The Wrongologist

What’s
Wrong Today:

From yesterday’s New
York Times:

This should be a
wake-up call for Democrats. Instead of again laughing at Ryan’s budget, Democrats need to think about how easy the path to control
of the Senate is for Republicans, and what THAT could mean.

Think strategy for a
moment: A GOP takeover of the Senate would mean the Ryan budget will be on Mr.
Obama’s desk, with the president facing a “sign it, or shut down the
government” moment. Would he veto it?

Like Mr. Ryan’s past budget proposals, this one seeks
to eliminate the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, then turn the health
care program for the poor into block grants to the states — steps which he
argues save $732 billion over the decade. He would also cap and block-grant
food stamps, starting in 2020, cutting that program by $125 billion in five
years. The budget relies on imposing new work requirements on food stamp and
welfare recipients.

According
to Mr. Ryan, this approach:

Sure, if only there
were jobs. But the toughest cuts would come from domestic programs that have
already been reduced steadily since 2011, when Republicans took control of the
House. Mr. Ryan’s 2024 domestic
spending figure would be lower in nominal dollars than such spending was in
2005. Adjusted for inflation, it would be a 29% cut from today’s levels, and 28%
below the average level of Bush administration spending.

And if the GOP wins the Senate, that’s exactly what we’ll face, if Mr. Obama won’t
veto the bill in the face of a government shutdown, or a debt ceiling default.

Ryan’s budget means a
30% cut to domestic programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and food
stamps. But, out of
every 100 food stamp recipients, 49 are children, 8 are elderly, 20 are
disabled and 23 can work, including many of the parents of those children. Of
those 23 who can work and are expected to work, 14 are already working.

Consider yesterday’s Wrongologist’s
column, “A
Plutocracy Masquerading as a Democracy”:

We have a disconnect between the
people and our government. You can only push people so far before they will
start pushing back. If you force people into a desperate situation they will do
desperate things.

A smart government should realize
that when too many people are poor and desperate, without a clear way of improving
their lot, that the vast majority of them will not be content to just lie down and
die like dogs. A smart government should realize that poverty among an
increasing portion of the population is politically unstable and dangerous.

So it could reach a point where the
cops and military won’t defend the wealthy, or government officials against a revolution.
That is what a smart government also knows.

Here are the choices for
American citizens: Work extremely hard to get out the vote. Tell a compelling story, one that stops people from voting against their interests, a story that helps them elect Congress people and Senators
who will put the politics of division in the rear view mirror.

Or, let our current political
process continue. A process where people vote for politicians in a way that
maintains a 49%-51% political split in whichever direction. This assures that the politics of
division remain a way of life in Washington. Then we can stay dysfunctional in
the face of major domestic and global political problems.

It’s our decision, our choice.

Given yesterday’s calling of balls
and strikes by John Roberts, chief umpire of the Supreme Court, even more
plutocrat money will pour into the political process, working to preserve the permanent
oligarchy that has developed in the past 30 years.

Think of all the crappy political
ads we will be seeing by Labor Day, or whatever the oligarchs decide to rename
it.

Job Creator’s Day, maybe?