This is a sad, sad day for America. The massive spending cuts of this debt-ceiling deal will mean thousands of jobs lost, not gained. Consumer spending will continue to decline, trashing the economy. The poor, elderly, and disabled will sink further into poverty, losing what little health care they have with the inevitable cuts to the social safety net. The income gap will widen as the rich get richer; they are insulated from a crashed U.S. economy, as they can simply develop markets elsewhere.
What is most disheartening, though, is the spinelessness, in the face of right-wing extremism, of supposed Democrats like President Obama, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi, along with all the Democrats who voted for this package. They are ignoring the voice of the people. What do we need Democrats for, if the Republicans always get their way? This vote was another nail in the coffin of democracy.
This article appears in Aug 4-11, 2011.