What did the Republicans accomplish during the chaotic four years of the Trump Administration? As usual, they focused on cutting taxes. Also, as usual, they promised that tax cuts would not require slashing social programs because their tax cuts would cultivate the economy so dynamically that tax revenues would increase despite the cuts. So they gave away trillions of dollars to corporations, multi millionaires and billionaires in their 2017 tax cuts. Those tax cuts provided nothing for America’s middle class. The consequence of their short-sighted ideology was one-fourth of the national debt being incurred during the Trump administration’s spending while cutting taxes for the rich and corporations.

Now the House Republicans are irresponsibly demanding budget cutting concessions in exchange for paying the nation’s debts. They are threatening to default on our national debt by not raising the debt limit. They demand strictly limiting government spending programs that will hurt our middle class that is already struggling to afford basic needs. They like giving away the family farm to corporations and the billionaires and paying for the give away by cutting essential programs that help our citizens survive.

The Republicans are trying to get their demands by holding us hostage. They are more than willing to slash programs providing for nutritional support for low-paid working families, low-income older adults and people with disabilities, public education, or food safety, while they want to preserve the Trump tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. Those same tax cuts cost the Treasury over $2 trillion. Their phony concern for financial responsibility is undermined by their wanting to repeal funding for the understaffed IRS that is expected to cost the Treasury more than $125 billion while wealthy tax cheats continue to avoid enforcement.

Predictable. Like the Joe Gibbs Washington Redskins running the counter-trey on 3rd and 2.

Privatize the benefits and socialize the costs. Cut the safety net programs for those who are closest to falling off of the trapeze bar. Characterize the 6 billion we spend on safety net programs as the sole reason we are in this situation, while simultaneously failing to point out that these programs are less that 2% of the federal budget. Never cut the funds used to build and send billion dollar drones to drop million dollar bombs on two dollar pup tents in foreign countries because they're not christofasict's.

It's all so nauseatingly familiar.

It's so screwed up. Trump's 2017 tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations are a major contributor to the 25% of the national debt incurred under Trump. But the Republican's want to cut funding for just about everything else to pay for it. That's what the debt ceiling BS is all about. Making sure the middle class continues to pay for tax cuts benefiting the wealthy.

The only way out of this mess is to repeal those tax cuts, and also cut spending. Especially socialism for the rich and corporations. And we need to take a hard look at the military budget.

Bill Bramhall

Sniveling, spinless weasel Kevin McCarthy is afraid of the "freedom" caucus and won't negotiate in good faith.

[Edited by tom regan (5/23/2023 12:01:55 PM)]

Clay Jones