Been Away from Here. Got Apathetic. Then Got Pissed. Had to come back and vent.

[BlueCaliDem]

82. If you'd done your research

you'd know that raising the cap is DOA and it won't save social security. For one, it's seen as a tax hike by the GOP who control Congress. It would require new legislation, and they hold the power in Congress because they hold the power in the House, and they will refuse it, but it really doesn't address the solvency of S S, as I'll try to explain in the second part:

Second, up until Bush and the GOP in Congress started stealing from Social Security, redirecting the money to the Treasury to fund those unaffordable tax cuts for the rich, Social security was doing juuuuuuust fine. Raising the cap will only have more of your and my tax dollars flow into the SS trust fund which the GOP will move heaven and earth to get their stinking paws on - just as they'd successfully done in or around 2003 - and funnel your and my money through to those very corporations you and I abhor.

As for global policy, I don't have an opinion on it because I haven't done any research on it. I'll withhold opinion on those questions. I'm not an economist. Suffice it to say, we no longer live in an American-only economy. For better or worse, we're part of a global economy and I believe the president is doing his best to get the best deal for the country he represents as he can.

Challenging mergers that are creating monopolies is Congress' responsibility, not the president's. He can jump up and down and demonize corporations, but all he'll get for his troubles is a corporate media excoriating him for it. Let's keep things in perspective. Congress is the legislative branch and it takes legislation to undo the damage they've done when they began relaxing ownership rules at the federal level.

The GOP is able to monopolize the terms of debates because they hold a vise-like grip on the House. Democrats can do whatever they want in the Senate (if they can find a way around the fucking filibuster), but it goes nowhere because the House has the last say.

These backassward Republicans aren't afraid to say NO to the president because they're sitting pretty in their dark red states and gerrymandered districts. Their voters expect them to obstruct everything the Democrats put forward, and that's exactly what they're doing using every trick available to them. It's why Boehner's House only has to work 2 3/4 days a week. This is a tactic the Democrats have never indulged in (although at times I wish they had) because they aren't in government to play obstructionist games. They're there to govern.

They key here is, if we want more progressive legislation, we need to win back the House. Otherwise, this is how things will stay.