Dear Congress (and Trump): YOU'RE FIRED! (Again)

Though this time it was brief and over within a matter of hours, there was nonetheless yet another government shutdown last night.  Just three weeks after the first one.  All because Congress couldn't get their act together and pass even a very brief stopgap funding bill in time, though they did ultimately come to a longer-term two-year budget deal once the perennial gadfly Rand Paul finally got out of the way.

Like the shutdown in 2013, as well as the one three weeks ago, the blame lies primarily with Republicans.  This time around, like last time, it was initially their refusal to negotiate with Democrats about several pressing issues, most notably DACA, in the past several weeks that led to the current impasse, though they did finally come to a deal that Rand Paul held up for hours.  Specifically, he vehemently disagreed with the increase in government spending, a point that was really not too far off the mark.   Granted with a Republican president this time, the roles of offense and defense have been reversed, but Trump has clearly sent mixed signals and has essentially been engaging in chaos manufacture all this time, though he did favor this deal and sign it into law.  Regardless, this Congress and the Trump regime both put the "funk" back in "dysfunctional"!

The new two-year deal, however, is also quite problematic in that it massively increases government spending, especially on "defense" (read: our already over-bloated and over-extended military), on the heels of that massive tax cut mostly for the rich and corpoations, at a time when the national debt already exceeds $20 TRILLION, which is just over 100% of GDP.  The deficit alone will thus most likely exceed a trillion next year, if not sooner.  There are some good things in the deal (such as disaster relief and healthcare), to be sure, but now is absolutely NOT the time to spend like a bunch of sailors and make the national debt skyrocket even further into the stratosphere.  With an unemployment rate around 4%, which is basically "full employment" by today's standards, now is the time to start running budget surpluses, NOT yawning deficits.   It's called "countercyclical finance", folks. John Maynard Keynes must be spinning in his grave right now!

That said, the TSAP hereby gives virtually all 535 members of this most dysfunctional Congress in history, especially (but not limited to) Republicans, a vote of "no confidence", and we will take their government shutdown to imply the resignation of such members.   We also do the same for Trump as well, obviously.  We thus encourage every reader of this blog to sign the following petitions:

Dear Congress:  We Accept Your Resignation
No Pay for Congress During Shutdown
No Budget, No Pay
Minimum Wage for Congress
Impeach Donald Trump Now

Let them know that We the People have had ENOUGH of the gridlock, grandstanding, backstabbing, corruption, venality, follies, lies, recklessness, childishness, and otherwise outrageous behavior of Congress, along with the mendacity, recklessness, instability, incompetence, hate, chaos manufacture, grift, graft, and scandals of the orange menace in the White House. If we weren't clear, we'll say it again:

YOU'RE FIRED!!!

So what's the opposite of "progress" again?  You guessed it.

Tell Congress: NO MORE WARS!

Six months after the current war against ISIS began, President Obama is currently trying to get Congress to pass a new Authorization for the Use of Miltary Force (AUMF) to continue this war up to three more years.

As far as what the Obama administration hopes to accomplish by fighting fire with gasoline, we really don't know.  But doing so is unlikely to really achieve anything good in the long run, and will likely just make things worse overall.  And indeed, it is already backfiring, as anyone who is paying attention can clearly see.  The original justification for "humanitarian" bombing, namely rescuing the Yazidis who were trapped on a mountain and were about to be exterminated, has since evaporated, and any other justification for further airstrikes is pure mission creep, plain and simple.  Pretty soon they will be calling for boots on the ground when the airstrikes inevitably fail to eradicate ISIS/ISIL/IS or whatever they happen to call themselves this week, and we all know where that leads.  Truly, the road to hell is paved with (ostensibly) good intentions.

Honestly, there really is only one solution in that part of the world, and we are only half-joking about this one.  Give every woman over there an AK-47 and tell them to take over their countries and mow down anyone who stands in their way.  Let Allah sort it out.  Problem solved.  But of course, none of the powers that be over here would be too keen on that.  After all, they wouldn't want women in THIS country getting any ideas, now would they?  Though replacing all of our current Big Wetiko "leaders" with women would really not be a bad idea at all, come to think of it.  Perhaps then the USA would not be so eager to continue on our omnicidal path of endless war and imperialism, which let's face it, is fundamentally a "guy thing".

Thus, we all need to ask Congress to NOT authorize any more of this stupid, futile, and unnecessary war.

Deal or No Deal?

