The King and his retinue have departed the nation's capital and arrived at their royal vacation retreat, Castle Mar-a-Lago. There the royal family will gather to celebrate the holiday season with wealthy dukes and duchesses who will loyally and unabashedly express their overwhelming adulation for their divine leader and his unsurpassed brilliance.
Fawning over their great leader seems especially appropriate this holiday season. The King from Queens had just signed a tax bill that will give millions of dollars in tax breaks to His Royal Highness and members of the royal family, as well as to the nation's lords and ladies. Of course, the vast majority of the citizens will receive crumbs, which will become apparent to them in the coming years. All of this will be funded by huge deficits that will be passed on to their children.
Shortly following the passage of the tax bill, His Royal Highness was besieged with the praise from Republican members of Congress and from his cabinet. "You have spurred an optimism in this country that is setting records," said the vice president. The King must receive devotion and fealty from those who serve him.
But that optimism is limited to only a few. The King is not popular among his country's masses. He has continuously resorted to bullying and bluster to rule his subjects. He has demeaned opponents with schoolyard epithets, and he has humiliated others in order to get want he wants. His daily rants and raves have unsettled even those closest to him.
All of this has been to the delight of the Tsar of Russia, who up until recently was considered an enemy. Now the King and the Tsar have formed a close bond. And the Tsar is pleased with how the King has disrupted democracy in his own country and around the world. This is why he extended the King his help in winning the throne. These men are so much alike. And the King trusts the Tsar more than the servants in his own nation's justice and intelligence departments.
Many thoughtful observers are saddened by how the King has lowered the standards of his office. They point to his self-dealing and manifest crudeness. They cite the many scandals that have plagued his reign, his outrageous actions towards women and minorities, and the constant dishonesty and deception that the King has practiced. His intemperate, impulsive and reckless behavior has taken global allies aback, and it has unnecessarily stirred the drums of war. The King exploits fear naturally. His instinct is always to divide in order to conquer.
For the nearly year since the King ascended to his throne the nation has continuously been on edge. Most citizens have been shaken by the constant tumult, and have tired of the contemptuous antics. Meanwhile, under his rule meaningful government programs dealing with the environment, healthcare, consumer and basic human rights have been slashed or eliminated. Corporations and the wealthy donors have been richly rewarded. None more generously than members of the royal family and friends.
Many of his most ardent supporters will gather in Castle Mar-a-Lago this weekend to celebrate the holiday by kissing the ring of their great benefactor. The dark clouds that have formed over His Royal Highness and his reign will be ignored. Instead, it will be a scene reminiscent of the Romanov's. And the King will thrive in this exclusive and alternate reality he has created as he soaks up the praise that will be lavished on him by his obsequious followers.
In the words of the late Tom Petty, an American icon, "It's good to be King and have your own way."
Saturday, December 23, 2017
Friday, December 8, 2017
The GOP Targets Entitlement Programs
Republicans have long coveted deep cuts in federal entitlement programs. Up to now Democrats have thwarted their attempts to slash America's social safety net. But that may change in the coming year.
House Speaker Paul Ryan is openly making the case, and he has robust support from the Republican controlled Congress. On Wednesday, Ryan said, "We have a welfare system that's trapping people in poverty and effectively paying people not to work. We've got to work on that." Ryan added, in an interview on Ross Kaminsky's radio show, "We're going to have to get back next year at entitlement reform, which is how you tackle the debt and deficit."
Ironically, Ryan's bold pronouncement comes as Republicans in Congress work to reconcile their so-called tax reform legislation. The hastily crafted bill, when enacted, will disproportionately benefit high-income earners and large corporations while adding up to $1.5 trillion to the national debt over the next decade. Their justification is that the measure will increase economic activity, which will add jobs and grow wages. But few economists agree with this misguided premise. In fact, this tax bill is merely a sop to wealthy Republican donors who threatened to cut off their donations to the party unless taxes are cut.
With even larger deficit spending as a result of the tax cuts, Republicans can turn their attention to reducing federal expenditures. The largest drivers of federal spending are Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, military spending and interest on the debt. Defense and interest payments will not be cut. That pretty much leaves the entitlement programs.
