- Banned
- #1
Published on Friday, November 16, 2012 by Common Dreams
Chorus of Warning Grows: 'Say No to US Austerity'
As politicians debate "fiscal cliff" economist say policy mistakes would harm most vulnerable and enormously damage fragile recovery
- Common Dreams staff
"As President Obama and Washington lawmakers embarked on fiscal negotiations to address federal budget concerns and the impacts of a stubborn economic recovery, nearly 350 prominent economists, under the banner "Jobs, Not Austerity," issued a statement warning that the "obsessive concern with cutting deficits that has infected both parties is a serious threat to making sound economic policy decisions in Washington.
***"
========================================================
Whatever we do, we must protect our social safety net from cuts.
Consider, for example, that it costs as much as a million dollars per year to maintain a soldier in the field in a foreign land.
The wars they"fight" are of no benefit to us.
They do not protect Israel; they create hatred for Israel.
They do not benefit our economy; they are designed to provide energy for the European Union.
By brining our troops home TODAY we could save enough in military costs to strengthen rather than weakening such nets. And once home, as has been the case in the past, many of our units could receive additional training and be assigned the task of HELPING our civilian workers to rebuild and maintain our existing infra-structure.
Salaries and benefits of elected officials and government workers are not sacrosanct. They should be cut before any part of the safety net is touched.
Fools speak of secession,but unless critical changes are made in our governance before our present depression bottoms out,
what we could be facing at such point is something akin to
"The Ten Days that Shook the World."
SHOCKLEY
Chorus of Warning Grows: 'Say No to US Austerity'
As politicians debate "fiscal cliff" economist say policy mistakes would harm most vulnerable and enormously damage fragile recovery
- Common Dreams staff
"As President Obama and Washington lawmakers embarked on fiscal negotiations to address federal budget concerns and the impacts of a stubborn economic recovery, nearly 350 prominent economists, under the banner "Jobs, Not Austerity," issued a statement warning that the "obsessive concern with cutting deficits that has infected both parties is a serious threat to making sound economic policy decisions in Washington.
***"
========================================================
Whatever we do, we must protect our social safety net from cuts.
Consider, for example, that it costs as much as a million dollars per year to maintain a soldier in the field in a foreign land.
The wars they"fight" are of no benefit to us.
They do not protect Israel; they create hatred for Israel.
They do not benefit our economy; they are designed to provide energy for the European Union.
By brining our troops home TODAY we could save enough in military costs to strengthen rather than weakening such nets. And once home, as has been the case in the past, many of our units could receive additional training and be assigned the task of HELPING our civilian workers to rebuild and maintain our existing infra-structure.
Salaries and benefits of elected officials and government workers are not sacrosanct. They should be cut before any part of the safety net is touched.
Fools speak of secession,but unless critical changes are made in our governance before our present depression bottoms out,
what we could be facing at such point is something akin to
"The Ten Days that Shook the World."
SHOCKLEY
