A look at the future

It is almost 4:00 in the afternoon on Friday, December 10, 2010 and as I type this Senator Bernie Sanders is carrying out his promise to filibuster the tax cuts to the wealthy bill that the obstructionists are using to hold the country hostage.

A little while ago, I heard him listing some CEO's that will benefit, and the only one I remember was the CEO of Wells Fargo. I remember them because I am having a huge issue with their bank, since their takeover of Wachovia here in Bessemer.

Anyway, let's say a CEO gets a tax break of $900,000, which is rounded from a figure that Sanders mentioned. We already know that it won't help the economy, based on the economy we have watched over the last 8 years while these same millionaires were getting this same tax break.

And we know that tax breaks that are not paid for contribute to the deficit.

Now, let's put 2 and 2 together and see what we get.

An increase in the deficit, caused by the millionaires, that the millionaires will not be paying down, because they don't pay the taxes, and that leaves us, the middle class, to pay what should be their deficit liability.

So this is what those Republicans that you Democrats who didn't vote, or didn't work to get Democrats in office, are doing for us.

And seniors! Remember that $250 check that you heard about. Blocked by those same Republicans that you helped put in office.

The Republican leadership has vowed that they will block all legislation until the tax breaks for their wealthy funders is passed.

They won't give Grandma $250 unless and until they give the CEO's $900,000.

Just get ready, America. You voted for this, and it's only going to get worse in 2011, when the Senate and House are infiltrated by Tea Party folks.

Here are some predictions.

They rich will get their tax break, either in the lame duck or the Daffy Duck session that will follow.

Obama will be blamed for the resulting increase in the deficit.

Republicans will demand that Medicare and Social Security be slashed.

Social programs that we commonly refer to as the safety net will be slashed.

The poor will get poorer.

The rich will get richer.

The middle class will shrink.

When taxes finally do go up, and they will, it will be the middle class and the poor that is affected and not the upper class.

That will mean that of every dollar you earn, that you will have less of it in your pocket to spend.

And all of this is because we (Democrats) were disenchanted with what was going on in Washington and we stayed at home on election day; and we (gays) were disgruntled because of the President's lack of leadership on our issues so we stayed at home on election day; and we (the rest of America) were fooled by the Tea Party into voting this change across our country, so they turned out on election day blindly voting against the fictional enemy, and elected an even greater enemy than they could have imagined.

That the American people could have been this, this, uh, stupid (it's the only word I can think of to describe anyone who would vote for the Republican party as it presented itself before the last election) is almost unbelievable to me. I mean, these are the same people (Americans) that thought it was OK for people to own other people - that's pretty stupid isn't it? And the same people that thought it was OK to segregate people racially - that was pretty stupid, wasn't it? So we are known for doing stupid things and having stupid beliefs.

Here's a new single from Erasure, a remix of their old hit, A Little Respect. Proceeds from this tune go to the Hetrick-Martin Institute, the home of the Harvey Milk High School, in New York, and the True Colors Fund. Get it on iTunes. h/t to JoeMyGod.