This is what gets to me about the FAA Furlough "Fix"
The whole reason for the sequestration deal was that the results would be so onerous and painful for EVERYONE that it would compel Congress to work out a budget deal. It was designed to hit all services regardless of socioeconomic status. Of course, we all knew that it would be much more painful for people on the margins than others but "shared sacrifice" was the premise.
Well, we all know what happened... an intransigent political party who shall remain nameless but initials are GOP held up any and all opportunities to reach a deal even when given much of what they wanted (to the dismay of liberals like myself). The sequester became inevitable. In the short time it has been implemented there have been real world consequences that have affected some very vulnerable Americans in very negative ways. The medicare cancer sufferers being turned away from some clinics comes to mind.
But hold all the freakin' presses because air travelers are being inconvenienced. It just so happens that, in general, those who fly more are less likely to need SNAP, or rely on medicare and SS for their survival. So we must move with all good haste to fix this most monumental of problems...extra time in a concourse bar for a class of people that can spend money on beer and an overpriced hamburger.
And herein lies the problem. Many of us could have predicted the the caving in on the sequester would be swift and lopsided. The "fixes", much like the bank bailouts, will disproportionately be for services that are for the upper classes and only marginally benefits those on the economic margins. If you ever want the GOP to come to the table the sequester has to stay whole and across the board. When you start to piecemeal the issue like this, especially those items that benefit the GOP constituency disproportionately, they will have achieved what they wanted to do in the first place which is to dismantle services for the poor and middle class while maintaining services for the privileged. Let's share that sacrifice!
I never wanted the sequester nor do I want any type of austerity when we are this close to the zero lower bound. However, if this is the situation we find ourselves in, let's not do things that weakens our hand while strengthening the 1% austerians, who, by the way, have been wrong about everything.
B
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