House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is having to grapple with the difference between the rhetoric that fires up the Republican base and the reality of governance. Since Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) became speaker in 2019, Republican lawmakers have been able to complain and demand without actually having to participate in legislation. Now, though, it is up to McCarthy to bring the party’s rhetoric into the reality of laws, and so far it’s not going particularly well.
Last March. Mitt Romney offered this plan to shore up tax cuts for the wealthy:
"In comments to the Senate budget committee on Wednesday, the Republican senator from Utah said that the spiraling costs of retirement programs had to be tackled to bring national debt under control. Romney raised the politically controversial idea of cutting benefits, but only for younger generations before they reach retirement age.
“ 'For younger people coming along, we got to be able to find a way to balance these programs or we’re gonna find ourselves in a heap of trouble,' he said. He added that he was not in favour of raising taxes as a way of balancing the books, but was open to adjusting “long-term benefits not for current retirees”.
Is Social Security on or off the budget? Why do you call it an expense if it is funded by a dedicated tax... and remains pre-funded even today by some $2 trillion? Until just a couple of years ago, it was a net revenue source for the Treasury. I protest the characterisation of Social Security as an expense, or FICA as a tax. The payroll tax is a social insurance premium that buys a life-contingent pension with a spousal benefit. To call it an expense is to hand a weapon unnecessarily to Congressional allies of Wall Street, which is eager to get its hands on the payroll tax.
“I don’t know what’s gone haywire here with this Republican Party,” he said. Looking forward to the 2024 election, he concluded, the Democrats need to be very clear about “what we stand for, what we did, and what we need to do more of, and what we’re unwilling to do under any circumstances.”
Well said. Lives, Fortunes, sacred Honor. You have to stand for something more vital than political one-upsmanship and deals with the devil.
As far as whats gone haywire with Republicans at least since Reagan, follow the money. For sure, follow the money.
There is only one way to balance the budget and that is to raise taxes on the wealthy and on corporations. Biden needs to keeping pushing McCarthy on putting up or shutting up about what he sees as the alternative. Of course McCarthy is stalling until after the State of the Union so Biden can't hit the Republicans on specifics.
Biden needs to make clear how much of the Republican tax cuts have gone to the 1% and corporations and how little has gone to the average taxpayer and what fraction of the debt is due to when Republicans controlled Congress vs. when Democrats did and when Congress was spit.
He also needs to point out how Republican proposals will cut benefits for younger Americans. Time for some nice simple pie charts in the state of the Union.
He also needs a graphic to show how Blue states subsidize Red States--
In fact the bulk of the domestic policy portion of the State of the Union should focus on exploding myths about how Red rural America is being shortchanged.
The mainstream media is the missing link re. getting the contrasting plans out to the citizens. They'll rush to publish McCarthy's boyish tweety tweet, thumping his chest for the maga lemmings, but the real meat gets lost in the dust of both sides-ism and the "fair and balanced" myth that has been national coverage for decades, and longer. HCR, thanx for being the press critic you are and shining light on the truth of it; the country needs many more like you.
Hand-in-hand with their increasingly anti-intellectual, anti-knowledge, anti-factual trope (in more than one sense of the word) we now see laid bare: a party so bereft of ideas (like seriously, ANY) it cannot make simple statements about a single thing it is FOR (aside from tax cuts--pretty sure we'd solve every problem on earth if we just made taxes zero. Yep.). All it has done, can and will do (until it is stripped to the studs and starts over) is say "We're against Biden." Thankfully, more Americans (yet still, 30% of whom won't vote) have finally decided they WANT something. Better late.... Oh, and of course, these later-day dodos are also against the will of the people, the Constitution, or general peace and welfare. Yep, THAT good. These guys are at the gash in the hull of the Titanic wondering if they can somehow make it BIGGER.
Never fear: in response to that old biology adage (I'm sure this is suspect, since Jesus didn't say it): adapt, migrate or die, GOP "idea" guys (probably, literally, a group of guys), clearly HAVE A NEW IDEA: They choose... OPTION D (courtesy of LizardBrain.gfy): "Go silent; stay still; threat gone. Find food."
Those $400,000 (and up) people are quick to point out that 400k isn't wealthy and with rising costs of food and gas, it doesn't buy what it used to. After all, 400k is only $1095/day or if you're working $146/hour. Compare that to us retired folks sponging off the government and the money we paid in 50 years of work, I make $34/day or $4.29/hour. I can('t) see their rationale.
But wait, next month the pandemic boost for food stamps stops and they'll take $100/month away from the elders. Problem solved. Thanks REPUBLICAN'TS.
