You’ve heard of the birthers and the truthers, and probably even the tenthers and the nullifiers. But now it’s time to meet the Simpson-Bowlers. Over the past few years, we’ve heard a lot of crackpot ideas.
First there was Donald Trump and his jolly gang of birthers, who to this day claim that President Obama was born in Kenya.
Then came the Koch-brothers-funded climate change deniers, who, despite record temperatures and unprecedented super storms, insist manmade climate change is still debatable – you know, like many of those same people said about cigarettes not causing cancer.
Finally, we have the tenthers and the nullifiers, who what to ignore federal laws they don’t like.
But none of these outlandish and nonsensical ideas are as dangerous and destructive as the “new” Simpson-Bowles “Catfood Plan 2.0.”
Yesterday, the pair introduced a rebooted, or should we say, rebaked, version of the original Simpson-Bowles “Catfood Commission” idiocy. That original plan, you’ll remember, was so bad that their own commissioners wouldn’t vote for it.
Unfortunately, the media is still in love with these irrelevant hustlers and their crazy ideas, which makes understanding the absurdity of the Simpson-Bowles plan that much harder. But let’s give it a try.
In the original Simpson-Bowles Catfood Commission plan, the pair sought a whopping $2.9 trillion in budget cuts combined with $2.6 trillion in revenues – a fancy word that mostly describes increasing taxes or eliminating tax loopholes.
Under the new Simpson-Bowles “Catfood Plan 2.0,” this pair of crackpots now seek just $1.3 trillion in revenues, meaning they jacked up budget cuts this time around to a staggering $3.9 trillion. While the original Catfood plan had roughly one-to-one spending cuts to new revenue, the new Catfood plan is three-to-one in favor of cuts to revenue.
Simpson-Bowles “Catfood Plan 2.0” calls for $2.4 trillion in new savings over the next 10 years, through “serious tax and entitlement reforms and cutting additional spending.” So what are the exact devastating cuts and reforms that Simpson and Bowles want to make in federal government spending?
First, they want to reduce Medicare and Medicaid spending, meaning fewer and fewer elderly Americans will have access to healthcare and medications.
Next, Simpson and Bowles want to enact “comprehensive, pro-growth tax reform” which is really just a fancy way of saying “we want to give corporations even more corporate tax breaks while jacking up taxes on working people.”
Of the $2.4 trillion in new savings that the Simpson-Bowles “Catfood Plan 2.0” calls for, nearly $600 billion of it comes from so-called tax reform.
Finally, these washed up corporate shills want to “strengthen limits on discretionary spending” and reduce non-health mandatory spending,” which means cuts to things like social security, higher education, and farm subsidies just to name a few. In other words, “Let them eat cat food!”
The bottom-line here is that Simpson-Bowles “Catfood Plan 2.0,” much like its predecessor, is entirely about helping out corporate America and the billionaires who run it, and screwing over the rest of us. Along with the so-called “pro-growth tax reforms” come the so-called “entitlement reforms,” which basically argue we must abandon elderly, disabled, and poor Americans if we want to save the American economy.
The only people who are happy with Simpson and Bowles’ new “Catfood Plan 2.0” are their corporate and fat cat buddies.
Although the millionaires on TV won’t tell you this, the fact is that working class Americans need to see through all the smoke and mirrors, and past the media circus, and realize that, much like the birthers and the truthers, the Simpson-Bowlers are completely off their rockers.
No country in the world has ever cut its way to prosperity, and whether Simpson and Bowles like it or not, America won’t either.
So, let’s roll Grandpa Simpson and Grandpa Bowles back to the old folks home, where they can’t do any more damage to our economy and to our country, and leave the cat food for the cats.
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
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In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
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Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
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