How about a round of applause for our friends in the United States congress? On the evening of Friday, April 8, our elected representatives finally put it all together and avoided what would have been the first shutdown of the Federal Government since 1995. Many are wondering what changes are going to come following what is being hailed as a historic deficit-reducing measure. It would be unwise to expect anything too drastic, other than another small blow to lower and middle class individuals and a re-kindled war of rhetoric over moral government interventions.
$38 billion in cuts might sound like a lofty number to the average American, but take a look at the national debt, which has recently surpassed $14 trillion. Take a look at where these cuts are coming from and it becomes increasingly clear which groups of people are to bear the brunt of the new budget. According to whitehouse.gov, “The two sides agreed to cut $13 billion from funding programs at the Department of Labor, Education and Health and Human Services” as well as “reductions to housing programs and some health care programs.” Apparently, the United States, collectively, finds it acceptable to renew the Bush-era tax cuts for millionaires, adding $700 billion to the deficit while reducing services affecting those most in need.
Democrats must be commended for staying the course and not giving into the Tea Party’s assault on women’s rights. De-funding Planned Parenthood would only represent a $400 million savings in the 2011 budget. For this, merely fiscally conservative Republicans were satisfied to allow for the continued funding of the organization in favor of making other, more substantial cuts in different sectors of the government.
Reports started coming out days before the compromise was reached saying that the two sides had found a financial common ground. It was made known the final agreement was held up in part due to the Tea Party’s insisting Planned Parenthood be put on the chopping block. Welcome to the new reality of American politics, where an action of one party will hold up an entire legislative process on the basis of an unyielding desire to stick their noses in your reproductive rights. And yet they continue to preach of the limitless benefits of minimal government.
Speaking of minimal government, Rep. Paul Ryan, in the past week, proposed a bold plan for the next fiscal year that would aim to reduce the national debt by $6.5 trillion over the next decade while reducing taxes to a rate of 25 percent for the highest tax bracket. Now there’s a debt reduction measure that will make a difference. The only problem is the Federal Government plans to pay for it, in large part, by gradually altering Medicare, transforming it into a system of subsidizing the purchase of private insurance for old people. Translation—if the Republicans get their way and reverse the Obama healthcare legislation, you better hope Granny’s hip replacement isn’t considered to be stemming from a pre-existing condition.
With the 2012 election looming and a final budget resolution that neither side seems terribly pleased with, a battle is imminent regarding next year’s budget. Democrats will continue to make concessions to appease the GOP, while attempting to justify to their more liberal base that such compromises are unavoidable, the Right will be drumming up its war plan to make Obama a one-term president. Prepare for an epic shouting match that will likely result in a final situation that disadvantages the poor, spoils the rich and leaves everyone with a sizeable bad taste in his or her mouth. This is American Democracy at work.
