Obama, The Hatchet Man
President Obama has become John McCain, at least on economic issues.
When they were running for President against each other, McCain proposed an across the board spending freeze.
At that time, Obama ridiculed the idea.
“The problem with a spending freeze is you're using a hatchet where you need a scalpel," Obama said in his first presidential debate against McCain. "There are some programs that are very important that are underfunded."
In the second debate, he said, “I disagree with Senator McCain about an across-the-board freeze. . . . I want to use a scalpel, so that people who need help are getting help."
Now Obama is the hatchet man.
This spending freeze, which, in traditional Republican fashion, exempts the Pentagon, is a colossal blunder.
As far as the economy goes, it’s totally foolish, since we’re still reeling from the Great Recession and we need more—not less—domestic spending to pull us out of it. By embracing the spending freeze, Obama is consigning millions more to the unemployment lines.
And politically, we need a Democrat for this?
He’s going to be freezing the Education Department, he’s going to be freezing other departments that help the poor, he’s going to be freezing the EPA, he’s going to be freezing the Labor Department, he’s going to be freezing the Justice Department.
That’s less money for people who need it, and less money to go after corporate criminals.
What a hatchet job.
Matthew Rothschild is the editor of The Progressive magazine. To subscribe for just $14.97 a year, just click here.
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Comments
"This is another scheme to punish success and reward failure. Your system will have at least as much theft, fraud, and defaults but will handle those by making others - probably taxpayers - pay the price."
No, it's the private, for-profit institutions that fypically have such problems. Capitalist institutions are the ones that require taxpayer bailouts: Bear Stearns, AIG, Citibank, General Motors, the airlines ....
How much theft and fraud are there at the post office? When was the last time the local water authority needed a bailout?
"We already have private non-profit banks (credit unions) and they are a good alternative to for-profit banks and give consumers added choice."
Credit unions and small community banks are good, but lack the reosources to provide their members with credit cards. Their members have to rely on cards issued by companies like VISA. So that doesn't solve the credit card problem.
"There is no need for a government-run 'public option' that puts taxpayers on the hook."
Taxpayers are already on the hook for megalithic banks like Citigroup that are "too big to fail." A public bank would take taxpayers off that hook by providing a public-benefit, non-profit entity that would be run responsibly, and therefore require no bailout.
"'SOMEWHAT socialist'? In the eye of the beholder, I guess."
Nonsense. What makes you think you have a better understanding of the contents of my mind than I do? That's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard.