And Stay Out Of My Cab!

(Graphic found here.)


Ah, Little Tommy Friedman is at it again.  He has once again proven that he really earned the "One True Wanker of the Decade" award from Duncan Black.  He probably deserves a Granny Bird Award as well, but I don't want his chest to cave in from all the medals.

Here's part of what he said in his column yesterday:

Message: There is no doubt our economy is primarily being held back by the deleveraging and drop in demand that resulted from the 2008 financial crisis. But they are being reinforced today by uncertainty and worry that we do not have our political house in order and, therefore, our tax, regulatory, pension and entitlement frameworks are all in play. So businesses, investors and consumers all hold back just enough for us not to be able to move the growth and employment meters with any robust momentum. Sure, we’ll throw money into the stock market if the only alternative is zero interest from bonds or banks, but it is not being recirculated with confidence in the long term. It’s a tragedy. You can feel the economy wants to launch, but Washington is sitting on the national mood button. We the people still feel like children of permanently divorcing parents. ...

TO have any effect, though, the president can’t just say he is ready for “tough” decisions. He has to lead with his chin and put a concrete, comprehensive package on the table, encompassing three areas. First, new investments that would combine immediate jobs in infrastructure with some long-term growth-enablers like a massive build-out in the nation’s high-speed broadband capabilities. That would have to be married with a long-term fiscal restructuring, written into law, that slows the growth of both Social Security and Medicare entitlements, along with individual and corporate tax reform. ...

...We can’t protect both generations in full anymore, but we must not sacrifice one for the other — favoring nursing homes over nursery schools — and that’s what we’re on track to do.   [Emphasis added]

Of course we can, you moron.  That is the whole point of government, to promote the general welfare, not just the rich.  There is a reason Social Security and Medicare are called entitlements:  we are freakin' entitled to them after paying into them for nearly 40 years.  You can't tell me we can't afford protecting our elders and our children but we can afford bankster bailouts and tanks that the military doesn't even want. 

All it would take to shore up Social Security is to raise the payroll tax ceiling a bit.  All it would take to shore up Medicare (and Medicaid) would be to enforce cuts in duplicative testing and the other scams run by clinics and hospitals and to emphasize wellness programs.  Not  hard, Tommy.

And for those companies who have parked their money and their jobs overseas, and who are sitting on bundles of cash because they can, find a way to tax the hell out of them as well.

It's our turn now, and you can "Suck On That."