William Greider: Obama setting himself up to fashion another grand budget compromise with the right

[Better Believe It]

The Credit Rating Hoax
By William Greider
April 20, 2011

Standard & Poor’s, the self-righteous credit-rating agency, has a damn lot of nerve. It provoked scary headlines by solemnly threatening to “short” America. That is, downgrade the credit-worthiness of US Treasury bonds unless Congress and the president oblige creditors by punishing the citizenry with severe budget cuts. What a load of crap.

The real explanation for the deficits has been air-brushed out of public discussion. Instead, we are witnessing another brazen scam engineered by the financial establishment—a phony political analysis that blames the victims, Americans at large who lost jobs, homes, savings and security thanks to Wall Street titans. The fiscal problem, we are told by right-handed commentary, should be blamed on big government, not big bankers. Because Washington has overreached, people must now learn to curb their appetites. Brave politicians in both parties claim they must cut healthcare and Social Security and other important guarantees in order to save the country from wrathful judgment by Standard & Poor’s. What a hoot.

The deficit panic is itself bogus—poor-mouthing America to avoid raising taxes on the folks who got the money. Naturally, this reactionary approach was first promoted by Republicans, but has been tacitly embraced by the Democratic president and Congressional Democrats. No more talk from them about jobs, jobs, jobs or doing anything real to save millions of families from home foreclosures. Barack Obama promises to do the blood-letting more delicately than barbaric Republicans, protecting Social Security and Medicare and other much-loved programs. But can people believe him? They have been burned before by vague good talk.

If you listen closely, Obama is setting himself up to fashion another “grand compromise” with the right. He will explain this is the “adult” thing to do. But his supporters may once again see betrayal. As the polls keep reporting, the populace is overwhelmingly opposed to any political deal-making that punishes them again for a catastrophe they did not cause. People seem to know it is wrong to dump more pain on them while the real malefactors are not held accountable for their sins.

Read the full article at:

http://www.thenation.com/article/160066/credit-rating-hoax

[Donnachaidh]

1. K&R to zero

the squad's out early. :shrug:

[CelticThunder]

2. Compromise? But that would mean we'd get something too.

[Better Believe It]

5. If your rich you may get yet another tax cut by lowering the top tax rate. And if your not,

you can help to fund it losing deductions such at the home mortgage interest deduction.

[vi5]

3. Look, Durbin has already signaled SS cuts....

....and he's the "liberal" on the pathetic "gang of 6". Is there any reason why any of us should not believe that someone with such close ties to the president is not at least lining up with what he wants on this?

[Vincardog]

4. I am tired of Obama COMPROMISING and racing to see how far RIGHT he can go.

He is a CORPORATIST and I am tired of his giveaways to the rich.

[emilyg]

6. k/r

[Angry Dragon]

7. Off with their heads

[gratuitous]

8. Cut benefits, raise the retirement age

The process has been in motion for over a year, with the phony Catfood Commission and their non-report (they blew their own deadline, and had insufficient commission endorsement for any of the schemes that were aired). The next phase, wherein some of the "recommendations" of the Catfood Commission are "debated" by a bunch of millionaires in the government and on teevee. Anyone who points out that the Catfood Commission never issued a report is dismissed as Not Serious About Deficit Reduction and summarily dismissed.

The phase after that is the inescapable conclusion that cutting benefits for future retirees and raising the retirement age again. Everyone who matters will agree that it must be so. Anything to avoid the Holocaust that is the prospect of asking the likes of Charlie Sheen and Paris Hilton to pay an extra three percent in taxes on their annual "earnings" above $250,000.