Game of Wrongs

Last week, the U.S. House of Representative and the Senate passed a budget deal that raised the debt limit so the government would not run out of money.  

President Joe Biden addressed the nation Friday evening about this legislative achievement.  “Passing this budget agreement was critical. The stakes could not have been higher.  Nothing would have been more catastrophic than defaulting on the country’s debt. No one got everything they wanted but the American people got what they needed. We averted an economic crisis and an economic collapse.”

Biden's statement must've been very important. Locally, it interrupted Wheel of Fortune.  

So the U.S. government stays in business for awhile longer.

We got into this dangerous game of fiscal chicken because Republicans were in a tizzy of a snit over excessive government spending.

Which is not entirely an inappropriate thing to be worried about. The government wouldn't have to borrow more money to stay in business if we maybe spent less. A reasonable point except the Republicans only bring it up when there's a Democrat in the White House. And the only spending they seemed concerned with was for food stamps and Medicare.  

And this sudden partisan concern with spending ignores some key points.  According to economist Robert Reich, actual discretionary spending has fallen more than 40% in the past 50 years as a percentage of the nation’s gross domestic product (from 11% to 6.3%).  In other words, what we spend of domestic programs may be a large amount, but compared to the overall economic health of the country, it is a large amount that is actually going down. 

Defense spending is a big part of driving up the nation's debt but the Republican Party is going to do fuck all about that. Even while Kevin McCarthy was all in a tizzy of a snit in his negotiations with President Biden to cut food stamp spending, McCarthy's budget actually included increases in defense spending.  

But also causing the debt to get worse is reduced income.  George W Bush pushed through huge tax cuts that benefited big corporations and the wealthy, tax cuts that added $8 trillion to the debt.

A decade later Donald Trump pushed through his own huge tax cuts for the largess of his wealthy cronies adding another $1.7 trillion to the national debt.  

The current Republican establishment that is SO worried over the national debt is currently preparing another round of huge tax cuts for the rich who do not need them and will only exacerbate our growing debt.   

So the Republican strategy for managing the government's debt is to cut programs that help people in need, spend more on a military that has more than it needs and to further reduce the government's capacity for taking in money to actually reduce that debt.   

One might think managing the U.S. government's financial responsibilities was not actually a priority for the Republican Party.  The national debt is only a weapon in their games of political maneuvering against political opponents.  

Consider the Republican Party's other skewed priorities that seem to have little to do with the actual practical mechanics of governing.  

1. Wokeness

Republicans are obsessed with things being "woke" as a threat to American society. What exactly does it mean to be "woke". One definition is “the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them”.

That definition is actually offered by Ron DeSantis' general counsel. I guess from the perspective of a straight white male, there are NO systemic injustices in American society and thus NO need to address them.  

If you are straight white or male, well, fuck you and your opinion and the horse it road in on. 

If you are a straight white male with a strong sense of self importance and entitlement and the unbending belief in American exceptionalism, no wonder you think you need to go to war with "woke".   

Health care costs on the rise? Fuck that! We've got woke to fight.

2. Trans people

American citizens who identify as trans gender constitute less than 0.5% of the population and not proven to be a threat to the general population.   

So why are Republicans working overtime to curb the rights of trans gender citizens?

Because it plays well with the evangelical base. It's all part of the political game being played to identify a subset of the population as scapegoats for all our ills and troubles.

Crumbling bridges and roads? Who cares when there might be a drag queen reading to your kids at the local library.  

3. Critical race theory

Republicans have a made a big deal of opposing the teaching critical race theory. CRT is an examination of America’s history of racism which apparently is a threat to America because it makes kids feel bad and teaches them to hate America. 

CRT is a scare tactic for white conservatives, ignoring the lesson that "those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it".  

Energy costs are out of control? Who gives a damn when someone might be teaching your kids that racism is bad.  

4. Couch potatoes

A frequent refrain of Republican scare tactics is that someone somewhere might be getting away with something.  

In the fight over raising the debt ceiling, Republicans added work requirements to food stamps and welfare, arguing that too many “couch potatoes” collect government benefits.

OK, let's consider that yeah, maybe someone somewhere is getting something for nothing who could get off their lazy asses and get a damn job. I'll concede the point that these people probably exist. 

But how many of these “couch potatoes” actually exist? The thing is a lot of people who collect some form of food stamps and welfare are already working but still qualify for assistance because the jobs they have don't pay enough.

By the way, the same party that wants to stop “couch potatoes” is also against increasing the minimum wage.  

But stopping “couch potatoes” is the priority.

It's easier to get people worked up over things than to actually do something like actually governing.  

Skewed priorities are all part of the Republican Party's game of wrongs.