The latest power move by the neo-fascists of the Mad Tea Party and Republiklan centers on the question of raising the “debt ceiling.” Their arguments — and the predictably weak response to it by corporate Democrats like Senator Harry Reid — suggests that the government is spending more than it takes in, and, like a family working on their budget at the kitchen table, it must balance the budget by making major cuts in spending.
The fact is they want to cut social spending — money that goes to support services that protect workers, women, people who are unemployed, the elderly, small businesses, the poor, and the environment.
And what would become of the “savings” they claim would result? The big corporations and the super rich would get yet another major tax cut!
Check it out, don’t take my word for it.
What kind of family would cut grandma out and give her fair share to an incredibly wealthy godfather?
The Mad Tea Party and the Republiklan talk about the people as if we were one big family. This analogy is a popular one among fascists around the world.
That would be one truly messed-up family, one where two percent of its members controlled 95 percent of its wealth.
The U.S. “family” as described by the far right is, in fact, one where a tiny elite owns and controls the media, the big banks, major manufacturing, the insurance and drug companies, major medical corporations, oil companies, utilities, our natural resources, the universities, colleges, the Supreme Court, Congress — to name just a few of their assets…
So much for fairness and the family budget.
The real situation is this: Despite their obscene wealth, the ruling class of this country are not content. They want more. They demand more. And if we don’t give them what that want, what they demand, all hell is going to break loose! they warn.
The latest push by the super rich and their political representatives – the Mad Tea Party and Republiklan — is part of the strategy of the monopoly capitalistic class to own and control nearly all the remaining wealth in this nation they don’t ALREADY control.
They are militant in stating their objectives. They will not compromise. They have principles, you know. In fact the Mad Tea Party is so “principled” and true to their “beliefs” they even want to dictate what god people should worship — though clearly the only god these folks worship is gold.
In reality all the furor in Washington about the debt ceiling is just another round by the far right to seize complete control over the government so they can gain even greater wealth and power.
All you need do is listen to what they say and look at what they have done in areas where they exercise local control and you will clearly see their goals.
Their agenda openly calls for the elimination of worker’s rights — including the right to organize and bargain collectively. Take a look at Wisconsin and see what they have done there.
Look no farther than the fascist State of Arizona to see what they have in mind for immigrants.
These cripto-fascists (as brother Cornell West refers to them) are determined to smash the environmental movement, undermine the rights of women, bankrupt small businesses, target all so-called “minorities” as threats to the republic, force all of us to cow-tow to their every wish, and ultimately establish a dictatorship in the United States.
“You exaggerate!” some may say. “Why the hyperbole! This is just a battle over the ‘debt ceiling,’ and nothing more! What the RepubliKlan and Mad Tea Party are trying to do is reduce government spending!”
But what are the biggest costs to the government paid for by working people and their taxes?
The government spends billions daily on two wars to protect the profits of the oil companies in the Middle East; they spend billions to have troops in Europe and Asia to protect the big corporations there; they spend billions to protect the investments of the Big Banks, Hedge Funds and Financial Firms. In fact they have turned the FDIC into their private insurance company so now all big investments, no matter how shady (such as derivatives), are protected by the taxpayers of the U.S.
Wait a minute…Come to think of it Congress – including Republicans and Democrats — spent trillions to bail out the big banks and financial firms, to insure their profits, and even to pay bonuses to people who nearly brought the capitalist system to its knees.
What about Social Security? some might ask. Don’t we pay taxes for that? Isn’t that also one reason the budget doesn’t balance?
Social Security is fully funded by people like you and me and it has nothing to do with the budget in Congress in terms of its funding. And it is safe as long as the filthy rich and their political flunkies keep their greedy hands off of it.
But now that you mention it, yes, the far right has been calling for the elimination of Social Security since its inception.
Back to the “debt ceiling” debate: What would the Mad Tea Party, the Republiklan and their big corporate sponsors do if the government goes broke?
Many of them would make a helluva lot of money. You see they are betting against Treasury Bonds on Wall Street, just as a gangster boss bets on a horse race he helped fix.
As far as the rest of us goes, the right wing would savagely reduce any taxpayer support for retirees, veterans, the environment, small businesses, poor people, and the unemployed. They have floated the notion of cutting the tax credit for working people who have mortgages on their homes. They’d gut the FDA, which protects food preparation and sale; eliminate virtually all environmental protections and regulations, cut what little money remains for public education, gut Medicare, and give all the “savings” they’d get from these cuts to — well what do you know? They would give them to the super rich in the form of another major tax cut!
They would eliminate, or at the very least, dramatically cut social security, though, again, funding for the program is independent of other government programs.
When President Obama suggested a compromise — which included budget cuts coupled with tax increases for those who earn more than $250,000 a year and the elimination of special credits for the oil companies, the right wing and the media just plain ignored him.
In an effort to be rid of moderate Democrats like Obama, and win complete control of the Washington and Wall Street, the right is willing to force the government to default on its loans, even though that would actually increase the U.S. debt and damage the capitalist economy.
There is a reason why FOX TV and Glenn Beck have been telling people on the far-right to buy gold. They have been preparing for this for a long time.
The leadership of the Mad Tea Party — folks like Russ Limbaugh — actually appear to want the government to go broke.
Their patrons on Wall Street appear to be banking on it.
Why?
Then the U.S. Department of “Labor” could no longer enforce the minimum wage rules, union rights to organize, and other worker protection; the Justice Department could no longer enforce Civil Rights laws; the EPA could no longer monitor the big oil companies, coal mines, nuclear power plants, mineral digs, or maintain standards for air and water pollution.
Why? There would be no money to pay for these agencies! And that is their goal – to finally break loose of ANY government control over their business and commercial interests.
Furthermore, if the government defaults, labor unions and working people with 401k’s or other retirement plans will lose much of their investments. In addition to the widespread poverty and misery that would result, such a change would mean the Big Banks and Financial Firms would have complete and total control over the financial system.
A look at what’s happening in Greece is illustrative of what would happen if the government even appears close to defaulting in payment of its debt.
The big banks and foreign interests that own the U.S. debt could insist that the government sell off “public assets” in order to pay those debts. And what might those assets that be? Our natural resources, infrastructure, radio and television channels, bridges, railroads, national parks — to name just a few things that would likely be put on the auction block.
If the U.S. government defaults on their debts, people who have gold will finally rule — not just in the general sense that they already do under capitalism, where they control the financial and political system. No, if the right wing gets its way – and this battle over the debt ceiling is just the beginning of their efforts – that would mean a very specific sector of the monopoly capitalist class will have complete and total political and financial control.
And that sector of the ruling class which would exercise such dictatorial control is the most chauvinistic, racist, and reactionary elements in the monopoly capitalistic class — big right-wing corporations such as those owned by Koch Brothers, FOX news, and other neo-fascists.
Who will stand up to these reactionaries? Who will speak up to their friends and families?
Educate! Resist! Organize!
published in 2011