One small correction - There is debt and then there is debt. Federal government debt that is held by the Federal Reserve system is in effect, merely an accounting convention. It is not real debt. A chart of that can be found here at the St. Louis Fed site: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FDHBFRBN
The total is currently just a tad over $6 trillion.
There are a couple of observations one could make about this notation on the books. First, it could be written off, and second, maybe it shouldn't be. But, perhaps it should not be counted with respect to the debt ceiling. Arguing that it should is at best an exercise in sophistry. But, it could become real again, as the Fed has the option of selling it on the open market, and once it is in private hands, or held by other governments, it is very much once again quite real.
In the old Soviet system, the function of the government's treasury and that of the central bank were combined. Rubles were created and distributed based on central planning of the economy. It worked for a lot of things, but the biggest problem with it was human greed and corruption within the leadership of the Communist Party and the Red Army. That's probably the best argument for not writing it off, as one could see our politicians becoming a bit dimwitted and thinking they can just print money to their heart's content.
Whatever, in a very real sense, this current monetary crisis is really a crisis of belief systems about money and widely held misunderstandings of how it is created and distributed. I see plenty of bad thinking about it on both sides of the aisle.
Good morning everyone! I am going to send us on another tack (or maybe two) because I think that the grandstanding performative nonsense going on in front of the Rethuglican's Fox Not-the-News sofa spuds is probably masking a more reality-based process happening in the shadows by the guys and gals who don't like their negotiations to be revealed until they get the consensus they want. McCarthy knows that his short and curlies are being gripped on two sides and that his desire to be Speaker is turning out to be a "be careful what you wish for" moment. I have been following what has been happening in another Conservative "led" (I use that term very loosely) government: the UK. If folks have not been keeping track, the number of own goals the Sunak administration has served up is getting close to Liz Truss levels and even though the nice-but-personality-less leader of the Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer (he's a "Sir" because he is a barrister) can't make a public statement without sounding like a colorless dweeb, Labour is now in double digits ahead of the Tories. Moreover, the Tory backbenchers are starting to rebel; the country has been wracked by multiple industrial actions (short-term strikes) that are SUPPORTED by the people who are being impacted by them, and the entire financial sector looks to be approaching a meltdown because the government cannot figure out how not to pepper-spray themselves in the face (an "Is this thing working?" moment). It is weird that the UK's woes are not being reported more frequently in the US media outlets but I suspect that Americans are more interested in the Harry and Megan Chronicles than in the crap that is really happening. But the meltdown of the Tories is instructive, even if the system in the UK works differently than here.
My other morning post has to do with the (expletive deleted) governor of Florida who is trying to ramp up his (as a NY Times op-ed called it) "performative white supremacy" in anticipation of a "presidential" run by trying to make it illegal to teach anything about non-white, non-cis, non-hetero people in Florida universities--and to gut tenure so that anyone opposing this incredibly stupid move can be fired. But I'll save that for another day.
What a difference between Nancy Pelosi leading a Democratic congressional majority and Kevin McCarthy's stammering cow-towing of the konservative Keystone Kops now in charge, ("control" really is not applicable,) of the House.
Did he really not see this coming? In his negotiations (pleading) for the speakership did McCarthy not tell the uber-whackos that they would need to propose specific cuts to specific parts of the federal budget, beyond generalized attacks on Social Security and Medicare, so they had better have those proposals available, and be ready to personally and publicly defend those cuts?
Not likely.
That would mean giving orders, that's what leaders do, and Kevin McCarthey put himself in a position where he can't give orders to anyone. In fact, he's the one taking orders.
“i’m not interested in political games. I’m coming to negotiate for the American people.” From the man who antied up his soul and his constituency to gain a coveted political appointment!
I am reminded of the words Sam Bee used to describe Ivanka Trump that almost got her fired. That's Kevin McCarthy, cubed. He gave his power to the Insurrection Caucus in exchange for a nice office with a killer balcony and a big gavel. He's painted himself into a corner with lard.
OK - what I don't understand, is that setting up AM (or even FM) radio stations is no longer a big technical deal (hey - I've been involved in setting up a community radio station here in Oz (even built the transmitter). So there should be a sufficient number of Dem supporters who can pony up the money to build a network of stations. Where's Pacifica?? Gotta do it, it's not complex (especially FM).
Admirable! We can all feel confident, and the President chastened by this strong affirmation that the elected Speaker isn't coming to play political games. It goes with the straight back, sleek silver hair and neatly jutting chin. Good luck to you, Kevin McCarthy. I can't help hearing a little memory voice from 6 January - Trump in White House to McCarthy in Capitol - “Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are."
