US Election Week 2020

[crazy canuck]

Two days in and Republicans are starting to care about the debt/deficit - predictable and inevitable but still shameless:

Senate committee talk from Graham: If we keep the Senate which I think we will and I become Budget chairman. I'd like to create a dialogue about how can we finally begin to address the debt.

Case in point on my issues with the Republican Party. 

Just because Lindsey Graham is a galactic-sized hypocrite doesn't mean he's wrong.

Any particular reason you suddenly feel the need to defend these fucking gang of spineless sleezeballs who were quite alright to close rank and follow this utter piece of shit Trump?

Do you guys really not understand BB's politics?

[Valmy]

No he shouldn't. It is a threat to the entire future of the United States.

God I will never not be mad about 2001. The idea we can just cut taxes and grow out of the debt is a lie. We have to do the austerity measures necessary.

Yes, but austerity won't win votes.

Yes but we did it. In the 1990s we raised taxes and cut spending and did it while growing the economy and maintaining political stability. It was one of the greatest achievements in American History.

And then Dubya and the Republicans fucking burned it all down. I will never forgive them. Ever.

Well ok I will forgive them if they fixed the problem but most of those people are dead or out of office now so chances of redemption are basically zero at this point.

[Syt]

[Oexmelin]

Yes, but austerity won't win votes.

It won't win vote as long as people feel they are the only ones paying. Austerity that deepens economic inequality is predictably impopular (as it should). Income stagnation means that the recent episodes of famed prosperity have never really succeeded in dispelling the threat of austerity, while Republicans have succeeded in convincing people that it's poor people, black people, immigrants, urban people, coastal people, who are the parasites.

[The Brain]

No he shouldn't. It is a threat to the entire future of the United States.

God I will never not be mad about 2001. The idea we can just cut taxes and grow out of the debt is a lie. We have to do the austerity measures necessary.

Yes, but austerity won't win votes.

Yes but we did it. In the 1990s we raised taxes and cut spending and did it while growing the economy and maintaining political stability. It was one of the greatest achievements in American History.

And then Dubya and the Republicans fucking burned it all down. I will never forgive them. Ever.

Well ok I will forgive them if they fixed the problem but most of those people are dead or out of office now so chances of redemption are basically zero at this point.

Someone forgets the dress with the mess. You can't just ignore huge things like that.

[Sheilbh]

Yes, but austerity won't win votes.

There are loads of examples in Europe of austerity-supporting parties, perhaps surprisingly, winning election. It certainly helped the GOP in 2010. It is going to be what Republicans run on in 2022 - not as "austerity" but as the need to balance the books etc.

The crucial thing isn't that Republicans won't run on it - it's that given the choice between austerity and tax cuts they will choose tax cuts every time. Given that I think you can query whether they believe in or will actually do any austerity if you vote for them. They're a St. Augustine party "Lord, make me chaste—but not yet!"

[crazy canuck]

No he shouldn't. It is a threat to the entire future of the United States.

God I will never not be mad about 2001. The idea we can just cut taxes and grow out of the debt is a lie. We have to do the austerity measures necessary.

Yes, but austerity won't win votes.

Yes but we did it. In the 1990s we raised taxes and cut spending and did it while growing the economy and maintaining political stability. It was one of the greatest achievements in American History.

And then Dubya and the Republicans fucking burned it all down. I will never forgive them. Ever.

Well ok I will forgive them if they fixed the problem but most of those people are dead or out of office now so chances of redemption are basically zero at this point.

Yeah, juxtapose that to what happened in Canada. We went from big deficit spending to surplus by the mid 90s.  All of the political fights then were about what to do with the surplus - pay down the debt (the Conservative approach); apply to new spending (the NDP approach). The liberals went with a little from column A and a little from column B with another bit added it to the budget as a safety measure.  That more or less was the way of things through successive liberal and conservative governments until the 2008 meltdown.

The US on the other hand committed an unforced error. 

[Sheilbh]

I feel like there's Downfall-style meme opportunity in Brian Blessed's Augustus - where are my eagles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-ohKuKy4_s
Or - is there anyone in Rome who has not slept with my daughter:
https://twitter.com/archivetvmus71/status/1181977161151983616?lang=en

[Barrister]

Any particular reason you suddenly feel the need to defend these fucking gang of spineless sleezeballs who were quite alright to close rank and follow this utter piece of shit Trump?

Because one of the very first issues I ever cared about in politics in my life was the national debt.  Which is a problem that in both Canada and the US we manned up and solved - but now it's come back worse than ever.

[Josquius]

.... Wot?

[FunkMonk]

Pennsylvania, give me back my ballots!

[Malthus]

Pennsylvania, give me back my ballots!

Finally a reason to use this one:

[merithyn]

Maybe this time the Republicans will take the debt seriously?

I am honestly still worn out from going around and around about this during the Obama Presidency only for the Republicans to blow up the debt AGAIN for no goddamn reason the second they had power.

The GOP is probably acting in bad faith here, sure.

But that doesn't mean President Biden should just ignore the issue!  US budget deficit is going to hit $3 trillion dollars in 2020, adding to almost $27 trillion dollars in national debt.

Given that it's been Democratic Presidents who have addressed this directly and solely for the past couple of decades, I find it odd that you are expecting Graham and the Republicans to do this.

[Tamas]

Any particular reason you suddenly feel the need to defend these fucking gang of spineless sleezeballs who were quite alright to close rank and follow this utter piece of shit Trump?

Because one of the very first issues I ever cared about in politics in my life was the national debt.  Which is a problem that in both Canada and the US we manned up and solved - but now it's come back worse than ever.

Yes but they had 4 years to address it and decided to increase it instead. Then the first moment it seems they get pushes away from the honey jar of national debt they declare it the biggest issue evah neesing immediate action. They haven't even lost yet officially. This is some special kind of thick skin.

[Oexmelin]

Given that it's been Democratic Presidents who have addressed this directly and solely for the past couple of decades, I find it odd that you are expecting Graham and the Republicans to do this.

"Now that this slight unpleasantness is behind us, I think it is time we address an important issue: the punctuality of trains".