Here in the Golden State, we awoke to more grim job reports this morning: unemployment continues to stretch toward 13% here.
Two days ago, President Obama addressed the nation to justify a further troop buildup in Afghanistan, nearly 30,000 more soldiers at an estimated cost of $500,000 per troop per year.
But lo, the profits of the bailed-out banks continue to rise. Everyday we hear reports of CEOs collecting their bonuses, unmoored from any concern for the fiscal state of the average American household.
Companies around the country continue to shed jobs, laying off at a record pace, which in turn allows them to balance their books, thus boosting stock prices. So the market’s recovering, but it’s shaping up to be a jobless recovery, as feared.
And now, in the midst of all this, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke appears today before the Senate Banking Committee to address the exploding deficit. In lengthy question-and-answer, he and committee members establish that in order to reduce the long-term deficit, we have to either slash spending or hike income, likely through higher taxes.
At last, when pressed, Bernanke finally rolls out with some real candor.
What’s his solution to solving the deficit?
Why, slash Medicare and Social Security, of course.
The government’s heedlessly printing cash, dumping it into the coffers of unregulated banks, lining the pockets of corporate CEOs, and he wants to take away your Grandma’s Social Security check, hike the out-of-pocket cost of her medications. He wants to chisel away at New Deal entitlements that have grown the middle class throughout the 20th century.
Astonishing…
You stay classy, Mr. Chairman.