"Starving the beast" is a political strategy conservatives developed decades ago for reducing government spending. In 1978, economist and future Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan told a congressional committee, "Let us remember that the basic purpose of any tax cut program in today's environment is to reduce the momentum of expenditure growth by restraining the amount of revenue available and trust that there is a political limit to deficit spending." Liberal economist Paul Krugman later observed, "Rather than proposing unpopular spending cuts, Republicans would push through popular tax cuts, with the deliberate intention of worsening the government's fiscal position. Spending cuts could be sold as a necessity rather than a choice." Speaker Ryan and Republicans are doing just that.
Once the Republican tax proposal is passed and signed by President Donald Trump, there will be no going back. Most Republicans in Congress have signed on to the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. The pledge, authored by political activist Grover Norquist, states that the signatories will never vote to raise taxes under any circumstances or they will be challenged in their next Republican primary election.
A possible hurdle to entitlement cuts could be President Trump, who as a candidate tweeted in 2015, "I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid." But the president, who is obsessed with winning political victories, will likely endorse any GOP initiative, proclaiming that proposed changes to entitlements are meant to save the programs.
Nonetheless, there is broad support among congressional Republicans and their wealthy donors for reducing the cost of entitlements. Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, who is the Republican Senate Finance Committee Chair, summarized the sentiment of his colleagues last week in a speech on the Senate floor. "I have a rough time wanting to spend billions and billions and trillions of dollars to help people who won't help themselves, won't lift a finger, and expect the federal government to do everything."
Sadly, the Republican dream of undoing entitlement programs established by President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society may finally be within their reach.
House Speaker Paul Ryan is openly making the case, and he has robust support from the Republican controlled Congress. On Wednesday, Ryan said, "We have a welfare system that's trapping people in poverty and effectively paying people not to work. We've got to work on that." Ryan added, in an interview on Ross Kaminsky's radio show, "We're going to have to get back next year at entitlement reform, which is how you tackle the debt and deficit."
Ironically, Ryan's bold pronouncement comes as Republicans in Congress work to reconcile their so-called tax reform legislation. The hastily crafted bill, when enacted, will disproportionately benefit high-income earners and large corporations while adding up to $1.5 trillion to the national debt over the next decade. Their justification is that the measure will increase economic activity, which will add jobs and grow wages. But few economists agree with this misguided premise. In fact, this tax bill is merely a sop to wealthy Republican donors who threatened to cut off their donations to the party unless taxes are cut.
With even larger deficit spending as a result of the tax cuts, Republicans can turn their attention to reducing federal expenditures. The largest drivers of federal spending are Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, military spending and interest on the debt. Defense and interest payments will not be cut. That pretty much leaves the entitlement programs.
"Starving the beast" is a political strategy conservatives developed decades ago for reducing government spending. In 1978, economist and future Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan told a congressional committee, "Let us remember that the basic purpose of any tax cut program in today's environment is to reduce the momentum of expenditure growth by restraining the amount of revenue available and trust that there is a political limit to deficit spending." Liberal economist Paul Krugman later observed, "Rather than proposing unpopular spending cuts, Republicans would push through popular tax cuts, with the deliberate intention of worsening the government's fiscal position. Spending cuts could be sold as a necessity rather than a choice." Speaker Ryan and Republicans are doing just that.
Once the Republican tax proposal is passed and signed by President Donald Trump, there will be no going back. Most Republicans in Congress have signed on to the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. The pledge, authored by political activist Grover Norquist, states that the signatories will never vote to raise taxes under any circumstances or they will be challenged in their next Republican primary election.
A possible hurdle to entitlement cuts could be President Trump, who as a candidate tweeted in 2015, "I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid." But the president, who is obsessed with winning political victories, will likely endorse any GOP initiative, proclaiming that proposed changes to entitlements are meant to save the programs.
The federal government and the states currently jointly fund Medicaid. Medicaid provides health coverage to millions of Americans, including the elderly, low-income adults, children and people with disabilities. Speaker Ryan favors converting Medicaid into a block grant program for states and then capping the grants. But historical data on grants indicates that over time this will result in a decline in Medicaid funding. And the nation's neediest citizens will feel the impact.
Nonetheless, there is broad support among congressional Republicans and their wealthy donors for reducing the cost of entitlements. Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, who is the Republican Senate Finance Committee Chair, summarized the sentiment of his colleagues last week in a speech on the Senate floor. "I have a rough time wanting to spend billions and billions and trillions of dollars to help people who won't help themselves, won't lift a finger, and expect the federal government to do everything."
Sadly, the Republican dream of undoing entitlement programs established by President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society may finally be within their reach.
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