Sunday, July 31, 2011

And We Didn't Even Get A T-Shirt!

Back in December, when a deal to get unemployment extended was in the works, many of us commented on the need for a debt ceiling hike to be included. It was not too difficult to foresee that the need for a raise in the debt ceiling would be used to force program cuts. But all we got for a two-year extension of the Bush tax cuts and a mixing of general revenues into the Social Security Trust Fund was 13 months of extended unemployment benefits, along with a fear that Democrats would capitulate in the upcoming debt ceiling negotiations.

However, I certainly did not anticipate just how much the Republicans would demand in exchange for the authority to borrow money to pay for obligations already incurred.

So, get ready for a massive tax hike on the middle class, because that is what the shifting of the burden of social programs onto them amounts to. Gotta keep those tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires and large corporations. And that trillion plus in government spending which will now be paid by those who can least afford it? I guess they won't be spending it on goods and services. Say goodbye to more jobs.

Congratulations, Congress. Another victory for those who fund campaigns and who hire those high-priced lobbyists. I can just hear the laughter in the back rooms about poor Grandma Millie.

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