What the GOP Really Means by ‘Shared Sacrifice’
Yesterday, we covered the GOP’s temper tantrum, as the New York Times called it, in which Republican leaders bailed on negotiations to avert a default on our obligations — a default that is only on the table as a result of the GOP’s willingness to keep paying the bills we started racking up as a result of Bush-era policies. While GOP infighting certainly played a role in yesterday’s shenanigans, the core issue is the GOP’s unwavering devotion to protecting (and even expanding) tax giveaways for the wealthy, Big Oil, and other special interests. These giveaways have been put on the national credit card, and now the GOP wants to forward the bill to the rest of us or simply not pay it at all. (Good luck getting a decent loan for a new house, a car, or a student loan if they go down that road.)
We thought we’d keep it real simple and break down who gets to sacrifice and who gets off easy if the GOP gets its way.
ON the GOP’s chopping block:
- Medicare
- Medicaid
- Social Security
- Tax cuts for people making less than $500,000
- Government programs and services that tens of millions of Americans depend on each day
NOT on the GOP’s chopping block:
- Tax giveaways to Big Oil
- Tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas
- Tax loopholes for hedge fund billionaires
- Wasteful tax loopholes used by huge corporations to avoid paying their fair share
- Tax breaks for yachts and vacation homes
- Tax breaks for people making more than $500,000
In one sentence: The GOP is willing to risk another economic calamity when we can least afford it if that’s what it takes to protect tax breaks for the wealthy, Big Oil, and huge corporations — tax breaks paid for by ending Medicare, slashing Medicaid and Social Security, and cutting the government programs and services we depend on each and every day.
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