Republicans Are Serious About the Deficit

Hey, Republicans, how about we extend unemployment benefits to help people out in this horrible job economy?¹

Not unless you cut spending elsewhere - we can't increase the deficit.

Well, we could more than pay for extended unemployment by allowing the Bush tax increases to come into effect for the nation's highest wage earners.

Out of the question.

But won't the extension of tax cuts run up the deficit to the tune of about $70 billion per year? Are you going to propose spending cuts to make up the difference?

Spending cuts, wha...? No. This is completely different.

How?

It just is.

Well, perhaps we can reach a reasonable compromise?

How about we extend tax cuts for everybody, and extend unemployment benefits as well?

You mean, blow an even bigger hole in the budget?

No, it is simply the avoidance of raising taxes in a difficult time, and by cutting taxes and increasing the deficit we're actually demonstrating fiscal responsibility. Hm. I'll come up with a euphemism if you give me a moment, then you'll see how it all makes sense.

You have to love (real) statements like this:

"I think it's pretty clear now that taxes are not going up on anybody in the middle of this recession," McConnell said in an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" program. "We're discussing how long we should maintain current tax rates."

One would think that Sen. McConnell would be aware that the recession officially ended in June, 2009. That the current problem is a jobless recovery. That the wealthy are doing better than ever, but aren't "creating jobs".

In fairness, my guess is that he knows all of that - but will happily blow smoke up the skirts of our credulous mainstream media - after all, odds are nobody will call him on his mendacity.
---------------
1. I single out the Republicans not because I believe the Democrats are markedly better on these issues - I believe the reason the Dems painted themselves into this corner is because between 1/3 and 2/3 of them would just as soon join hands with the Republicans and implement policies that work overwhelmingly to the favor of the wealthy, and they thus couldn't get their act together before the election to pass a tax bill that would have caused pain, even at the level of a pinprick, to the nation's top business executives, bankers and hedge fund managers. I single them out because their hypocrisy is so over-the-top, and yet seems to elude mainstream media analysis. (But then, same paymasters.)