Tag Archives: deficit

March 15, 2011 · 6:54 pm

Poll: Budget Impasse Cements Public’s Disapproval of Washington – The Washington Post

Interesting Poll results out today from the Washington Post/ABC News.

In summary, everyone thinks government is broken, many more people trust President Obama to handle the economy than the GOP and people have lost faith in the Republicans on the economy.

Serious Buyers Remorse on the GOP Congress….

The early battles in Washington this year have cemented the public’s disapproval of the political system and the country’s leadership, with confidence in congressional Republicans sagging and majorities disapproving of how President Obama is handling top domestic issues, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

In a sweeping indicator of dissatisfaction with Washington, just 26 percent of Americans say they are optimistic about “our system of government and how well it works,” a low point in polls dating to 1974. This gloomy assessment is shared by Democrats and Republicans, even as they agree on little else.

AND

When it comes to dealing with issue No. 1, the economy, Obama has an advantage: 46 percent say they put more faith in the president, 34 percent say so about congressional Republicans. Obama has a similar 12-point lead on the question of who better understands the economic problems people face, and a nine-point edge on dealing with the deficit.

via Poll: Budget impasse cements public’s disapproval of Washington – The Washington Post.

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March 12, 2011 · 9:25 am

Michael Moore: The Smug Wealthy Have Gone Too Far — And We’re Finally Fighting Back | Economy | AlterNet

Michael Moore can be a little over-the-top for me sometimes, but this time he’s pretty much on target….

From Michael Moore via AlterNet:

Contrary to what those in power would like you to believe so that you’ll give up your pension, cut your wages, and settle for the life your great-grandparents had, America is not broke. Not by a long shot. The country is awash in wealth and cash. It’s just that it’s not in your hands. It has been transferred, in the greatest heist in history, from the workers and consumers to the banks and the portfolios of the uber-rich.

Today just 400 Americans have more wealth than half of all Americans combined.

Let me say that again. 400 obscenely rich people, most of whom benefited in some way from the multi-trillion dollar taxpayer “bailout” of 2008, now have more loot, stock and property than the assets of 155 million Americans combined. If you can’t bring yourself to call that a financial coup d’état, then you are simply not being honest about what you know in your heart to be true.

And I can see why. For us to admit that we have let a small group of men abscond with and hoard the bulk of the wealth that runs our economy, would mean that we’d have to accept the humiliating acknowledgment that we have indeed surrendered our precious Democracy to the moneyed elite. Wall Street, the banks and the Fortune 500 now run this Republic — and, until this past month, the rest of us have felt completely helpless, unable to find a way to do anything about it.

More:   Michael Moore: The Smug Wealthy Have Gone Too Far — And We’re Finally Fighting Back | Economy | AlterNet.

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March 11, 2011 · 5:41 pm

Sanders introduces millionaire surtax to slash deficit | The Raw Story

Okay…81% of Americans favor this, but it doesn’t have a chance in hell of passing in Congress…

So much for representative democracy for anyone except the Rich and the Oil Companies….

WASHINGTON – As Democrats and Republicans battle over how much spending should be cut to bridge the budget shortfall, one senator is focusing on the other side of the equation: revenues.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Thursday afternoon introduced a bill (pdf) that would establish a surtax on millionaires and strip tax deductions for oil companies — a proposal he claims would cut the deficit by about $50 billion.

The Emergency Deficit Reduction Act would accomplish this by raising taxes by 5.4 percent on annual income over $1 million.

Congress has yet to pass a budget to fund the government for fiscal 2011, approving three continuing resolutions to avoid a shutdown. The latest expires March 18. The Senate rejected the Democratic and Republican proposals Wednesday.

A NBC/Wall Street Journal poll found late February that 81 percent of Americans believe a surtax on millionaires is an acceptable way to close the budget shortfall.

Yet in Congress, the quest is a lonely one. Though leaders of both parties admit the deficit is a pressing problem, none have advanced tax increases to trim the gap. And the outspoken Vermonter isn’t pulling any punches.

Republicans, Sanders fumed, want to balance the budget “solely on the backs of the middle class and some of the most vulnerable people in this country.” Democrats, he added, aren’t “serious” about deficits if they ignore revenues.

via Sanders introduces millionaire surtax to slash deficit | The Raw Story.

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March 3, 2011 · 9:56 pm

Boehner & GOP Aim to Cut Social Security – WSJ.com

This may just be it.  The straw that breaks the camel’s back for the American electorate…

The Republicans may just be getting ready to reach too far…

That’s what usually happens.

It’s not possible to educate the electorate– only misinform them.

That’s worked so far, but I’ll be shocked if it works for Social Security.

Remember, there is nothing wrong with Social Security and it is not contributing to the deficit at all.  It’s financially sound for years to come and could be sound forever with just a few tweaks- like removing the income cap on withholding.

God, I hope this blows up in their faces and they don’t succeed in ruining one of the best social safety net programs ever created.

The Polls say no one wants this…but that’s not stopped the GOP before.

It may finally be crowds in the street time in Washington….

WASHINGTON—House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday that he’s determined to offer a budget this spring that curbs Social Security and Medicare, despite the political risks, and that Republicans will try to persuade voters that sacrifices are needed.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Boehner said House Republicans would offer a budget for the next fiscal year that sets goals for bringing the programs’ costs under control. But he acknowledged that Americans aren’t yet ready to embrace far-reaching changes to Social Security and Medicare because they aren’t aware of the magnitude of the financial problems.

“People in Washington assume that Americans understand how big the problem is, but most Americans don’t have a clue,” Mr. Boehner said, speaking in his Capitol office. “I think it’s incumbent on us, if we are serious about dealing with the big challenges, that we go out and help Americans understand how big the problem is that faces us.”

He added, “Once they understand how big the problem is, I think people will be more receptive to what the possible solutions may be.”

via Boehner Aims to Tame Benefits Programs – WSJ.com.

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