GOP’s Budget Plan Laden With Sadistic Intent
Issa Says Yes to Deporting US Citizens in Committee Vote
The ‘big, beautiful budget’ making its way through congress continues to get more onerous as the various House committees are reporting in with plans to afford tax cuts for billionaires.
Some parts of the government are set for spending increases, namely immigration and defense. The House Judiciary has put together a Little Shop of Horrors immigration proposal, one making it impossible to settle in the US without plenty of cash. I’ll be willing to bet that collection of a galaxy of fees will be privatized, giving Peter Thiel or some other billionaire another income stream.
Hence, there Democrats taking to social media with claims like this:
Darrell Issa and his colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee also voted to give Trump the Authority to Deport US Citizens
What we see in various media outlets are claims about certain actions being approved with the implication they are done deals, when in fact they are amendments in the reconciliation process that may or may not survive in the legislation’s final form. Yes, I agree on the point that Darrell Issa doesn’t care about humans generally.
Then the House and Senate have to agree on a budget, something that should be near-impossible except for Dear Leader breathing down everybody’s backs.
In addition to cutting spending, numerous amendments are aimed at targeting the sensibilities and accomplishments of democrats and blue states. So anything thought to trigger ‘liberal tears’ is on a path for inclusion. The difficulty here lies in finding priorities and policies that don’t also negatively impact red districts.
None-the-less, we’ll continue to see legacy media reports like this:
House Republicans voted yesterday to kill California’s nation-leading truck emissions rules, and the state's passenger car standards are on the chopping block Thursday
Whatever budget bill passed by reconciliation –provided that it even comes to a vote– will contain elements of an oligarch-pleasing attack on democracy and the social safety net.
Activists can not lose sight of the fact that our nation is being destroyed by way of the incredible wealth at the top of the economic pile.
The question of what to do about medicare remains unsolved at this point. No politician wants to be blamed for cuts to services, so it’s likely that the really nasty stuff will be spun off for state governments by setting caps on block grants and reimbursements. Oh, and perhaps a requirement that people in wheelchairs will have to get jobs at McDonalds.
The House Republican leadership wants proposals to be finalized in the coming week, in a quest to get a budget passed by Memorial Day. That’s not going to happen, with so many congress members vying to score points with the President as possible.
The Senate Republican leadership thinks July 4th would be an acceptable deadline, as their approach will likely be shorter on specifics and longer on broad permissions for the executive branch to fill in the details.
Realistically, a semi-finalized budget bill will come before Congress in August, when it’s thought that many citizens are on vacation and Washington DC weather is brutally hot and humid, making getting out of town a priority for legislators.
The spoiler in all this spinning and mythical scheduling is the economy. The administration had tried to blow off reports of a first quarter retreat in Gross National Product by blaming President Biden. What’s left out of economic assessments is the impact of the various tariffs, and corporate uncertainty about where things are headed.
From Paul Krugman:
We’re also already seeing signs of Trump’s policies causing broad economic weakness:
NYT headline: McDonald’s Blames 'Uncertainty’ of Trump’s Economy for Sales Decline
Trump himself seems to be aware that he’s causing major supply-chain disruptions.
“You know, somebody said, ‘Oh, the shelves are going to be open,’” Mr. Trump said. “Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, you know? And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.”
So, it’s the economy, stupid. It’s also the billionaires, who want to see us divided rather than unified.
The best budget at this point for progressives would be no budget. It’s less damaging for the country, continues to tie up/slow down congressional Republican crusades, and keeps all the budget brutality in the news. Trump will go ahead with spending decisions regardless since he’s definitely in full emperor mode as Congress passes temporary measures.
Four things need to happen. Make GOP legislators look bad, voters getting really pissed off about the conduct of the 47th President of the United States, and primarying the hell out of compliant Democratic legislators so we can tax billionaires out of existence.
Should We Deport the Statue of Liberty? By Brad Willis at Perspectives
How about deporting the Statue of Liberty back to France? As an added insult, you could pack her in bushels of Freedom Fries.
After all, Lady Liberty is clearly a woke, feminist, left-wing, DEI affront. And don’t forget, she came from France, which refused to support us when we invaded Iraq, causing rightwingers to become so outraged they changed the name of French Fries to “Freedom Fries.”
Wouldn’t that be a great smackdown for all those uppity women, diversity lovers, and immigration sympathizers?
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International human rights tribunal condemns US killing of immigrant by Kate Morrissey at Beyond the Border
This is especially significant because it is the first time that the commission has made a decision in a case over a U.S. law enforcement killing. The commission calls for not just reparations for the family of Hernández Rojas but also major change in how the U.S. guides officers on use of force.
The commission also calls for reopening criminal investigations into the officials involved and punishment for officials who were involved in an attempted cover-up of what happened.
Among those accused of helping in the cover-up is Rodney Scott, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead Customs and Border Protection. I also have a piece in Capital & Main detailing his involvement in the case.
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Trump administration ends mental health grant for La Mesa-Spring Valley district – two years early by City News Service via Times of San Diego
The letter states that the grant “provides funding for programs that reflect the prior administration’s priorities and policy preferences and conflict with those of the current administration” and is “inconsistent with, and no longer effectuates, the best interest of the federal government and will not be continued.”
The grant was intended to provide $11 million through 2028, but will end effective this December, resulting in a cut of about $6 million, according to the school district.
LMSV Superintendent David Feliciano said the loss of funding that supports employment of social workers and counselors will likely affect a variety of district services that aid students receiving mental health and special education services.
Great piece, Doug, and thanks for the shoutout.