This deeply flawed legislation amounts to capitulation to a reckless group of ideologues willing to sacrifice America's credibility to advance their extreme political agenda. The resulting cuts will inflict needless pain on already overburdened working families, while rewarding the super-rich with irresponsible and unpatriotic tax breaks. This bad deal will derail economic recovery, further undermining the middle class. History shows we cannot cut our way to prosperity. Contrary to Republican rhetoric, we are facing an employment crisis, not a debt crisis. The United States' government needs to put people first by investing in local communities and jobs. Slashing programmes that are helping working families stay afloat, while refusing to hold hedge fund managers and other billionaires responsible for paying their fair share, is bad policy. Asking hardworking, middle-class Americans to pay the bill for Wall Street's mistakes is simply unjust.
Phil Neuenfeld, president of Wisconsin AFL-CIO on the Debt Deal:
This deeply flawed legislation amounts to capitulation to a reckless group of ideologues willing to sacrifice America’s credibility to advance their extreme political agenda. The resulting cuts will inflict needless pain on already overburdened working families, while rewarding the super-rich with irresponsible and unpatriotic tax breaks.
This bad deal will derail economic recovery, further undermining the middle class.
History shows we cannot cut our way to prosperity. Contrary to Republican rhetoric, we are facing an employment crisis, not a debt crisis. The United States’ government needs to put people first by investing in local communities and jobs. Slashing programmes that are helping working families stay afloat, while refusing to hold hedge fund managers and other billionaires responsible for paying their fair share, is bad policy. Asking hardworking, middle-class Americans to pay the bill for Wall Street’s mistakes is simply unjust.
The truth is, as stated, we have an employment crisis. The other truth is that it is not likely to go away. The ‘unofficial’ unemployment figures in this state (not Wisconsin) are near 20%. In the city of Detroit, they are about triple that number. As long as this country provides tax incentives for corporations to take their jobs overseas, we will continue to have this issue. Judging from the recent Supreme Court decisions, which are very pro-business, this will not change significantly in favor of the ordinary citizen for many years.
More interestingly, there is very little protest from those most affected. They do not swarm the ballot box, they do not write their congressional leaders, they don’t organize and, so far, few have protested (other to complain on Facebook and blogs). Perhaps this will lead to an “American Spring”… yet the people do have the power to make changes they desire… they have to get off their bottoms, vote and care. Ironically, many of those sipping tea are going to be the ones most affected by the cuts about to take place. Influenced by Murdock’s media empire, led by Fox fiction, and entertained by the circuses of reality T.V., these uneducated (or mis-educated) folks are going to find themselves ever deeper in a hole. The bigger question is… will this lead to an ‘awakening’ and political reversal at the hands of the disenfranchised masses… or rather to a more insulated, xenophobic, and militaristic state, as people react in fear to increased crime, acts of individual terrorism (born of a sense of helplessness and frustration) and the inevitable riots that will occur?
If history can be a guide… it is likely the latter. So, the intelligent person positions him/herself with this in mind, and works hard not to be sucked into the general pessimism.