Last March. Mitt Romney offered this plan to shore up tax cuts for the wealthy:
"In comments to the Senate budget committee on Wednesday, the Republican senator from Utah said that the spiraling costs of retirement programs had to be tackled to bring national debt under control. Romney raised the politically controversial idea of cutting benefits, but only for younger generations before they reach retirement age.
“ 'For younger people coming along, we got to be able to find a way to balance these programs or we’re gonna find ourselves in a heap of trouble,' he said. He added that he was not in favour of raising taxes as a way of balancing the books, but was open to adjusting “long-term benefits not for current retirees”.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/31/mitt-romney-cut-back-retirement-benefits-younger-americans
Tax cuts for and bailouts for the wealthy, austerity for you. Should be their campaign slogan.
Is Social Security on or off the budget? Why do you call it an expense if it is funded by a dedicated tax... and remains pre-funded even today by some $2 trillion? Until just a couple of years ago, it was a net revenue source for the Treasury. I protest the characterisation of Social Security as an expense, or FICA as a tax. The payroll tax is a social insurance premium that buys a life-contingent pension with a spousal benefit. To call it an expense is to hand a weapon unnecessarily to Congressional allies of Wall Street, which is eager to get its hands on the payroll tax.
“I don’t know what’s gone haywire here with this Republican Party,” he said. Looking forward to the 2024 election, he concluded, the Democrats need to be very clear about “what we stand for, what we did, and what we need to do more of, and what we’re unwilling to do under any circumstances.”
Well said. Lives, Fortunes, sacred Honor. You have to stand for something more vital than political one-upsmanship and deals with the devil.
As far as whats gone haywire with Republicans at least since Reagan, follow the money. For sure, follow the money.
There is only one way to balance the budget and that is to raise taxes on the wealthy and on corporations. Biden needs to keeping pushing McCarthy on putting up or shutting up about what he sees as the alternative. Of course McCarthy is stalling until after the State of the Union so Biden can't hit the Republicans on specifics.
Biden needs to make clear how much of the Republican tax cuts have gone to the 1% and corporations and how little has gone to the average taxpayer and what fraction of the debt is due to when Republicans controlled Congress vs. when Democrats did and when Congress was spit.
He also needs to point out how Republican proposals will cut benefits for younger Americans. Time for some nice simple pie charts in the state of the Union.
He also needs a graphic to show how Blue states subsidize Red States--
In fact the bulk of the domestic policy portion of the State of the Union should focus on exploding myths about how Red rural America is being shortchanged.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/27/congressional-republicans-five-part-plan-to-increase-inflation-and-costs-for-american-families/
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/25/opinion/rural-voters-republican-realignment.html
The mainstream media is the missing link re. getting the contrasting plans out to the citizens. They'll rush to publish McCarthy's boyish tweety tweet, thumping his chest for the maga lemmings, but the real meat gets lost in the dust of both sides-ism and the "fair and balanced" myth that has been national coverage for decades, and longer. HCR, thanx for being the press critic you are and shining light on the truth of it; the country needs many more like you.
"But the Republicans won’t say what they’re planning to do. "
Obstruct. Sabotage.
They're good at that. (And not much else).
The record speaks for itself.
Hand-in-hand with their increasingly anti-intellectual, anti-knowledge, anti-factual trope (in more than one sense of the word) we now see laid bare: a party so bereft of ideas (like seriously, ANY) it cannot make simple statements about a single thing it is FOR (aside from tax cuts--pretty sure we'd solve every problem on earth if we just made taxes zero. Yep.). All it has done, can and will do (until it is stripped to the studs and starts over) is say "We're against Biden." Thankfully, more Americans (yet still, 30% of whom won't vote) have finally decided they WANT something. Better late.... Oh, and of course, these later-day dodos are also against the will of the people, the Constitution, or general peace and welfare. Yep, THAT good. These guys are at the gash in the hull of the Titanic wondering if they can somehow make it BIGGER.
Never fear: in response to that old biology adage (I'm sure this is suspect, since Jesus didn't say it): adapt, migrate or die, GOP "idea" guys (probably, literally, a group of guys), clearly HAVE A NEW IDEA: They choose... OPTION D (courtesy of LizardBrain.gfy): "Go silent; stay still; threat gone. Find food."
Now that is getting back to basics.
Those $400,000 (and up) people are quick to point out that 400k isn't wealthy and with rising costs of food and gas, it doesn't buy what it used to. After all, 400k is only $1095/day or if you're working $146/hour. Compare that to us retired folks sponging off the government and the money we paid in 50 years of work, I make $34/day or $4.29/hour. I can('t) see their rationale.
But wait, next month the pandemic boost for food stamps stops and they'll take $100/month away from the elders. Problem solved. Thanks REPUBLICAN'TS.
