I demand this guy be impeached…but what’s the point. The House majority probably didn’t see anything wrong with it.

This is just irresponsible. Our problems have come from too little government revenue not too great a burden on taxpayers. We should be looking for ways to bring-in more money so we can fund government programs to mitigate the damage being done by predatory capitalism. Instead, both sides are intent on coddling them. If the American People allow this to continue, we will deserve the final disaster it will bring, the return of feudalism.

This is the kind of government action we need. Forget about abortion and contraception, gay marriage and all the other “issues.” Everyday Americans live in a real world of daily abuse by predatory capitalism. Once we get that stopped, we can get back to the boutique issues.

Years of shame, indeed.

The last ten years will not add to Americans’ reputation in the world. We allowed ourselves to be played like suckers at a carnival side-show. Fast-talking sharpies and snake-oil salesman got fat selling patriotism and American exceptionalism to over-armed dimwits who were only too willing to shoot first and forget about questioning anyone except to ask if we could have some more.

We ought to be ashamed.

I have to commend Obama on his creative capitulation skills. He seems to have scheduled a time he knew he’d have to give-up. That polishes his reputation as the Great Compromiser. He’s getting better at caving every day in every way.

That’s nonsense. It’s not the way financial systems work.

You’re mistaken. The money meant for Social Security was actually taken and replaced with bonds.

I am not mistaken. The Trust Fund was set-up during the Reagan Administration for the explicit purpose of holding surpluses for the payment of future benefits. As a fiduciary must, the SSA invested the money. Money invested in US Treasuries is not taken any more than the money in your savings account is taken.

Repeating the “trust fund doesn’t exist” meme is little more than serving tea to those who don’t know what they’re drinking.

You can hope the IOU’s are honored…

IOUs are what guys give other guys when they can’t cover their losses in basement card games. US Treasuries are somewhat more substantial than that; so much so that investors are flocking to US Treasuries regardless of the threats of the tea drinkers to destroy the credit of the United States.

Why is it no one is talking about the Republican’s theft of SS to fund two wars that have been funded off the books?

No one has stolen a penny of Social Security and not one penny of it has been used for anything but Social Security benefits and expenses. Any talk suggesting it has is nonsense at best and tea-drinker propaganda at worst.

If they suffered commensurate losses to their retirement and health care funding, they might be more careful in what they impose on the rest of us.

Most Senators have no need of Social Security. Their retirement funding is secure and many, if not most, don’t even need their government pensions for that security. That’s our problem. The Senators are wealthy and their contributors are wealthy. Getting them to take an interest in the problems of common Americans would demand too much of them, a willingness to subordinate their own interests.

there is NO such thing as progressive deficit reduction. and it’s moronic to put the words “progressive” and “deficit reduction” in the same sentence…

That’s just not so.

Progressives live in the real world and can’t ignore the reality of arithmetic; revenues less expenditures is either a surplus or deficit. While we can tolerate small deficits indefinitely, we have to address the big ones. That means either cutting spending or raising taxes and that’s a political problem which can be solved.

Infinite campaign cash.

That certainly is a weakness of the system. Maybe a fatal weakness. It makes public policy little more than what floats to the top of a river of money.

The last thing most Americans have is any sense of class consciousness. They want to believe in the myth and not the reality.

And that is a tremendous obstacle for Progressives to overcome. Until Americans wake-up to the existence and hostility of the plutocracy, they will continue to believe in the American Dream. As George Carlin said, they call it a dream because you have to be asleep to believe it. Progressives’ job should be awakening America not attacking Obama.

I’m not an Obama supporter beyond knowing the Democrats have no one else and the Republicans are far worse than Obama. Abandoning Obama now would be a mistake. Progressives’ only real hope is making understand our displeasure.

The Republicans have carefully and very effectively rigged the system and in the process they have crippled and humiliated the Democratic Party.

Other than packing the judiciary with ideologues and being bold enough to use the inherent weakness of American government, e.g. threatening filibusters and poisoning legislation, how have they rigged the system?

I think this is an unjustifiably bleak assessment. If we have another debt ceiling hostage crisis in Obama’s possible second term, we can’t know he won’t have learned a lesson. He’s seen the poor reception this latest capitulation has gotten and he certainly must know he’s been savaged for his past capitulations. Maybe he’ll change enough to know he shouldn’t negotiate with terrorists.

Not so contemptible. Reid’s plan essentially is Pelosi’s plan according to what I’ve read. And none of them, not Obama, not Reid, not Pelosi, have taken a principled stand on anything. All of them are all too ready to make deals which hurt their constituencies and diminish the Party’s legacy. If they want to be blameless they have to say no to cuts without tax increases. They have to say no to cuts of Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid under any circumstances.

The Democrats should have capitulated earlier. Waiting this long just makes it more embarrassing and makes a good many even more disgusted with them.