James Fallows has been pelting the media about its need-in response to idiotic criticism from some pretty stupid people-about the "both sides do it mentality". In reality only one side is doing it to any great degree and that is the side which makes league with whores like Michelle Malkin and imbeciles like the late Andrew Breitbart. ( Whose successors have proven that they could take his particular form of lunacy to an entirely new level of stupidity.). One of the big areas that the deluded members of the Tea Party nation love to rail about is saving over 1.5 million American jobs with about 1/11th of the money it took to bail out greedy bastards like Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs and his contemporaries:
As Nocera points out, Fox News has repeatedly presented it that way. There was even a Volt-ish allusion in some of the argument against the Obama health care plan before the Supreme Court last week. If the government can force me to buy medical care, why shouldn't it force me to buy not just broccoli but also an electric car? After all, as former Solicitor General Paul Clement pointed out in his anti-Obamacare argument, other people's failure to buy electric cars makes their price higher, by eliminating economies of scale. Why isn't that just like people who decide not to buy health insurance?
You can go to the transcript to see how Justices Sotomayor and Breyer dealt with that analogy. But what's the truth about the Volt itself? Nocera could have said in his column: "Critics claim that the Volt is a governmental boondoggle that typifies an administration bent on imposing its do-good agenda on the nation. Administration spokesmen deny the charges." Here is what he actually says:
What is the connection between President Obama and the Volt? There is none. The car was the brainchild of Bob Lutz, a legendary auto executive who is about as liberal as the Koch brothers. The tax credit — which is part of the reason conservatives hate the car — became law during the Bush administration.(Emphasis mine-SS)
"It's nuts," said Lutz, when I spoke to him earlier in the week. "This is a significant achievement in the auto industry. There are so many legitimate things to criticize Obama about. It is inexplicable that the right would feel the need to tell lies about the Volt to attack the president."
It helps that Nocera was able to get the highly conservative Lutz — shown with his Volt, at right — to go on the record this way. But it is nice to see someone lay it out so plainly.
The simple truth of the matter is-that there is a sizeable chunk of America that wants to see the country fail-so long as it gives their fair haired conservative heroes a political advantage. The world needs alternatives in energy and in transportation, and places with good public transportation are a lot more liveable and better places to be than those with reliance on automobiles. ( Reason 537 why I need to go back to Japan). The only way to keep these idiots from gaining the upper hand is to call them out on their lies each and every time. I can't tell you the chagrin with which I watch friends who should know better-parrot the stupid Fox line on Facebook. I just want to reach through the computer screen and shake them by the shoulders-hard.
In a proper world-and an evil man like Paul Ryan would have a horde of people hovering over him-all with Louisville Sluggers in hand threatening to teach him the real consequences of selfishness. Paul Ryan is not a reasonable man-he is a man who appears to be good, but has made league with the worst forces. I agree with Paul Krugman when he writes:
What these people need is reasonable Republicans. And if such creatures don’t exist, they have to invent them. Hence the elevation of Ryan — who is, in fact, a garden-variety GOP extremist, but with a mild-mannered style — to icon of fiscal responsibility and honest argument, despite the reality that his proposals are both fiscally irresponsible and quite dishonest.
What makes Michelle Malkin a whore and Andrew Breitbart an imbecile? Your argumentum ad hominem does not lend any support to your argument. Where is your evidence that a sizable chunk of America wants to see the country fail to gain a political advantage? What soultions are you offering to get us out of the mess we are in? You are probably one of the retirees supporting the increase in TriCare burden being placed on the rest of us. Why is Paul Ryan evil for presenting a plan for debate and not Timothy Gietner for choosing to do nothing to get the debt under control? I'm all for giving a helping hand to those that are less fortunate, but we need to do something to address the chronic problem with legacy welfare recipients.
Here is the bottom line-I reject the fundamental premise of your argument that welfare receipients are lazy and don't want to advance in society. I also reject the idea that the only way to deal with the deficit is to cut the social safety net-while refusing to do anything about the corporate welfare and the cost of being a world power. That's what Paul Ryan proposes to do and do say he has pure intent-still does not excues the consequences of his actions. As for Tri care-its not a burden, its a contract you made with me 30+ years ago. Its a bill the country owes and it better pay. In fact-since the orginal deal was for free health care for life-you, the citizenry-have already gone back on your share of the deal.