One small correction - There is debt and then there is debt. Federal government debt that is held by the Federal Reserve system is in effect, merely an accounting convention. It is not real debt. A chart of that can be found here at the St. Louis Fed site: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FDHBFRBN
The total is currently just a tad over $6 trillion.
There are a couple of observations one could make about this notation on the books. First, it could be written off, and second, maybe it shouldn't be. But, perhaps it should not be counted with respect to the debt ceiling. Arguing that it should is at best an exercise in sophistry. But, it could become real again, as the Fed has the option of selling it on the open market, and once it is in private hands, or held by other governments, it is very much once again quite real.
In the old Soviet system, the function of the government's treasury and that of the central bank were combined. Rubles were created and distributed based on central planning of the economy. It worked for a lot of things, but the biggest problem with it was human greed and corruption within the leadership of the Communist Party and the Red Army. That's probably the best argument for not writing it off, as one could see our politicians becoming a bit dimwitted and thinking they can just print money to their heart's content.
Whatever, in a very real sense, this current monetary crisis is really a crisis of belief systems about money and widely held misunderstandings of how it is created and distributed. I see plenty of bad thinking about it on both sides of the aisle.
Good morning everyone! I am going to send us on another tack (or maybe two) because I think that the grandstanding performative nonsense going on in front of the Rethuglican's Fox Not-the-News sofa spuds is probably masking a more reality-based process happening in the shadows by the guys and gals who don't like their negotiations to be revealed until they get the consensus they want. McCarthy knows that his short and curlies are being gripped on two sides and that his desire to be Speaker is turning out to be a "be careful what you wish for" moment. I have been following what has been happening in another Conservative "led" (I use that term very loosely) government: the UK. If folks have not been keeping track, the number of own goals the Sunak administration has served up is getting close to Liz Truss levels and even though the nice-but-personality-less leader of the Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer (he's a "Sir" because he is a barrister) can't make a public statement without sounding like a colorless dweeb, Labour is now in double digits ahead of the Tories. Moreover, the Tory backbenchers are starting to rebel; the country has been wracked by multiple industrial actions (short-term strikes) that are SUPPORTED by the people who are being impacted by them, and the entire financial sector looks to be approaching a meltdown because the government cannot figure out how not to pepper-spray themselves in the face (an "Is this thing working?" moment). It is weird that the UK's woes are not being reported more frequently in the US media outlets but I suspect that Americans are more interested in the Harry and Megan Chronicles than in the crap that is really happening. But the meltdown of the Tories is instructive, even if the system in the UK works differently than here.
My other morning post has to do with the (expletive deleted) governor of Florida who is trying to ramp up his (as a NY Times op-ed called it) "performative white supremacy" in anticipation of a "presidential" run by trying to make it illegal to teach anything about non-white, non-cis, non-hetero people in Florida universities--and to gut tenure so that anyone opposing this incredibly stupid move can be fired. But I'll save that for another day.
What a difference between Nancy Pelosi leading a Democratic congressional majority and Kevin McCarthy's stammering cow-towing of the konservative Keystone Kops now in charge, ("control" really is not applicable,) of the House.
Did he really not see this coming? In his negotiations (pleading) for the speakership did McCarthy not tell the uber-whackos that they would need to propose specific cuts to specific parts of the federal budget, beyond generalized attacks on Social Security and Medicare, so they had better have those proposals available, and be ready to personally and publicly defend those cuts?
Not likely.
That would mean giving orders, that's what leaders do, and Kevin McCarthey put himself in a position where he can't give orders to anyone. In fact, he's the one taking orders.
What a mess! What a difference!
“i’m not interested in political games. I’m coming to negotiate for the American people.” From the man who antied up his soul and his constituency to gain a coveted political appointment!
I am reminded of the words Sam Bee used to describe Ivanka Trump that almost got her fired. That's Kevin McCarthy, cubed. He gave his power to the Insurrection Caucus in exchange for a nice office with a killer balcony and a big gavel. He's painted himself into a corner with lard.
OK - what I don't understand, is that setting up AM (or even FM) radio stations is no longer a big technical deal (hey - I've been involved in setting up a community radio station here in Oz (even built the transmitter). So there should be a sufficient number of Dem supporters who can pony up the money to build a network of stations. Where's Pacifica?? Gotta do it, it's not complex (especially FM).
I think McCarthy is the epitome of a desperate little boy who wants to be important, so he trades with the bullies.
Admirable! We can all feel confident, and the President chastened by this strong affirmation that the elected Speaker isn't coming to play political games. It goes with the straight back, sleek silver hair and neatly jutting chin. Good luck to you, Kevin McCarthy. I can't help hearing a little memory voice from 6 January - Trump in White House to McCarthy in Capitol - “Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are."