A balanced approach
by digby
I was struck by a quote included in this excellent Salon article from earlier this week about the president's long term quest for a grand bargain on deficit reduction. It's from July of 2011:
THE PRESIDENT: I’m not going to get into specifics. As I said, Jake, everything that you mentioned are things that we have discussed. But what I’m not going to do is to ask for even -- well, let me put it this way: If you’re a senior citizen, and a modification potentially costs you a hundred or two hundred bucks a year more, or even if it’s not affecting current beneficiaries, somebody who’s 40 today 20 years from now is going to end up having to pay a little bit more.
The least I can do is to say that people who are making a million dollars or more have to do something as well. And that’s the kind of tradeoff, that’s the kind of balanced approach and shared sacrifice that I think most Americans agree needs to happen.
The "modification" turns out to be more than two hundred bucks a year --- and keep in mind that's out of about 15 thousand total, so it' not tip money. It is a real sacrifice from people who are already living from hand to mouth.
But it's the second half that really gets me and always has --- the idea that asking wealthy people to pay some more in taxes is somehow equivalent to taking money out of the hands of people who have basically nothing. It's in no way equivalent. Giving up a thousand dollars a year really is a sacrifice -- it's a painful reduction in their ability to live in dignity. Asking a millionaire to pay a few thousand more in taxes is completely meaningless. It's not a "sacrifice" its a tip.
I cannot understand why so many Americans accept this formula. No, cutting the meager benefits of people who are barely getting by is simply not "balanced" by taxing millionaires. If it is, the whole concept of shared sacrifice is turned on its head.
Anyway, we've featured this video on the blog before, but I think it's a good idea to feature it again in this context:
Ask yourself if it makes sense to ask some of the most vulnerable populations, people who are living on very little money, to cut back in exchange for something from people whose accountants will barely even notice. It's a very sad comment on our values and priorities.
.