The PCTC Blog

Cutting Spending Will Increase the Deficit, GOP Geniuses

I feel like I’ve been saying this a lot, but this is an important concept that absolutely must be said and repeated as nauseum, until the average person gets it.

Our deficit is NOT high because the government is spending too much money.

Let me repeat that, and then YOU be sure to repeat it far and wide to anyone and everyone you meet, because it’s important:

The reason we have a record-high deficit is NOT because the government is spending too much money.

Now, let me explain. First, I want to state, for the record, that the government does waste money. The above statement is not an acknowledgement that every dollar the government spends is good and just and goes to the right places. In fact, one solution to the deficit problem would be to take the money we spend on one thing, and move it to something else. I'll talk more about that in a future post. 

If Church-State Separation Doesn't Matter, Reduce the Deficit by Taxing Churches!

The Republican Party has been complaining about the deficit they created for a little over two years. Well, I'm a helper. I say we combine two of our biggest problems and solve them both.

See, I'm getting a little sick of phony religious  nuts constantly trying to push their way into the political arena and make us accept their absurd superstitions. I'm not talking about ntruly religious people; those who truly believe what they claim tend to act in a way that makes you want to be like them. I'm talking about the fakes; the people who lack humility, and usually push political positions that actually go against their stated belief systems. 

Just Call Republicans The Party of Fiscal Irresponsibility

Let's talk about “fiscal responsibility,” shall we?

Republicans love to use that term, don’t they? They became the “Party of No”™ by whining and complaining about the deficit pretty much every day, and using that as a rationale for trying to kill everything.  Suddenly, they are so incredibly worried about the huge debt our kids will be left with; it’s almost touching, unless you consider the incredible hypocrisy involved. 

You see, more than 90% of the current level of national debt was laid there by Republicans. They can seek to blame others for it, but the bottom line is, the only reason there should be concerned about the deficit now is because of the foundation the Republicans have laid at our feet. Their concern about our children and grandchildren might be touching, except for the fact that Republicans have already stuck them with higher taxes than would otherwise be necessary, had they not been fiscally irresponsible for the better part of a generation.

The Real Reason for Higher Gas Prices.

Watch this video and learn something, kiddies.  He is absolutely right. Think about it. There is no shortage, and Libya and Egypt are not major oil powers. In fact, OPEC has already agreed to cover missing Libyan oil production. You're paying more for gas, and you're watching food prices rise, precisely because no one is watching the store. While Republicans were in charge, they robbed the store. Now that Republicans have retaken the House, and there is little chance of intervention, they're robbing us again. 

 

Breitbart Protege O'Keefe Has a New Video; NPR Execs Portray Teabaggers Truthfully

James O’Keefe is back, apparently. And even after all of his legal troubles, he still doesn’t understand the concept of a “sting.”

James, buddy; a “sting” is where you put someone in a position where they commit some sort of illegal act, or act in a way that undermines their credibility. This video makes me want to double my donation to NPR. I just heard that Vivian Schiller has resigned, and Ron Schiller was forced out earlier than planned over this. Why the hell does anyone pay any attention to anything O'Keefe does? For Chrissakes, folks; why isn't anyone asking to see the unedited video, at the very least? 

Seriously, getting two NPR execs to tell you how they honestly feel about racist elements in the Tea Party isn’t really much of a “get.” And I’m sorry, but just WTF are “citizen journalists”? All journalists are “citizens” of their respective countries. If you mean, “two journalists with no credentials," then just say it. 

Shocker: Proving CNBC Economic Analysis Wrong: SS, Medicare, Unemployment NOT "Hand Outs."

Seriously, folks; before you believe anything you read from any source, check on it, especially when it’s offered up as an opinion piece. Don’t just believe it because it comes from what seems to be a reliable source. If the information doesn’t seem to make sense, it probably isn’t correct.

This is one such case; an article by John Melloy, who is Executive Producer of Fast Money on CNBC, and the article is on the CNBC web site. The article is complete and utter bullshit, beginning with the headline:

Welfare State: Handouts Make Up One-Third of U.S. Wages

As you could probably guess, this article has been re-published on a number of right wing sites, and it has been Tweeted by several right wingers, including some who probably know better. Their followers, however, do not, which is what they count on. The headline is complete crap for two reasons. Government entitlement payments are NOT INCLUDED in wage and salary calculations. They are two separate numbers that actually have no relation to one another. Therefore, the phrase “make up” is, well, made up. And that makes the basic premise false.

At What Point Do "We The People" Take Back Our Own Economy?

When did the economy get away from us?

What I mean is, why are we allowing people who claim to have all sorts of mysterious knowledge about finances create all sorts of exotic “financial instruments” that the rest of us can’t possibly understand? We’re in the economy, too, and goddamn it; they’ve been using OUR MONEY to do all of this. If we’re all supposed to be equal, and they’re using our money, shouldn’t we at least have a working knowledge of how they’re using it? I’ll put it another way; if a used car salesman says “Trust me,” immediately our guard goes up and we immediately get suspicious. But for some reason, when someone puts on a suit and dons the term “financial advisor” or something equally odious, we just smile and hand over the checkbook.

What the hell is wrong with us?

Now, I am not a professional investor, nor do I claim to be a “financial adviser.” In other words, I’m just like most people who invest; we just want our money to be safe and grow at a reasonable rate. I do not want to have to spend all of my time staring at a computer screen and moving my money around, trying to outthink everyone else who’s doing the same. So, why are we trusting people we don’t know with putting our money into financial instruments we don’t understand? How many times do we have to get burned before we figure out how to stay away from the flame?

What Will it Take to Give Up Our Oil Addiction?

What will it take to make us get serious as a nation about switching from oil to clean, renewable energy sources? How much of our environment so we have to completely ruin, and how many people have to die before we figure out that what we’re doing is simply killing us?

Even if the terrible ecological disaster caused by BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico wasn’t the unmitigated catastrophe it will probably turn out to be be over time, the reality is, the same scenario is pretty much guaranteed to happen again and again. Why do we continue with the same behaviors that keep leading us to disaster after disaster? Why do we keep doing this to ourselves?

Why do Americans think things will just get better over time, when they’re only destined to get worse? Why do we always wait for "someone else" to take the reins and fix problems? As you are seeing over the last few weeks, oil companies will use any excuse to jack up prices, and they will do it over and over again, because they can.  if they can jack prices up 50 cents a gallon when there is no shortage (and there isn't one, folks -- there is no serious danger to oil supplies in any of the countries currently experiencing change in the Middle East.), imagine what they will be able to do when there is a shortage.