Forum Post: Plouffe lays out WH Thinking on the Fiscal Cliff
Posted 11 years ago on Nov. 27, 2012, 8:50 p.m. EST by SparkyJP
(1646)
from Westminster, MD
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
"We deal in illusions, man. None of it is true. But you people sit there day after day, night after night, all ages, colors, creeds. We're all you know. You're beginning to believe the illusions we're spinning here. You're beginning to think that the tube is reality and that your own lives are unreal. You do whatever the tube tells you. You dress like the tube. You eat like the tube. You even think like the tube. In God's name, you people are the real thing, WE are the illusion." Howard Beale
by digby
If you are curious as to what the White House really thinks about the fiscal cliff, I'd have to guess that David Plouffe would know:
I urge you to watch that all the way through, it's only three painful minutes. He lays it out in all its Village glory.
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/plouffe-lays-out-wh-thinking-on-fiscal.html?m=1
It would seem that the administration is still believing its own hype, even after all this time. They still believe they can end these pesky partisan battles for all time (or at least the next 20 years) with one Grand Bargain and then move on to curing cancer, reversing climate change and bringing peace to all mankind. The fact that Bill Clinton left a surplus just 12 years ago has apparently eluded them. And one can only assume that they're so pleased with the untried Rube Goldberg contraption called Obamacare that they've decided we don't really have much need for these creaky old single payer systems anymore.
This is called hubris and it's mind boggling considering just how weak this economy is. Apparently, they believe that they won because everyone just loved the past four years, not because the Republicans have gone batshit insane.
It was somewhat stunning to find out that Fox and the Romney campaign were so caught up in the alternate reality they created that they didn't believe they could lose the election. It would seem the Democrats have created one of their own.
Buzzflash wrote up the Plouffe comments: Obama senior adviser David Plouffe predicted that the fiscal cliff negotiations are "going to get hairy" in the coming weeks, saying President Barack Obama is committed to achieving the elusive "big deal" on taxes and spending he and Speaker of the House John Boehner have tried to strike for more than 18 months. In post-election remarks at the University of Delaware, Plouffe warned of "paralysis" if both parties remain beholden to their base, saying Obama is looking for a deal that sets the country on the right fiscal path for a 10- to 20-year period. "The only way that gets done is for Republicans again to step back and get mercilessly criticized by Grover Norquist and the Right, and it means that Democrats are going to have to do some tough things on spending and entitlements that means that they'll criticized on by their left," Plouffe said at his alma mater in conversation with former McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt. The senior White House adviser repeated Obama's opposition to extending the Bush tax cuts on those earning more than $250,000 a year, but expressed openness to a tax reform deal that could potentially lower what the wealthy pay. “What we also want to do is engage in a process of tax reform that would ultimately produce lower rates, even potentially for the wealthiest," he said, referring to benefits from corporate tax reform. Plouffe added that while the White House wants to engage in comprehensive tax reform, they know they must also "carefully" address the "chief drivers of our deficit": Medicare and Medicaid.
And then we'll all live happily ever after.
Not sure what to think about this:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/27/us-usa-airlines-emissions-idUSBRE8AQ1AR20121127
I think we can all agree there is too much pollution on the planet. But does simply charging the airlines fees do anything when the gov is bought out by fossil fuel anyways?
YES - It keep campaign money flowing from the airlines! Anytime there is a unanimous vote in the senate, you know something's up. I hadn't seen this - Thanx
Where are the protests?
It will be interesting to see how people react. Our trend is to grumble and accept the crumbs they throw at us, but we'll see. Personally, I think protesting only works when the people you are addressing give a shit.
Agreed.
In my opinion, they're either delusional or suicidal.
It will be interesting to see the sheeple's reaction when we get it broke off in ass again. Will we say "Thank you sir, can I have another", or will we finally get "Mad as Hell"? - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WINDtlPXmmE
We'll probably choose another ;(
Great speech right? So why he is he depicted as Hitler?
Who Howard Beale? I think he's depicted as a raving man driven over the edge by the system and the "Network" sees an opportunity to exploit him. I see him as the victim. Have you seen the movie?
Ohh... ok, googling it.... 1976? Wow, if I had seen it, do you think I'd remember now? Ok, I'll check it out.
Yeah, I'm old. I remember seeing it at the movies when it was released ;(
I'm watching it now. You know it's that I didn't remember, it's just that I had forgotten. Great dialogue, great lines, and such things as the Ecumenical Liberation Army has caused me to review. One of the more interesting aspects of this forum, for me, is that it has caused me to seek new historical direction. Or rather to extend it in ways I had not planned; for example, this power sub entity we call a corporation; the rise of big business which ultimately is pushed to the very forefront of our American capitalism. Consider that in the 1840s, John Jacob Astor, a pre-corporate individual was the richest man in the country with 20 mil and yet his entire business employed but a handful of people and operated out of a very small office. Consider that the railroads enjoined to create mail order empires for those such as Richard Sears or Aaron Ward, it's all rather interesting. But eventually big business brings us to the here and now, after decades of angry people.
I love history. I think understanding history sometimes gives us a window into the future. I just finished Dylan Ratigan's book ""Greedy Bastards". In it, he touched on Standard Oil and J D Rockefeller's monopolistic business practices. It's ironic how these unscrupulous tactics continue unaltered today. After all these years, our technology may have improved, but not our wisdom. The danger now is the unholy alliance between business and government.
Haven't read that but I can relate local stories of our monopolized power here, literally, as the progenitor of our current power company. Back in the 30s they were very busy setting poles and stringing wires; often times this required the grant of a right of way across privately owned lands. If the landowner refused the company would sneak in at night and very quietly install the poles and wires. The owner would literally wake up in the morning to find wires strung across his land; once installed the law prohibited their removal, but really, who would have the temerity to even try? This is a true story; if it occurred here, then I would imagine it occurred nationwide as we electrified. It's just one minor example of the unscrupulous nature of those who sought the power of monopoly.