Austerity

Numerous times over the past few years, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has been President Obama's guy in the Senate — especially on progressive issues. However, over the weekend on Fox News Sunday, Durbin said "Social Security will be broke in 20 years," which sounds awfully GOP-ish.

Republicans believe that a bad economy works for them at election time. The thinking is that the public will turn on Democrats for not making things better. So they do what they can to make the economy bad. Maybe they went too far this time. This hostage-taking episode has done real, serious, lasting damage to the economy on top of the ongoing damage Republicans have been doing. Will the public still blame Democrats, or will they finally see what is going on here?

The Ted Cruz Republicans made a horrible mess of everything, and the country and the economy are far worse for the experience, but there is one clear victor out of all this — the Democrats. With upcoming battles over Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid on the horizon, Dems need to remember the lessons learned in the shutdown debacle.

Despite the end of the dramatics, progressive commentators note that no victories can be claimed in the political fight and warn that even with government workers back on the job Thursday and the threat of default now subsided, the painful austerity policies that have ruled Washington economic policy in recent years remain dangerously front and center for lawmakers in both major parties.

Ashleigh Banfield of CNN asked Republican Reps. Marsha Blackburn and Dana Rohrabacher if they would give up their salary during a government shutdown, like many other federal employees would be forced to do. They would not respond.

Sam Brownback made a commitment in 2011: to serve the state of Kansas as its governor. It was a commitment to all who live in the state, rich and poor alike. I guess the families to which the governor refers are not families living in poverty, as his promises have translated, in reality, to devastating blows to poor citizens’ survival.

There is over $1 trillion in student loans on the books. Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi explains the problem with the new student loan bill in Congress, why student loans lead to indentured servitude, how we could make college more affordable, why the student loan crises is like the housing crises and how student loans are crushing young people and the middle class.

The federal government has rescued Oklahoma once again after a string of weather disasters, but don't think Republicans here will tone down their anti-federal government rhetoric anytime soon.
On Friday, government leaders announced the federal government was giving nearly $37 million to the city of Moore and the state of Oklahoma.

The unfortunate timing of Prop 63's passing at the apex of the real estate bubble has relegated California's mental health spending measure to a backfill for cutting tax dollars. The earmarked $5 billion became an example of "fiscally responsible budget cuts" before it ever could go into effect. The state auditor released a report that detailed Prop 63's remaining spending, but missed the key point — its underfunding.

As bankrupted governments are starved of revenue, global corporations and its upper echelon evade taxes at an unprecedented rate. In the UK, protesters shut down HSBC banks and set up food banks. It was a poignant representative image of after effects that come from harsh austerity measures that only benefit the 1%. Now, the G20 is agreeing to get serious about tax avoidance — but will it actually matter?