Obama Wrong to Prioritize Deficit Reduction
By Matthew Rothschild
January 25, 2010
I’m worried that President Obama is going to focus too much on the deficit in his State of the Union speech this week and in his actions throughout this year.
I’m worried because such a focus will make it less likely that he’ll be able, or even inclined to, pass the kind of massive jobs bill we need to bring down unemployment.
Not to push such a bill through would be a moral failing of the highest order: We can’t let 15 million people languish on the unemployment lines. And it would also be a political failing: He’s setting a trap for himself here because if he doesn’t solve the jobs problem, Democrats will face a debacle in November.
I’m also worried because the obsession with the deficit will give ammunition to those who want to shoot holes in Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security—the programs that largely make up what remains of our safety net, especially for the aged and the disabled.
There’s always trillions for war and bank bailouts, but when we come to claim what is ours, all of a sudden the cupboards are bare.
http://www.progressive.org/wx012510.html