America's Not Broke, Wisconsin's Not Broke; We're Just Wasting Money on War

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/03/18-14

“There is simply no rationale for continuing American involvement with no end in sight, rising deaths for civilians and our brave soldiers, declining public sentiment, and serious economic pain at home,” Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich explained to his fellow House members during Thursday’s debate on ending the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan. “Continuing our involvement in Afghanistan is not affordable, it's not just, and it hurts American foreign policy interests. It's time to go."

That message, long true but truer now than ever, resonated with 92 other members of the House, who joined Kucinich in voting for a new bill to bring an end to the war in Afghanistan by the end of 2011.

At a time when President Obama and Republican congressional leaders are both peddling different versions of the fantasy that America is broke, an when Republican governors are claiming that states are facing such hard times that only busting unions will balance budgets, Kucinich and his colleagues have found the missing money. It’s being wasted on a war of whim in Afghanistan.

As Kucinich explains, “There is simply no rationale for continuing American involvement with no end in sight, rising deaths for civilians and our brave soldiers, declining public sentiment, and serious economic pain at home. Continuing our involvement in Afghanistan is not affordable, it's not just, and it hurts American foreign policy interests. It's time to go.”

More at the link --

[bobbolink]

1. "We're broke" is a RW talking point, and it is very discouraging to see "progressives" repeating it

as they have been doing regularly on the threads I have put up.

It is the same mantra as Faux, which should give people pause.

Or paws. ^_^

[jtown1123]

2. Progressives should be too smart to repeat GOP talking points. I see it far too much

[bobbolink]

3. Yes, and yet it skirts the rules to label it for what it is.

It's lazy, and it damages us.

[whattheidonot]

5. broke.

How do we get un broke is the question. Those with the power decide this.

[bobbolink]

7. Extending the tax cuts for the rich sealed it.

:nuke:

[whattheidonot]

4. new challenge.

Look around . Is it not obvious that the time is now for a challenge to the President . Not from a right -wing Republican , but another direction. It is just accepted that we will go for the lesser bad. The lesser bad may not be good enough now.

[Aerows]

6. Yes

And we are wasting money on multinational tax breaks. I guess the assumption is that we are trying to break everyone else first, so that the come back to us. The problem with that logic is that other nations either get desperate enough to do things differently, or we break our own backs under the load.

[nc4bo]

8. K&R. nt

[patrice]

9. and our Tax Codes need REFORM, to close loopholes, simplify & make it more progressively equitable,

end tax cut abuses, fund education and health care, take care of infra-structure, and build long-distance high-speed trains.

We need TRADE policy reform and enforcement of anti-Trust laws, and Immigration laws, ON THE BOOKS.

[patrice]

10. SUBSIDIES need to b evaluated & go under the budget-knife = "Off-with-their-heads" for certain

systemic forms of corporate welfare like Agricultural Subsidies!

[JoeyT]

11. It sort of depends on your definition of "broke".

We're broke because we let the ultra-rich run off with all the fucking money.

We're broke by choice, since we could take it back if we wanted to. There's just no "political will" to do it. By which I mean the millionaires in the government that are in the pockets of the billionaires don't want to do it, and they don't give a shit how you answer polls or vote.

[timtom]

12. You're exactly right.

But, how do we stop the bastards?