Icing On The Cake

As it turns out the near miss federal shutdown came down to issues surrounding Planned Parenthood. And in the end, all the fuss, all the arguing and threats resulted in $38billion in cuts. 38 billion out of a 1,300 billion deficit projected for this year alone - 3% of what needs fixing.

This while the trillion dollars a year total defense budget, at the insistence of the republicans, is left untouched. This while big oil, despite billions in profits every year,  is to continue, at the insistence of the republicans, to receive 300 billion dollars a year in government subsidies.

We could have kept all the social programs that were cut, avoided the arguments and threats, and still reduced federal spending nearly 10 times more than we did by simply stopping the big oil free money handout. And let’s not forget the decision to continue the Bush tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy, made at the insistence of the republicans, just a few months ago.

This is not about fiscal responsibility. That is a lie. This is about undoing the new deal – and not for ideological reasons alone. What they want is more and more for the wealthy - on the backs of the poor and middle class. If they get to control women's bodies in the process - icing on the cake.