Looks like Congress finally passed a budget deal to get us through the next two years, just in time for the holidays.  The deal was made between Paul Ryan (R) and Patty Murray (D), and the compromise not only avoids another government shutdown in January, but it also alleviates some of the worst fears about austerity in the future.  Both sides grudgingly gave up a little bit of what they held dear in order to avoid larger sacrifices on their part, and even Bonehead himself went along with it.  As a result, the three most popular programs (Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid) and Obamacare are no longer on the chopping block for now, and the most damaging sequester cuts are reversed (or at least made more flexible) for the 2014 fiscal year.  So, cue the music once again, Maestro:

HALLELUJAH!  HALLELUJAH!  HALLELUJAH, HALL.......err, wait a minute.  Seriously?  There is really nothing to be rejoicing about, since Congress merely did what they are normally supposed to do every year--pass a freaking budget on time to prevent a shutdown.  Furthermore, it's not like it's a particularly good deal either.  The budget includes cuts to military pensions, no extension of unemployment benefits, no reversal of November's food stamp cuts, and many remaining parts of the sequester--all to protect massive tax loopholes for the rich and mega-corporations, which remained untouched despite the need for new revenues.  And the looming debt ceiling showdown in February remains unaddressed, which the Repugnicans will most likely try to exploit once again when the time comes.  But all this is the logical consequence of negotiating a compromise between a right-wing extremist like Ryan and a moderate centrist Democrat like Murray--we end up splitting the difference and getting a deal that is, on balance, actually even further to the right of the status quo just to keep the ax away from our most crucial and popular social progams.  Long story short, Congress is still broken, and is clearly FAR from being fixed anytime soon.  So one more time, we will say it again to them:

"YOU'RE FIRED!!!"

Except for a very few of you (Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Tammy Baldwin, and Alan Grayson), we will send ALL of you packing in 2014.  Goodbye, and good riddance!  Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Default Averted, For Now

Finally, after 16 days of being shut down, the federal government has officially reopened on October 17.   At the 11th hour, Congress finally passed a bipartisan deal to fund the government through January 15, 2014 and suspend the debt ceiling enough to get us through February 7.   Thus, the risk of default is nil for the next few months, until the next inevitable battle on the horizon of course.   The President stood his ground, and no significant changes were made to Obamacare as Bonehead and most Republicans finally backed down for now.  Our economy, and indeed the world's economy, has been saved from the brink of catastrophe.  So, cue the music, Maestro:

HALLELUJAH!  HALLELUJAH!  HALLELUJAH, HALL.......err, wait a minute.  Seriously?  There is really nothing to be rejoicing about, since true progressives gained absolutely nothing from the deal, the sequester cuts are still in place, and the crazy fanatics who held our government hostage and nearly drove us over the debt cliff get to walk away unpunished, salivating like Pavlov's dog at the next chance to do it all over again.  The antics of the past few weeks have already done significant damage to our economy, and made America look like a dysfunctional laughingstock around the world.  We must not tolerate this kind of outrageous and unacceptable behavior from any of our elected representatives, ever.  Period.  So, one more time, we will say it again to them loud and clear:

"YOU'RE FIRED!!!"

Now pack your bags and get the hell out before we primary each and every one of you.  We the People have spoken.  Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Dear Congress: You're Fired!

It's official.  The much-feared government shutdown has begun.  All because Congress couldn't get their act together and pass a continuing budget resolution by the October 1 deadline.  They have gone way too far this time.  And we are all paying a heavy price for it. 

The most blame lies with the Republican Party, especially the Koch-funded Tea Party members.  Wanting desperately to repeal, defund, or at least delay Obamacare, among other demands, they insisted on playing chicken with the economy because they didn't get their way.   Led by John Boehner and Ted Cruz, they refused repeatedly to pass a "clean" bill to fund the government for even a few weeks beyond October 1.  Well into September 30, they made one outrageous demand after another as a condition for passing a continuing resolution.  But the Democrats are not entirely innocent either.  They let it get to this point for quite some time now, and even took the weekend off knowing a shutdown was likely imminent.  And when Boehner offered a surprisingly reasonable 11th-hour request to allow the shutdown to be avoided if 1) only the "individual mandate" part of Obamacare would be delayed by a year and 2) Members of Congress would not get any healthcare subsidies, the Democrats (led by Harry Reid) still refused, and Obama still threatened to veto it.  Of course, the Republicans then punted again, and still refused to even allow a House vote on a "clean" bill.  Despicable!  Why both sides couldn't come to a compromise is beside the point.  The real issue is that shutting down the government just because you don't get your way should NEVER be done, period.  And the longer the shutdown lasts, the more damage is done to our economy and society at large.

