Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Sanders Blasts Entitlement Cuts, Tax Cuts in Deficit Talks

Talks continue in Washington as the Obama administration and Congressional leaders race to finalize an agreement on raising the federal debt ceiling. On Wednesday, the White House acknowledged for the first time it could accept a short-term hike to the deficit ceiling to extend the August 2 deadline by a few days. President Obama met with Republican leaders on Wednesday night with a plan to cut as much as $4 trillion in federal spending back into play. Obama is now backing a bipartisan Senate budget plan that would overhaul Social Security and Medicare, while cutting taxes on the wealthy. In addition to entitlement cuts, the so-called "Gang of Six" plan would eliminate a number of popular tax breaks and deductions, including write-offs for home mortgage interest and employer-provided health benefits. The savings would help offset the cost of then lowering the top individual and corporate tax rates from 35 percent to at least 29 percent. Speaking on the Senate floor, Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont mockingly congratulated Republicans for President Obama’s apparent willingness to cut Social Security and Medicare.
Sen. Bernie Sanders: "[Republicans] have stood firm in their desire to represent the wealthy and the powerful and multinational corporations. They have threatened. They have been determined, and at the end of the day, they will get 80 percent or 90 percent of what they want. That is their victory and I congratulate them for that victory. Unfortunately their victory will be a disaster for working families in this country, for the elderly, for the sick, for the children and for low-income people."

Origin
Source: Democracy Now!  

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