Republicans Renege On Debt Deal, For A Change
The thing about the deficit is that it will cause the end of the world and is an existential threat to freedom, which is why it is so important to deny entitlements to Poors and Olds. Tax increases for rich people and cuts to the Department of Defense, however — that’s different, THAT’s the kind of deficit that doesn’t matter. See, the deficit can magically tell if the debt is coming from helping Poors, Olds, children, and science (which is the bad kind of debt) or from a bloated military-industrial complex (which is the good kind). Why are we even having to explain this to you at all? Because the Republicans who agreed to a debt deal (to be put off into the Future, which is Now) would like to rewrite it so that the half of the automatic spending cuts that they care about (i.e. high class escorts for all military contractors) miraculously do not go into effect. Because Barack Obama refuses to compromise, obviously.
One year after Congress approved a controversial plan to extend the nation’s debt ceiling, Republicans are stepping up their campaign to repeal a major part of the law. They’re worried about a part of the measure called “sequester,” a requirement that spending for some federal government programs be slashed starting in 2013 once a “supercommittee” of Congress failed to compromise on $1 trillion in deficit reductions last fall. The law requires that more than $100 billion be sequestered — or automatically cut — in January.
GOP officeholders and candidates, however, aren’t worried about all the automatic reductions. They’re concerned that more than $50 billion in cuts will come from the Defense Department, saying that will threaten national security and tens of thousands of defense-related private-sector jobs. They’re pushing to rewrite that part of the law.
The rest of the cuts that would deprive 700,000 young children of nutrition assistance, 100,000 kids of Head Start, and the 25,000 teachers and aides of their jobs -- well, we have to make Sacrifices, you guys. And by "we" we mean you, specifically, unless you work for a defense contractor or the highest echelons of the federal government, in which case you're in good shape.
Remember, being a Republican means never having to live up to your end of the bargain, because compromising is for losers.
Defense cuts hurt the private sector because then the DoD can't get charged $700 for a toilet seat.
According to conservative pundits and the Republican Congressional leadership, public sector jobs aren't "real jobs", but they still include them when talking about job losses, for some reason.
Why do you think that is? My guess is they don't want anyone to notice their policies are what's wrecking the economy right now, but I could be wrong.