But it appears that an even bigger fight is on the horizon.  We are just weeks away from defaulting on our national debt if the debt ceiling is not raised in a timely fashion.  Such a default would be unprecedented and would likely lead to another Great Depression.  And if Congress's current unacceptable behavior is any indication, we are in for a VERY rough time ahead in the weeks to come.  They are essentially putting our nation in distress, hence the inversion of the American flag on the TSAP blog.

Thus, the TSAP hereby gives virtually all 535 members of Congress (regardless of party) a vote of "no confidence", and we will take their government shutdown to imply the resignation of such members.   We encourage every reader of this blog to sign the following petitions:

Dear Congress:  We Accept Your Resignation
No Pay for Congress During Shutdown
Minimum Wage for Congress

Let them know that We the People have had ENOUGH of the gridlock, grandstanding, backstabbing, corruption, venality, follies, lies, recklessness, childishness, and otherwise outrageous behavior of Congress.  And we will support a primary challenge to ALL of them, with the only exceptions being Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.  If we weren't clear, we'll say it again:

YOU'RE FIRED!!!

So what's the opposite of "progress" again?  You guessed it. 

Fiscal Cliff Averted--For Now

It's now official.  The so-called fiscal cliff that had nearly everyone (especially Republicans) nervous has been averted due to a bipartisan deal in Congress.  The deal contains the following provisions in a nutshell:  no income tax rate hikes for those making less than $400,000 per year (but the top marginal rate is hiked back to Clinton levels on those making above that threshold), various tax deductions are capped at $250,000, the so-called "Obamacare taxes" are left untouched (and thus go into effect), unemployment benefits are extended, spending cuts are postponed by two months, and the payroll tax (i.e. FICA) rates are raised back to pre-stimulus 2009 levels.  So although most Americans will see slightly smaller paychecks in 2013 (due to the 2% payroll tax hike), thanks to the deal there will not be a massive amount of aggregate demand sucked out of the economy, and there will most likely not be another recession as a result--at least for now.

However, the deal only addresses one side of the ledger--revenue and taxes.  The other, bigger side--government spending--will not even be touched until February at the earliest.  Just in time for when the debt ceiling needs to be raised again, most likely in March.  So we can expect another "cliffhanger" around that time, albeit a somewhat smaller one.  But I guess that's the price we pay for kicking the can even further down the road.

To the President and everyone in Congress:  Please listen to what the True Spirit of America Party has to say, at least about economic policy and the national debt.   Our nation's future depends on it.

Now, Back to that "Fiscal Cliff"

Deal or no deal?  That is the question that still hasn't been answered.

But remember, no deal is better than a bad deal.   Obama is still holding firm thus far in the face of the Repugnicans who want to slash our social safety net to give millionaires and billionaires more undeserved and unnecessary tax breaks.  And Boehner seems to be sweating bullets.  If no deal is reached, it will not lead to financial Armageddon like the right-wing plutocrats claim.  The so-called "fiscal cliff" is really not a cliff at all--it's more like a staircase.  The full effect of the tax hikes (which occur on next year's income) and automatic spending cuts (which are phased in over a period of a few months) will not be felt right away, which clearly gives Obama the upper hand especially after January 1, 2013.   No wonder Boehner and his ilk are so nervous.

Even more importantly, the budget deficit is actually NOT the biggest economic problem our nation is facing.  The more pressing issue, of course, is the jobs deficit--the whopping 9 million Americans that are still out of work at the end of 2012, five years after the recession officially began (December 2007) and over three years after the recession officially ended (June 2009).  We are clearly stuck in a vicious cycle of persistently high unemployment and inadequate consumer and aggregate demand (remember that one person's spending is another person's income and vice-versa).  Remember that 70% of our entire GDP is consumer spending, and 20% is government spending.  And cutting the budget deficit too much too soon (at least by traditional means) would only make the jobs deficit worse, and the relative lack of revenue from the still-struggling economy is one of the biggest drivers of the budget deficit.   Basically, any significant tax hikes on the bottom 90% of Americans and/or any significant cuts in non-defense spending would only hurt our economy and make our future deficits (and national debt) that much worse in the long run.  If it turns out that these hikes and cuts must be done, and that is a very big "if", then they must be postponed until our economy is back to normal (i.e. two consecutive quarters of 3% GDP growth or higher and less than 6% unemployment).  Congress, you have been warned, so don't drink the Repugnican Austerity Kool-Aid.