Grand Bargain: Unofficially Dead, Killed By Paul Ryan (Thank You, You !@#$%^)

Sahil Kapur at TPM:

Harry Clarke, "Faust"

Paul Ryan killed any lingering hopes of a grand bargain within moments of the budget conference kickoff on Wednesday.

In his opening remarks, the Wisconsin congressman and chairman of the House budget committee laid down a firm marker against new taxes, which are essential to any major deficit reduction proposal that can pass Congress and be signed into law.

"Taking more from hardworking families just isn't the answer. I know my Republican colleagues feel the same way," Ryan said. "So I want to say this from the get-go: If this conference becomes an argument about taxes, we're not going to get anywhere. The way to raise revenue is to grow the economy."

In the same opening remarks, Ryan urged action on scaling back Social Security and Medicare -- which progressives want to avoid at all costs, and which President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders have promised not to touch without new federal revenues.

...

No... the way to raise revenue and grow the economy is for citizens to boot every goddamned Republican from the House of Representatives, say "f∧<k that" to the grand bargain, resume taxing the (almost never hardworking) rich, and engage in reasonable government spending on needed programs. There you have it in a nutshell.

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AFTERTHOUGHT: I kid you not... when I googled "bargain with the Devil" on Google Images, about halfway down the results, I came across a picture of... get this... Paul Ryan, posted on Politico back in late March. Google it yourself if you're interested; I don't hate Politico, but I have no interest in increasing their hit count from here for something so frivolous.

Another Way Obama Disappoints Progressives

There seem to be so many ways, but this is a biggie. Via Avedon, we learn this from Digby:

Demicans and Republocrats
break bread together:
no apparent shortage here

Just FYI, Gene Sperling said today [3/14] on his Reddit chat that the president really prefers the Chained-CPI and that it's not just an inducement to get the Republicans on board with the Grand Bargain. This may sound obvious, since it's been clear from before the inauguration that the administration wants to "reform" the so-called entitlements. But Sperling made it clear today that they believe in this on the merits:

[Gene Sperling's details]

[Digby] ...

You know, I have never understood the logic that says changing to this new cost of living formula more accurately reflects the real cost of living, but don't worry we will fix the part where it hurts the poor, veterans and really old people. The "real" cost of living should be the real cost of living, no? If it isn't a cut, why would these people be hurt?

The fact is that Social Security is already inadequate for millions and millions of people, and not just the poorest of the poor and veterans. And the losses of the past decade have taken their toll on many more millions who are about to go into the system. For reasons that I cannot completely understand, they want to make it worse. There's just no other way to think about this.

...

It's an ugly business. Obama is no Democrat in any form I recognize, and neither is much of anyone else with a 'D' after his or her name these days. There is no progressive party anymore; we are utterly unrepresented. There are several reasons for preferring even a nominal 'D' in the White House (women's rights, for one) but when it comes to social justice and environmental sanity, Obama is no damned better than the Republicans he gives away the store to.

Robert Reich: Three Cliffs, None Of Them Fiscal

Robert Reich lists three looming "cliffs" facing America, none of them the much-talked-about "fixcal cliff." They are these:

• The child poverty cliff,
• The baby-boomer healthcare cliff, and
• The environmental cliff.

Each of them, says Reich, requires immediate attention, and each is being neglected by the powers-that-be in favor of an utterly ridiculous "crisis" fabricated by our wealthy leadership and more likely to harm than help the public at large. I don't know about you, but even in my heyday I never had an income of $250,000 in any one year. And that's who would be helped by any "grand bargain": it would help the very rich become even richer. Enough already!

Sometimes...

Sometimes, recently approaching all the time, I want to FACE DOWN THE FINANCIAL POWERS‑THAT‑BE IN THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION, SLAP THEM BACK‑AND‑FORTH ACROSS THE FACE A FEW TIMES, HARD, TO GET THEIR ATTENTION, AND DEMAND OF THEM, "HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING AT ALL FROM AMERICA'S HISTORY???"

Armando at Daily Kos, faced with the same frustration, wrote a well-reasoned position paper, "The Lessons of 1937"; his post is probably less damaging to our cause than all that face-slapping would be, though I don't know that it will have any more positive effect on Obama's Wall Street gang...

Do you suppose there's any way, perhaps through the work of a stage hypnotist, to implant a suggestion in all of Obama's advisors that "austerity" is equivalent to, say, "obscenity," or perhaps "marijuana," or maybe "WikiLeaks"?

Recipe For A Thought-Provoking Hour Spent Reading About Economics, Theory And Practice

Start with "Neoliberalism Kills, Part One" and "... Part Two" by FDL's letsgetitdone (a.k.a. Joe Firestone). Follow some of the links until you understand what letsgetitdone means by "neoliberalism" and how the current crew in Washington preach the faith. Particularly read the Wikipedia entry on the Washington Consensus (mostly on the work of Pete Peterson via John Williamson). If you're not depressed yet, YOU'RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION! No, if you're not depressed yet, try to fit this into the context of the looming Grand Bargain, of which IMHO nothing good can come.

Then please explain it all to me...