Reply #8: It's already a horrible plan without knowing the details. [View All]

It calls for significant cuts in the short term. In other words, austerity cuts during a prolonged recession. Which will be a disaster for working people (or rather a further extension of the disaster we are currently in). The exact details of the austerity cuts aren't the problem, it is the basic idea of austerity cuts that is horrible.

And Obama says that the Gang of Six plan is balanced. I'm not seeing it. Where are the concessions from the other side? One would think that the main concession would be raising taxes for the wealthy. But this plan lowers the top marginal tax rate by 6 percentage points. Balanced? Seriously?

The general idea of this current plan and that Obama has been promoting more broadly is a horrible precedent. The idea that we've got to always have a balanced budget and cannot run a deficit during a recession is a horrible idea. There is no need to tie our hands behind our back by giving up the use of fiscal policy to moderate economic down cycles. And the idea of tying other issues to raising the debt ceiling is a horrible idea as well. Here we have Obama using both a fake deficit crisis and a fake solvency crisis to trick the American public into accepting austerity measures and mostly rightwing "solutions" that will further destroy the welfare and power (if any is left already) of the working classes. This is the Shock Doctrine. It is extreme rightwing framing in order to further scam and loot from the American public.

Screw the details - it's the general idea that is horrible.