Beware of the Cowardly Deficit Vulture

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/07/27-13

It Nests with Corporations, Squawking for Tax Breaks, Bailouts and Military Contracts that Have Little to do with National Security

There's an invasive species in our national discourse, a recent arrival in our civic forest. It's the "yellow-bellied deficit vulture," recently spotted circling the Capitol building and heard squawking on syndicated talk shows.

You can identify the vulture by its distinct screech it uses to selectively attack spending choices like unemployment benefits for hard-pressed workers. The vulture flaps furiously about President Barack Obama's spending in response to the worst economic meltdown in 60 years. But it is close-beaked about the previous decade, when both parties in Congress and President George W. Bush borrowed trillions of dollars to fight two wars and give tax cuts to corporations and the super-wealthy. He's also eerily silent about the $1 trillion over 10 years in military spending waste, identified by the Sustainable Defense Task Force watchdog panel.

That's because the yellow-bellied deficit vulture has powerful interests to defend and is determined to keep some things "off the table." Fortunately, this vulture is conspicuous with its bright tail-feathers of excessive political partisanship.

To be clear, the vulture is distinct from the vigilant "deficit hawk," which, like most Americans, is concerned about the national deficit and its impact on our economy and future generations. It can recognize the urgent need to assess the causes of the deficit and make thoughtful choices going forward. A mature hawk knows that budget politics are complicated and that borrowing is the path of least resistance for both major political parties. It understands the pressure that politicians face from powerful constituents that want both tax cuts and preferential spending.


More at the link ---

[annabanana]

1. My fav cartoon re: Defecit "hawks"