There is a great chunk of America that wants to see the country fail. They are called Tea Party Republicans. Otherwise we would have repealed the Bush tax cuts already, passed the President's budget, confirmed a lot of appointees, had universal access to health care and done any one of the literally dozens of proposals to improve this country that worthless men like Ryan have opposed.
And that is where Malkin and Brietbart come in. They get a carte blance to lie with impunity-given to them by stupid people who ought to know better, but don't-and spread their lies as fact when in reality they are lies. Malkin has been doing it for years-and its been documented here as has Breitbarts fabrications. Since his death his successors have taken stupidity to new heighths in the things they have written.
One final point-the debt is not "out of control"-the only reason we are running huge deficits is because the economy sucks and we are not bringing in the revenue we should be-while at the same time fighting wars for people who do not deserve the effort. Geitner should be applauded for keeping the economy from going off a cliff.
I have a plan to fix the country-and I know exactly what I would do-problem is I will never be in a position of authority to impose what needs to be done:
Thhe budgets would be balanced through a combination of tax restoration and prudent cuts-including defense.
Universal access to health care would be mandated and providing health care would be required for businesses.
There would be a global retrenchment of US forces-especially out of the Middle East.
Of a period of 40 years Social Security would be transitioned to a Central Provident style scheme-And business would not be allowed out of that either-no matter what their size.
Those are all things we could do that would fix the problem. There are solutions-we refuse to take them, because of the sizeable chunk of America that is incapable of understanding that the world has changed and their ideas about "American Exceptionalism" are wrong.
And so I get angry-because the land of my birth could be great-but because of evil men like Paul Ryan chooses not be.
I never said welfare recipients are lazy; your words not mine. What I said is that there is a legacy of welfare dependency that continues…my ex did a master’s thesis on this and it was published some years ago. She is a social worker in Colorado and constantly complains about her cases that will not go to work at any price. Look at Nancy’s daughter’s video on the New Yorkers who are constantly looking for Obama Bucks. Sensible cuts with revenue increases are okay with me. Not just defense, but across the board cuts. I’m okay with going back to the Clinton tax rates; while we are at it lets go back to the spending levels too. I would not mind going back to a Clinton Presidency for what it is worth. Heck, I would vote for Hillary if she gets into the race. I am heading back to Asia soon anyway so like you why should I care one way or another. My health care costs will be drastically cut, transportation costs will be drastically cut and with my expat package we will have a good lifestyle.
Good for you! I am glad you are getting to go back to Asia.
As for why to care?-I care because no matter how much I were to try-I still care passionately about the fate of the United States. American is the only identity I will ever have-its my nationality. And it pains me when the country I was born in is so clearly off track-as it is now.
I don't dispute that there has to be teeth in the rules of any help program-but the problem is what is defined as welfare has grown. You having universal access to health care is not welfare-its a fundamental right that you have earned. Social Security is not just a benefit-you earned it through a lifetime of work.
We probably agree on more than we disagree on. By the way, I will be heading to Korea to work on the $6.2 Billion construction effort by US Forces. Were you a P-3 pilot? I have a co-worker in Fort Worth that used to crew a P-3 for his navy service.
It’s posts like this that make me miss Lex the most.
I'm not sure how to answer that in a way that is not disrespectful. However, its a pretty safe bet he would not have seen it my way.-and I'm fine with that. On politics he was wrong as often as he was right. I know I am right here-and it doesn't mean you hate America to strongly desire to see it not careen off a cliff.
It isn't enough to "celebrate America for what it is, rather than withhold their love in favor of what it might yet be"- because to do that is to give license to those who would destroy the USA-even while they claim to want to save it. There is an obligation to speak out against a collective evil-and if, in my case it involves a perhaps profane but accurate description of two charlatans who make no positive contribution to the nation-well so be it.
If anyone thinks it is a democrat or republican problem wake up. Politicians have monstrous egos and they use their position to make good for their constituency. All politics are local. The greed has run a muck. There is no such thing as a promise forever, you are naive if you think so. No body will have the support to do what is needed. Everyone is screaming in the forest. This debt WILL take us all down it won’t be stopped or corrected by our lawmakers.