Saying It Aloud

I’m as guilty as anyone when it comes to assuming that people understand what I understand, and I should know better.

Reading through all of the ‘sturm und drang’ about the so-called ‘fiscal cliff’ I assume that people know this is theater, and what is being negotiated has nothing to do with the budget deficit.

Digby’s post made me think that I should go into print with my reading of what is happening it establish my basis for ‘I told you so’.

The ballooning deficit was caused by the Bush tax cuts, money borrowed to finance two wars, and the mortgage-backed securities implosion that caused the global financial chaos. The Shrubbery was given a budget with a surplus when he took control, and mismanaged his way to trillions in deficits.

The surest way of reducing the deficit is to get people back to work so they can boost the 70% of the GDP that is based on consumer spending.

The ‘solutions’ have nothing to do with the deficit. The people behind the ‘solutions’ could care less about the deficit, they care about getting their ‘solutions’ enacted into law, and the deficit was available to be used as the ‘reason’.

The backers wants their taxes cut, they want access to the $2.5 trillion in the Social Security trust fund, and they want to government to fade away, rather than regulating them. Their ‘solutions’ have become the Village Conventional Wisdom, so none of the pundit class are actually looking at the effects of these ‘solutions’ on the deficit.

The most important thing to remember is that we are going to have another recession if these ‘solutions’ are agreed to, and the deficit and unemployment will increase. Anyone who doubts that need only look at what is happening in the UK as a result of these ‘solutions’ – a triple dip recession is a real possibility.