12 Republicans and Democrats on the congressional super committee (formerly the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction) are surreptitiously making monumental budgetary decisions. The standard of living and quality of life for tens of millions of people in this country is in jeopardy.

Yet, it’s Wall Street’s dream. This body is doing what the capitalist class has wanted to do for decades: Undo the social insurance and health care plans that the working class fought for and won — and paid for.

Its mission is to come up with a 10-year “deficit reduction” plan to cut $1.2 trillion from the federal budget. Congress would have to OK it and then it would go to President Barack Obama to sign. Republicans have proposed $2.2 trillion in cutbacks, with most coming from social programs. They vehemently oppose any new taxes for the superrich.

more.....

http://www.workers.org/2011/editorials/super_cutbacks_1117/

[raccoon]

1. K&R. nt

[vi5]

2. Does anyone honestly believe...

That the end result of this whole debacle in some form or another is going to be cuts to social safety net programs, no cuts to defense, and no taxes being raised on the wealthy and in fact more taxes on the poor and middle class?

Wehthere this happens because Dems cave in their pathetically misguided quest for some grand bargain or whether the failure to come up with something results in the trigger of safety net cuts combined with defense cuts, only to have the Repubs (with the help of dems) find some way to circumvent the defense cuts going into place.

Either way.......screwed.

[TBF]

4. Of course this is what is going to happen -

and yes, screwed is about where we're sitting.

[spanone]

6. precisely....

[TBF]

3. This is bad enough but wait until after the election -

doesn't even matter who wins - either way the austerity will be in full force.

[blindpig]

7. The true face and nature of our system are revealed to all.

Sometimes ya gotta get hit upside the head, I guess.

[stillwaiting]

9. Not all.

Plenty even here are still in denial (Although some that seem to be in denial may have other intentions...)

Many of my friends and family STILL don't even want to talk about politics/political ideas and political issues.

As long as that trend continues things will continue to get worse for us.

Activism needs to begin appealing to the average American's sense of citizenship while stressing that being a citizen DEMANDS that we pay attention and participate. Our failure to collectively pay attention to what "our" representatives are doing in D.C. has allowed the elite to get away with what they have over the past 3 1/2 to 4 decades. They have stolen the wealth from our very strong middle class and somehow have a very large percentage of Americans certain that illegal immigrants are responsible for it even though immigrants have negligible amounts of wealth (for the most part) and the percentage of wealth being hoarded by the top 1% continues to runaway to ridiculous proportions.

[blindpig]

11. Beyond the parochial, we need class consciousness.

The working class of the US, Greece, Italy, Spain, etc, are all under the hammer, not to mention the people of the 'Third World'.

[lonestarnot]

5. Yep. We're fucked. But we're used to it. Now occupy everything. They are not!

[inna]

8. what's next? domestic freedom drones?

damn. :nuke:

[taught_me_patience]

10. I wouldn't call 1.2T over 10 years "super"

that's an average of 120B/year. The deficit it 1.5T... this doesn't even cut the deficit by 10%.

[blindpig]

12. It will be a super ass whooping on the working class. n/t