S&P downgrade wasn't only about politics...

In other words, though the way political leaders talk and bargain over the coming weeks will be of significance, it's the long-term structural issues that will be key. These, of course, seem extremely intractable; hence this turmoil happening in the first place. Regaining that AAA rating could yet be some way off.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/08/where-do-we-go-from-here-political-leaders-react-to-the-sp-downgrade.php?ref=fpa

2. Use that money to fund WPA-type programs, not another trickle-down POS
3. Medicare for all should bring costs down by 30% or more.
4. Restore historically-normal taxes on the wealthiest

Problem solved.

That won't do a thing.

which is it?

$1 Trillion in Savings From Winding Down the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will save $1 trillion.

http://democrats.senate.gov/2011/07/25/fact-sheet-100-of-spending-cuts-in-reid-debt-reduction-plan-were-supported-by-gop/

That was from the Reid plan.

Question: What happened to the Reid plan when it was voted on in the Senate on July 31?

http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/07/senate-defeats-reid-plan-leaders-work-to-finalize-deal-today.html">Answer.

Legal Requirement
While required by law to issue a current-policy estimate as its “baseline” projection, the CBO offered an alternative analysis. It calculated it would save $1.1 trillion by reducing forces to a combined 45,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq by 2015, down about 100,000 from today -- roughly in line with President Barack Obama’s announced plans.


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-26/troop-cuts-become-easy-cost-savings-for-debt-reduction-plans.html

The CBO's "alternative analysis" of an alleged $1.1 trillion in money that wouldn't have been spent anyway was not adopted in the final Obama/GOP debt deal.

And leaving Iraq and Afghanistan in 10 years years is not "ending the war".

You been cribbing rom my posts again? :evilgrin:

Can you point me to that so i can give credit in the future? I forgot to save it.

Thanks!

I don't claim to any particular originality, though. These ideas oght to be obvious to any progressive with a sense of history, and of the larger issues we're about to face. I was just teasing about the cribbing business.

I'd been struggling to come up with something concise for a while, but that post nailed it. If it was yours, thanks!

In the 70s this country began to live on the "I want it now" philosophy. Easy credit meant you could have the car you wanted or house or Betamax and as long as you made the payments all was golden. In the 80s the government began to run this way as well. Raygun needed to placate the growing corporate welfare and military industrial base and the credit card began to charge up. Since we're such a big country that affects other economies, the U.S. could get the credit limit pushed upwards. Things went into hyperspace during the boooosh years when two expensive wars were put on that charge card while revenues decreased. When the bubble burst in '08 it saw not just a tightening of credit but a closer accounting of who owed what to whom.

This downgrade is political as it shows how little confidence Wall Street has in the ability of this government to deal with anything other than naming Post Offices. There are a loud, vocal minority that has hijacked the ability of the government to generate revenue...and if you can't earn money, would a creditor be willing to take a risk on you?

There needs to be a long term systemic fix to government spending and revenues...but politicians only see things in short term and that's the only fixes we can expect.

Cheers...

Don't take it from me--take it from those who know more than either of us:



http://baselinescenario.com/2011/08/06/so-what-part-two/#more-9228



http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/06/the-arithmetic-of-near-term-deficits-and-debt/

and the punditry can pick up on the crazy fringes talking about it.
BUT...it comes down to this.
ANY legislation that is getting through is being done by sheer bully force.
Our side apparently doesn't have the stomach to engage in this...and the republicans are fully taking advantage of this.

But the truth is...there is no GOVERNANCE. None. And the rest of the world knows it. We here know it.
But there is a wave of denial in this country. Oh sure "nothing is getting done in Washington" is a meme meant to discredit the party in power...but this time, it is true.

There is no good indicator to the WORLD that we can come to a consensus of ANYTHING of importance.

We can't get judges approved, we can't get anyone appointed to key positions, we can't pass a budget without hostages, we can't even do the mundane (like the debt ceiling) without pure politics playing a key role. We are to the point of being broken beyond repair.

Along the way, those that saw this day coming began dropping in "rules". Both parties have done this. Hell, they don't even have to FILIBUSTER any more...they just have to say they will and we accept that as "the way it is".

I have no illusions that the folks partaking in this folly will come to their senses. They won't.
This will only embolden them. Instead of being better...I fully expect that things will become MUCH MUCH worse.

But I can't keep people from buying in. Will medicare have to change? Yes, but not the way they will do it.