The Republican plan with lipstick
Republicans figure that if they can鈥檛 sell the pig, they鈥檒l just put lipstick on it and find some suckers who will think it鈥檚 something else.
That鈥檚 the proposal emerging in the Senate from Republican of and also Democrat Claire McCaskill of . It would get the deficit down not by raising taxes on the rich but by capping federal spending.
If Congress failed to stay under the cap, the budget would be automatically cut.
According to an by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the McCaskill/Corker plan would require $800 billion of cuts in 2022 alone. That鈥檚 the equivalent of eliminating Medicare entirely, or the entire Department of Defense.
Obviously the Defense Department wouldn鈥檛 disappear, so what would go? Giant cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, education, and much of everything else Americans depend on.
It鈥檚 the Republican plan with lipstick. It would have the same exact result. But by disguising it with caps and procedures, Republicans can avoid saying what they鈥檙e intending to do.
The McCaskill/Corker spending cap would also make it impossible for government to boost the economy in recessions. Which would mean even higher unemployment, lasting longer.
Other Senate Dems are showing interest in the lipsticked pig, including West Virginia鈥檚 Joe Manchin. Not surpringly, is on board.
But don鈥檛 be fooled, and don鈥檛 let anyone else be. McCaskill/Corker is the same Republican pig.
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