Congressional Republicans and Democrats are sparring over legislation that would renew a Social Security payroll tax cut, part of a year-end political showdown over economic priorities that could also trim unemployment benefits, freeze federal pay and reduce entitlement spending.A compassion deficit within the Far Right seems apparent. Politics trumps concern about what is currently happening to the so-called "99%" of us. Reuters reports that, "Republicans introduced a $915 billion spending bill in the House of Representatives early on Thursday in an attempt to force Democrats to finalize legislation that would keep the U.S. government operating beyond the weekend." We are again into hostage taking mode. Too many House Members and Senators have been "purchased" by corporate money. Fiscal ignorance and greed abounds. We are at risk until Congress comes to understand the peril into which they are propelling us.
Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, questioned whether some people classified as poor or low-income actually suffer material hardship. He said that while safety-net programs have helped many Americans, they have gone too far, citing poor people who live in decent-size homes, drive cars and own wide-screen TVs.
Read further and come to your own conclusion. Joseph Stiglitz, Pulitzer prize winning economist, explained a great deal about our long term economic and fiscal crisis in a recent Vanity Fair article, "A Banking System Is Supposed To Serve Society, Not the Other Way Around." HT to @mattyglesias for the article.
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