2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumPaul Ryan claims his budget ‘preempts austerity’
House Budget Commitee chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) says that his plan to slash government spending on programs for the poor while increasing defense spending and giving tax cuts to the wealthy would actually prevent austerity.
NBCs David Gregory on Sunday pointed out that the debate over whether slashing budgets would grow the economy was not just happening in Europe, but in the U.S. as well.
This question of austerity in Europe, they had failing economies, nearly depressed economies, Gregory told Ryan. The answer throughout the region was to slash their budgets. Has it failed?
No, David, Ryan replied. I would say theyve also raised taxes. This is a cautionary tale of what happens when politicians who make a lot of empty promises end up running out of the ability to borrow money at cheap rates and now they are broken promises. Its a cautionary tale of what will happen to us if we stay on the path we are on.
What were saying is lets get on growth and prevent austerity, he continued. The whole premise of our budget is to preempt austerity by getting our borrowing under control, having tax reform for economic growth and preventing Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid from going bankrupt. That preempts austerity.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/05/20/paul-ryan-claims-his-budget-preempts-austerity/
WingDinger
(3,690 posts)pinto
(106,886 posts)Make7
(8,543 posts)... and just says this stuff because that's his function, or does he really think he is putting forth actual workable ideas?
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"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary campaign contributions depends on his not understanding it."
― Upton Sinclair
Cosmocat
(14,568 posts)he knows he is being propped up, but like 99% of the republicans he has repeated their nonsense enough to actually believe it.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)MindMover
(5,016 posts)eppur_se_muova
(36,281 posts)That's good, solid, reasoning there.
DCKit
(18,541 posts)I doubt even 1% of (R) could cut that raft of BS with a chainsaw.
Proud Liberal Dem
(24,436 posts)to accept an even lower station of existence and subservience to the holy "job creators"?
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)here (and you thought it wouldn't,you idiot!). I will bet money that the Dems have been out there focus-grouping "austerity" and finding that the public is not buying it.
This is a good turn of events! To paraphrase Ross Perot "The American public has turned up its Miracle Ear!"
socialist_n_TN
(11,481 posts)Do it, but just don't CALL it austerity. That goes for the Dem apologists for the 1% too.
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)My guess is that focus groups used other words, words that were more descriptive of what austerity means, such as cutbacks on government services for people. Most Americans know what that means, esp. when pitted against "tax cut for the very rich."
and-justice-for-all
(14,765 posts)so why the fuck would anyone else want to attempt it?? There actually needs to be more spending, not less, and by putting people to work in the public sector not the private sector is the key.
protect our future
(1,156 posts)need to begin using the word "austerity" more often when speaking of the situation here. In Greece and Europe its austerity. In the US it's spending cuts, slashing the budget, reforming entitlements, blah blah blah. Voters don't realize we are traveling the same road as Greece and Europe until we start using the correct term: austerity. Austerity here; austerity there. Hopefully a wake-up call for low info voters.
Bake
(21,977 posts)All he could do, like any Thug, was point fingers at the Democrats.
He's a smug, lying bastard. Just like his boy Mittens. Just like his idol Ayn Rand.
Bake
Cali_Democrat
(30,439 posts)JoePhilly
(27,787 posts)"We're going to prevent austerity by slashing all spending."
Apparently, words no longer have defined meanings.
ryan waller
(6 posts)the GOP doesn't care if you make no sense.
"Obama bad hurt america 9/11! 9/11! save military no taxes."