Peter Peterson must be one pleased bankster, turns out his $1 billion dollar attack on Social Security is paying off handsomely (has been for some time: here and here) - and his propaganda gets free and seemingly endless airtime from NPR - mainly through Maya MacGuineas, a paid propagandist for the Peterson Institute. Do a quick search of her as "heard on the air" on NPR and you'll see she's their latest go-to "expert" on attacking Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare. She's always introduced on NPR as the "president of the non-partisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget" (Ydstie on Monday's ME). Of course, the "Responsible" in this committee's title rings about as true as "Democratic" does in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
So what Peter Peterson cat food "solutions" does Ms. MacGuineas repeat for listeners to NPR? Here are a few choice spoonfuls:
On Saturday's ATC, the painfully clueless Audie Cornish let MacGuiness toss these doozies out there without any challenge:
"Just like you can't go on borrowing forever in your own household. That's not sustainable for the federal government...We put these policies in place before without paying for them, they're still there on the books and they're going to be exacerbated as more people are aging and health care costs are growing...." [those old, lazy freeloaders...sheesh!]"So in the '90s....a lot of things came together and helped us get out of that fiscal hole...which was great until it loosened Congress' resolve. And then, suddenly, it was tax cuts and spending increases everywhere...." [and about that $8 trillion dollar housing bubble?]"And what we need to do is have a adult conversation about the different kinds of trade-offs....the co-chairs of this White House commission, Erskine Bowles and Al Simpson, have changed the game by putting forth an honest, straightforward plan about the kinds of things that will be involved."
Anytime you hear these hacks talking about rising health care costs or paying for mistaken policies, you have to ask why they never mention the savings of getting rid of our bloated private insurance "health care" system and never talk about the role of private speculators in creating the debt crisis they are so concerned about.
There was more on Monday's ME with MacGuineas and John Ydstie teaming up:
Ydstie: "But now the cost of Medicare threatens to crush the whole federal budget. And Social Security benefits for the baby boom generation will add to that burden..."Ms. MacGuineas: "When it comes to Medicare and health care in general, we just don't know how to fix it."Ydstie: "While a growing population of elderly is part of Medicare's problem, the largest threat is the rising cost of health care....But, without a doubt, the biggest challenge for deficit wranglers is reining in the long term growth of entitlements for the elderly....The President's fiscal commission hopes it can deliver a road map to lower deficits and debt later this week." [Oh yeah, the President's fiscal commission...meeeeeooooowww....]
Maybe NPR realized it was a tad unseemly to have Ms. MacGuineas be the only voice of Peterson, so on Monday ATC, they went fishing for another Peterson clone and found, "chief economist Diane Lim Rogers of the fiscal watchdog The Concord Coalition." And guess who owns the Concord Coalition? You betcha!
The Monday ATC piece offered more of the same with Scott Horsley explaining:
The Monday ATC piece offered more of the same with Scott Horsley explaining:
"Both plans would curtail Social Security benefits for future retirees, while increasing payments to the neediest seniors. In other words, both plans involve compromise." [Compromise - oh goody!]Painfully, NPR promises there will be more: "On Tuesday's Morning Edition, we explore the choices for dealing with the debt."
10 comments:
"And what we need to do is have a adult conversation ..."
...and, of course, "Adult conversation" is code for "The American people [children] are meant to be seen, not heard [so they should just shut the hell up]"
Even PBS mentioned Rep. Jan Schakowsky's deficit reduction plan, which doesn't touch S.S. No mention of that on Monday on NPR. There are apparently only two plans out there, that is, only two plans recognized by the over-employed smug bastards at standsfornothing radio.
But I urge all you good folks to read the first link I posted on the previous thread, to see where this is really heading. Of course, after the financial sector has it's way, and none of us own anything but debt to the banks, there will neither be loose change available to send to standsfornothing radio, nor a need for corporate America to fund their flagship mouthpiece.
after the financial sector has it's way, and none of us own anything but debt to the banks, there will neither be loose change available to send to standsfornothing radio.."
