President Reagan turned the country from the largest creditor nation into the largest Debtor nation and raised the debt ceiling 8 times. Bush's Vice President Cheney, said that Reagan Proved Deficits don't matter, so Bush went from huge budget surpluses to huge deficits, by increasing military spending 150%, starting two wars, and by giving away huge tax breaks to the rich. Bush extended the debt ceiling 7 times and said it was just book keeping. The Bush economic policies destroyed the economy. Those Bush tax cuts and the military spending still accounts for one half of Obama's deficits and one half of the rest is due to the recession that Bush caused.
Now even though 3/4ths of the Debt is from Republican policies, the Republicans are suddenly concerned about deficits, and they are holding America hostage, unless they get their way and shift the responsibility for paying off that Republican debt on the backs of the poor, the old, the infirm and the children. They are absolutely opposed to having the rich or the corporations, who benefited most from the Republican Largesse, share the pain.
The Republicans are hiding a lot from the American people.
1. Republican Leaders Agree U.S. Default Would Be a "Financial Disaster"
2. Ronald Reagan Tripled the National Debt
3. George W. Bush Doubled the National Debt
4. Republicans Voted Seven Times to Raise Debt Ceiling for President Bush
5. Federal Taxes Are Now at a 60 Year Low
6. Bush Tax Cuts Didn't Pay for Themselves or Spur "Job Creators"
7. Ryan Budget Delivers Another Tax Cut Windfall for Wealthy
8. Ryan Budget Will Require Raising Debt Ceiling - Repeatedly
9. Tax Cuts Drive the Next Decade of Debt
10. $3 Trillion Tab for Unfunded Wars Remains Unpaid
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/06/23...The majority of people in the country would like to see the military budget cut and 80% want increased taxes on the millionaires, yet the Republicans are willing to destroy the countries economy, to allow the rich and the corporations to keep their tax Breaks.
Obama and the Democrats aren't even asking for new taxes on the rich. They are only asking that some of the subsidies to the oil companies who are making record profits be ended. They also want to close some tax loopholes for the super rich.
Is that really worth creating a financial catastrophe that will be worse than Bush's Economic Collapse? If the US defaults on it's debt for the first time ever. We will instantly loose 10% of our GDP and would result in a 44% cut in the governments budget. We would instantly be in a recession and would probably pull down much or Europe and the rest of the world with us.
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/analyst...Right wing ideologues and some Tea Party lawmakers think this is a good idea.
Since they are mostly rich, they don't care about the government shutting down services the poor depend on, and people loosing unemployment. They have always been in favor of eliminating as much of the government as they can (except the military and subsidies for Big Business).
But lets think about that a bit. The stock Markets will tank. Who looses the most money if that happens? The Rich and the Corporations.
Few of us are old enough now to remember but when Wall Street collapsed on "Black Thursday", October 24, 1929, there are stories of bankers that jumped from upper story windows because they had lost everything. The corporations will loose trillions.
Of course when many corporations close down it will result in many more job losses, and the unemployed will loose their benefits so the poor will be hurting.
But the bigger they are the harder they fall. The poor in this country are already suffering. Things can't get much worse for them. But imagine what would happen if a gizilionaire suddenly ended up in the soup lines.
The point of course, is that the rich and the corporations will never let this catastrophe happen. After all they own the Republicans. The markets and the corporations need and require stability. Why would they be willing to jeopardize all of their wealth and their corporations for a few measly tax breaks?
It is a bluff. It is time to call it.
Obama has bent over backward to accommodate the Republicans, but the Republicans haven't moved an inch. They insist that their debt be paid off by ending Medicare and by throwing the old and sick out into the street. They refuse to allow any cuts to the military or to have the rich or corporations pay their fair share. They voted to Increase military spending, to lower tax rates on the rich and to give them another trillion dollars.
The Democrats should hold firm. OK means testing to stabilize Medicare is OK with me, but let's not destroy the most popular program we have, and while Social Security doesn't add a dime to the debt, I wouldn't mind increasing the cap to $250,000 to stabilize SS until well past 2050. But the budget shouldn't be balanced entirely on the backs of the poor. The rich and the corporations have never had it so good. Our taxes are at a 60 year low and the rich are only paying about 17%, 2/3rds of the corporations pay no taxes at all. It is time they share in the sacrifice and the pain and pay their fair share.