While the new class of conservative Republicans, spurred on by the Tea Party, hold fast to their pledge not to raise taxes, the government is picking up steam in its charge to the economic disaster of a default. If the issue were really about the deficit and the debt, then there would have been an agreement on the debt ceiling and a default would be avoided at all costs. But the ongoing debate is only the side story. It would seem that the real story behind the breakdown in negotiations has a dual plot, first to make the economy so bad under an Obama administration that it will ensure a Republican victory in 2012 and secondly to dismantle the social welfare programs that serve low and moderate income people and the elderly.
In the right-wing, conservative view of the world, social security and Medicaid are tantamount to Socialism. These two programs, that are mandatory for all workers to pay into, are perhaps the most successful social welfare programs created as part of the New Deal and the War on Poverty. Prior to these two programs, older Americans represented the highest number of people living in poverty. That number has been reversed as millions of older Americans were moved out of poverty. As a result of the success of these two programs, there have been numerous attempts by Republicans to destabilize both. Most famously was George Bush’s failed attempt at privatizing social security, which would have transferred millions if not billions of dollars out of the pockets of retirees and into Wall Street traders and speculators.
Less known but much more devastating was the unfunded prescription drug program passed into law by George Bush. When a conservative Republican proposes a new social welfare benefit, we should be afraid, we should be very afraid. Not only has this new benefit been paid with borrowed monies, but in reality it was designed to be a subsidy for the enormously profitable pharmaceutical industry. A little known piece of the authorizing legislation denied Medicare the ability to negotiate drug prices. So, as the largest purchaser of prescription drugs, Medicare is the only health insurer that pays list price for prescription drugs. This one proviso costs the government billions of dollars every year. So masquerading as a benefit to seniors, this was little more than a nail in the coffin of Medicare and a drain on the federal budget.
It appears that it is only when there is a Democrat in the White House, that Republicans begin to care about the debt and the deficit. George Bush’s greatest legacy to the American people were two unfunded wars, an unfunded tax break for the wealthiest Americans and the unfunded prescription drug benefit. All of these paid for with borrowed dollars. Where were John Boehner, Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell and Eric Cantor when their party was running up the debt at record levels?
The author of the “no-tax” pledge that has captivated Congressional Republicans is Grover Norquist, an influential conservative activist. In his own words, Norquist provides the true rationale for the current deadlock: ”I don’t want to abolish government, I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bath tub.” In his world the deficit is not the issue, it is government itself. By keeping the focus on the debt ceiling and away from the real ideology informing the debate, we never get to the real issues that are faced by everyday working Americans. The issues that only government is big enough to tackle.
Oh, before I forget, these same Congress members who want to take away social welfare benefits from working Americans, have one of the best welfare packages offered to any workers anywhere. Congress members receive an annual salary of $174,000, more than three times the average household income in the country. Additionally they get almost 75% of their health insurance costs paid by the government, and they can receive as much as $36,000 a year in pension benefits after serving only five years at age 62. That is two and half times greater than the average social security benefit of $14,00, received by American retires, most of whom have no pension and minimal savings. Not bad for what is essentially a part-time job.
So lets’ take a look at some of those real issues that are being masked by the phony debate about the federal debt. As long as the focus is on the debt ceiling and not on these real issues, more and more Americans will find themselves facing real economic emergencies, not the type manufactured by a desperate Republican Party.
The Real Issues Index
173,000 Number of jobs lost in June 2011
14.1 million Number of individuals unemployed in June 2011
6.3 million Number of US workers unemployed for more than six months
8.6 million Number of involuntary part-time workers
2.7 million Number of discouraged workers not counted as part of the labor force
9.2 % Official government unemployment rate
16.6% True unemployment rate
2.6 million Number of households earning less than $25,000 per year
40 million Number of people living in poverty in US
15.5 million Number of children under age 18 living in poverty
$22,350 Official poverty threshold for a family of four
58.5 Per cent of people in the US who will spend at least one year in poverty during their lives
1.7 million Number of foreclosure filings in first six months of 2011
222,740 Number of foreclosed properties in June 2011
2.3 to 3.5 million Number of people who are homeless in US
23 Per cent of homeless families who have children
When John Boehner walked out on the negotiations he walked out on the American people. When he called tax increases “job killers,” he lied to the American people. It was the Bush tax cuts, bank deregulation, corporate tax giveaways, two unfunded wars, tax advantages to corporations who move jobs offshore, bailing out the banks and union busting policies – all supported by Mr. Boehner and his followers – that have caused this problem. Until our so-called representatives are willing to address these, the real issues, the debt crisis will never go away, and our economy will continue its slide to third world depths.
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