The New Steal

Let me get this straight.

You extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. You deepen those cuts over time. You eliminate the capital gains tax. You eliminate the estate tax. 1% of the populace possessing 40% of the national wealth strikes you as fine. Though 50% or 60% would strike you as a more equitable share of the pie for yourselves.

You force the elderly into the private sector to look for health care, the operative words being “look for” not “get.”

You eliminate Medicare and Medicaid.

You defund the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration. You slash aid to students, the disabled, education, the poor, the states, international programs, global health initiatives.

You increase spending on the military.

You eviscerate any reform aimed at regulating Wall Street and preventing corporate tax avoidance, offshore banking by bail-out recipients and excessive CEO compensation. At the same time you take away the rights of collective bargaining from public sector unions.

If you don’t get all of this, you shut down the government.

And people vote for you.

Is that about right?