Washington, D.C.
As working people suffer through and endure the worst economy in 70 years, lawmakers in Washington, D.C. are right on schedule with two attacks aimed at working people. UE members are encouraged to keep both eyes on Capitol Hill over the next several weeks. The so-called Fiscal Commission has issued its first preliminary report, timed to precede and possibly influence the “lame duck” session of Congress which begins on November 15th. The recommendations of the Fiscal Commission as well as the outcomes of any lame duck Congressional session are of urgent concern to working people. The Commission released their findings to coincide with the imminent Congressional session, although the political shambles on Capitol Hill caused by the November 2nd election results has thrown sand in the gears of any previously laid plans.
The corporate media widely reported this past week on the release of the draft “Co-Chairs Proposal” from the bogus Fiscal Commission, set up by President Obama to provide cover for an attack on the Social Security safety net. Our union has followed this situation from the start; see the recent UE News article detailing the secretive work of this commission, entitled “Deficit Provides Excuse for Stealth Attack on Social Security.” Every recent U.S. President has tried this scheme, by appointing a bipartisan commission to study the obvious federal budget problems we face as a nation, and then steering most of the budget cutting at the Social Security system.
Unfortunately, the current Commission – like those before it – is rigged from the start. Not one single member of the panel will rely on Social Security benefits when they retire or become disabled. It also appears that independent voters are completely unrepresented on the panel as well, despite the fact that they comprise a larger slice of the population than either Democrats or Republicans. One token union leader is included on the Commission, although this member recently resigned his union office and has kept a low-to-invisible profile throughout the recent Commission deliberations. Needless to say there are no ordinary working people serving on the panel either.
The current commission, like its predecessors, has generated long lists of frequently reasonable sounding proposals for reducing federal spending, but the vast bulk of any actions eventually taken have been aimed at working people. The report issued this week includes recommendations for massive attacks on the Social Security retirement system, yet the Co-Chairs Proposal presents these cuts only on page 42 of a 50 page document. These cuts are included despite the fact that the Social Security system is not the cause of the federal budget mess in any way, although the members of the Commission all appear to embrace this notion to one degree or another. An additional laundry list of budget cuts -- which was released two days after the preliminary report -- covers the federal spending waterfront. But, it is hard to imagine how the incoming Republican- controlled Congress would ever proceed on any of the reductions aimed at the record-breaking military budget.
Any sober observer of the federal budget and its deficit must conclude that massive reductions in military and war spending should be the primary way to achieve the stated purpose of solving the deficit dilemma, yet such an outcome is historically unlikely. Just as unlikely is a restructuring of the tax code to shift responsibility onto the rich, super-rich, and big business. The refusal of lawmakers to tackle these facts will inevitably lead to attacks on Social Security, federal workers and salaries, and all other programs which benefit working people. No other outcome is possible, however, when a Commission is established on such a rigged basis. Please take a moment and review some of the breathtaking proposals laid out this week by the current Commission, and be ready to go into action as soon as next week when Congress returns for its final session of the year. Do some further homework as well on this critical issue: visit the web page of the Strengthen Social Security coalition, of which UE is a proud member.