Leave "Granny alone!

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"The true hypocrite is the one who ceases to perceive his deception, the one who lies with sincerity" ~Andre Gide~

In a way, I am glad for the President's Debt Commission and their seemingly draconian measures to reduce the A-merry-can debt. Let's see if A-merry-cans can practice what they preach. They kicked the bums out because they were spending too much of the people's money. Let's start cutting back on that spending and see where it takes us. More tax cuts for the rich and less money for the government coffers. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Anyway, now that the republi-clowns have taken over congress and damn near every state house in A-merry-ca, I have a pretty good idea of what will come next. And, apparently, so does Dr. C. Alonzo Peters:


"It will pull the plug on grandma"

That was one of the hyperbolic accusations hurled by conservatives against the President's health care plan during the height of debate. Republicans claimed the health care bill would jeopardize the health of seniors. It would submit seniors to "death panels" that would decide if our grandparents would continue to receive medical care.

It's stunningly ironic then that the true threat to our senior citizens comes not from the President's healthcare bill, but from Republican lawmakers hell bent on dismantling the social safety net programs as we know them.

Just yesterday the President's Debt Commission recommended raising the Social Security retirement age while at the same time cutting taxes.

This is nothing new. Every since FDR's New Deal created the first wave of social safety nets, conservatives have railed against social spending. But a direct frontal assault to popular programs like Social Security and Medicare would amount to political suicide, permanently alienating voters from the Republican party.

No, a more cynical plan would be needed to stop government spending on social programs. Enter "starve the beast" - a concept popularized in the Reagan administration. This "starve the beast" game plan was quite simple: Implement large tax cuts that deny the government tax revenue, creating massive deficits. Then claim that to deal with these deficits we must cut spending, most notably spending for social programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Yes this back door attempt to convince Americans of the need to downsize the social safety net has been going on for nearly 30 years. During the 2000's the plan was placed on steroids. In the midst of record high budget surpluses, President Bush enacted large tax cuts that mainly benefited the wealthy and cost the government over $2.4 trillion dollars in revenue. Bush proudly proclaimed tax cuts would create a fiscal straight jacket for Congress.

Predictably surpluses turned into deficits and the cries for spending cuts came to a roar. Republicans are now using the current budget deficits of their own making as an excuse to push for radical cuts in spending. At the same time they're advocating for extension of tax cuts for the top 2 percent, a move that will only exacerbate the deficit - and of course lend credence to the argument for more spending cuts. The insanity continues.

Since sweeping to power in state legislatures throughout the country Republicans are already vowing drastic cuts in public spending. Indiana, for example, is proposing cuts in unemployment benefits. In Maine, the spokesperson of the Republican governor-elect suggested a probable scale back of the state's social safety net. In Texas Republican law makers are considering cuts to Medicaid and even dropping out of the program altogether.

On the national front, Paul Ryan, the Republican point man on budget issues and next leader of the Congressional Budget Committee has revealed the Roadmap for America's Future - the GOP budget blueprint for the coming years.....

...As the debate over whether or not to extend Bush tax cuts for the very wealthy heats up in the next few months, we must realize these proposed tax cuts are just another conservative ploy to starve the government of much needed revenue, thereby strengthening the argument for spending cuts to the social safety net.

Conservative arguments for smaller government sound appealing until you realize that real people suffer when Social Security, Medicare, and other programs that affect the most vulnerable are cut. The real "plug may be pulled on grandma" when Medicare is no longer available to take care of our senior citizens.

In the simplest of terms, a vote for tax cuts for the rich is a vote against Granny. We must make our voices heard." [Article]

Ahh hell no! Hands off my Granny!

*Pic lifted from TheLoop21.com