What, not even "loose change we can beleive in"?
From the promised (threatened) Tues ME:
"It won't be the old slippery slope crap that we read about," Simpson says. "It'll be very swift and very dramatic, like in Greece or Ireland or Portugal or Spain or wherever. I don't know where this is going, but I tell you, it won't take long."
-Simpson
I can't hear the word "Simpson" without thinking of "Simpson, Specter and Hatch", the three henchmen of the Anita Hill hearings. What a lying, fear-mongering piece of expletive.
The Pentagon budget + nuclear weapons + veterans benefits + Dept of Homeland Security = OVER $1,000,000,000,000 a year . Defense spending doubled since 2001. I am very disturbed that this country can't have an "adult conversation" about this huge piece of the national debt. Maybe the conservation will start once the "adults" in charge stop playing Battleship with our 11 - $6-Billion-Dollar 90,000+ Ton Nuclear-Powered CVN Deathstars and their battle groups (including my alma mater the Mobile Chernobyl.
More from this morning's helter skelter on deficiency commitment, starting a headline:
A Wake-Up Call
"Are these shadows of things that will be? Or are they shadows of things that may be only? Eh?" — Scrooge
Like Scrooge, we're getting a timely wake-up call, and a chance to change our ways.
Ye gads, Dickens gets the dickens and flops about in his grave.
Later, we learn more from "he":
"There would be probably a big boost of confidence in world markets," he says. "There would be a sense of vitality in the U.S. economy."
Followed by another headline:
A Happy Ending With A Compromise
Economist [L]iane [D]im Rogers, who writes the blog EconomistMom.com, says countries, like households, are better off when their budget is under control.
Isn't it nice that we have such hesaid/shesaids as Simpson and Mom to be the common-sensible adults laying out bits of catfood on the floor for us?
"When you don't max out on your credit limit, you do have the capacity to borrow for when you really do need it...natural disasters, wars [and] economic downturns," she says.
Never mind the metaphor about dad, the adult, who, suffering from paranoid delusions of grandeur, borrows heavilty to buy a Helicopter with Howitzers while the kids go without HE&W.
Good stuff MTW, I'm getting sick of NPR's black-list any Economist who isn't a Freeper.
When she used the current GOP/FOX News talking points "Adult conversation" without being challenged I knew she was a Right Wing hack.
NPR, a platform for the GOP's Luntz tested talking points. It nothing but the broadcast version of the WaPo, center Right villager reporting. I guess that's how you know NPR is, per the (not an)Ombudsman, "a major News Organization".
Here's a nice montage of GOP FOX empty suits reciting "adult conversation":
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-november-17-2010/-adult-spin-
This NPR wire service wonder has lots of great deficit one liners.
“…even though Democrats in Washington are generally champions of government spending.”
“Public angst about federal deficits is widespread. Eighty-five percent say growing red ink will harm future generations — the most concern registered since AP polls first asked the question in 2008."
Mara's naked neck was on display this morning.
Inskeep: The catfooders have extended deadline to Fri. What to they want to do?
ML: Get rid of spending and lower tax rates but broaden the base, meaning get rid of spending, those very popular things like Mortgage interest deduction and employer provided health care and peg the highest income tax rate at 29%. They want a global cap on health care spending...they're all painful but all necessary
SI: ...so people may spend more taxes but they'll feel better about it....let's hear from Simperson, a colorful gentleman and a forceful speaker:
AS: Poised outside this chamber are the denizens of darkness, the workers of the dark arts, in the words of Harry Potter [nice that dad knows how to communicate with us little ones]...yadda yadda
Well, I don't have time to finish this now, suffice it to say it's a good thing Mara doesn't have any neck feather, they'd get all messed with blood and gore.
Coverage of this subject has been very hard on my Philco radio and the digestion of my breakfast.
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