Good piece of Alternet

The 'Super Congress' Is a Scam Designed to Force Cuts To Popular Programs and Keep Taxes On The Rich Low

Ignore all the process stories about the vaunted Gang of 12 -- here's how the endgame plays out.

August 11, 2011 |

LIKE THIS ARTICLE ?

Join our mailing list:

Sign up to stay up to date on the latest Economy headlines via email.

TAKE ACTION

Change.org|Get Widget|Start an Online Petition �

In the months ahead, we're going to be treated to an endless parade of process stories about the Gang of 12 “super congress” that emerged from the debt ceiling deal. Each time a staffer leaks some bit of trivia about the internal machinations of this opaque committee, the Beltway media will write a flurry of stories about it, lawmakers will signal whether they might support this provision or that one and the pundits will sift through the tea leaves trying to predict whether this time the kind of “grand bargain” the Washington Post editorial board lusts after will finally come to pass.

It will all be a piece of Kabuki theater. The way this deal ends is fairly easy to predict – it's a set-up that will result in fairly deep cuts to domestic spending, won't raise taxes on the wealthy and will leave “defense” spending largely untouched – a process that will force cuts to important public services.

The rest of story here: http://www.alternet.org/economy/151993/the_%27super_congress%27_is_a_scam_designed_to_force_cuts_to_popular_programs_and_keep_taxes_on_the_rich_low/