American National Debt Crisis

It seems Senate Republicans have shown America that they believe the 2010 midterm elections was their personal mandate to hold us all hostage. Senator Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, made the statement, "Last month, the American people issued their verdict on the Democrat's priorities. We need to show the American people that we care more about them and their ability to pay their bills than we do about the special interests' legislative Christmas-list.". McConnell failed to mention that the GOP Senators would rather block all legislation, including unemployment extensions for millions of struggling Americans right before Christmas, in order to force the Obama administration into extending the Bush era tax cuts for wealthy Americans.

Senate Republicans promised Wednesday to block legislative action on every issue being considered by the lame-duck Congress until the dispute over extending the Bush-era tax cuts is resolved and an extension of current government funding is approved.

The Commission appointed by the Obama administration has forecast dire consequences if we do not get handle on our national deficit. Nobody wants to cut into the bloated defense budget that spend billions upon billions on weaponry that is not needed or wanted, the retirement age will most likely be set higher than it is not and people who are forced to rely on Medicare and Medicaid will have to do without even more...yet the Republicans in the Senate want us to borrow several billion dollars more to give tax breaks to the wealthy who are not going to suffer much without them. The latest CNN poll as of 12/02/10 shows that more that half of all Americans do not think the wealthy should get more tax breaks. Republicans in the Senate apparently do not believe they should have to do without tax cuts if the American people do not want to fund it.

I can't speak for everybody, but does that not seem a bit elitist to let struggling people suffer more during the holiday season just so rich people who do not have to worry about being homeless get to get out of paying a fair amount of taxes?

It will cost America roughly $700 billion to borrow the money just to extend tax breaks for the wealthiest people in American but the cost of extending unemployment for struggling Americans costs roughly $65 billion, so we can borrow more to give freebies to the wealthy or borrow less to extend unemployment for those who truly need it. This equation seems to be a "no-brainer" but, then again the same Republicans had a similar problem with basic math during the Bush administration, in which America's National debt was inflated by 7.1% from 01-05 and increased by another 20% from 05-09. Gorge W. Bush's additions to our National Deficit is second only to Reagan's additions to our debt of 11.3% from 81-85 and an addition of 9.3% from 85-89, with George H. W. Bush pulling a distant 3^rd place with additions of 15% to our National Deficit from 89-93. The only other presidential term to add our National Deficit since 45-49 (Roosevelt/Truman) would be Nixon/Form from 0.2%.

Extending federal unemployment benefits without offsetting the cost would be "misguided" while extending the Bush tax cuts - "no matter what" its impact on the budget deficit - would be just fine, according to the so-called fiscal conservative Sen.-elect Mark Kirk (R-IL) .

Helping those who need it should not be considered "misguided" while borrowing $700 billion for the comfort of wealthy bank accounts but this is the kind of people that were voted into office by people who voted out of anger instead of good sense.

George W. Bush's tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 was a major factor in reducing government coffers, dramatically depleting funds that would usually pay the country's bills. When added to the expense of Afghanistan and the war of choice in Iraq, not to mention the willful deregulation of Wall Street by GOP defenders of a total free market, we have ended up in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, yet the GOP wants to add to the deficit to give the wealthiest Americans more breaks. The recession we are in was facilitated by the greed of the wealthy. It has not been that long ago that Americans were absolutely livid over the multi million dollar bonuses given to bank CEOs that put us in the economic situation that we are still digging ourselves out of so why does all of America have to go into deeper debt for the wealthy but struggling Americans that have no choice but to rely on unemployment are being thrown under the bus? Obstruction because of GOP tantrums and unwillingness to do what's right instead of what benefits Wall Street is absolutely unnecessary and definitely not in the best interest of the country. All 42 Republican Senators have signed on to this hard line obstructionism and the American people would be well served to vote every one of them out of office in 2012...if not, the purpose of the mid term elections will be defeated since the Senate Republicans are not willing to do what's right by the people if it tinkles on their own priorities.