The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (also known as the “supercommittee,” because it is made up of equal parts Republican, Democrat, House and Senate) was set up to cut $1.5 trillion from the budget. Though military enthusiasts make a great show of worry for defense spending, they have little to fear: Every member of the committee has benefited from defense industry largesse.
In fact, since 2007 the Democrats on the committee have received more than three times more in defense sector donations than the Republicans have gotten.
Farewell, Medicare. It was fun—or, if not fun, lifesaving—while it lasted. —PZS
Salon:
The money, however, doesn’t just flow one way. While corporations can’t directly donate funds to candidates, their political action committees, officials and representatives (as well as immediate family members of the latter) do. According to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, all members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction have received significant contributions from the defense sector since 2007. But during the 2010 election cycle, half of the Republicans on the panel—John Kyl, Pat Toomey and Rob Portman—received no donations from either of the two largest defense contractors, Lockheed Martin and Boeing. (These firms reaped approximately $28 billion and $18 billion in contracts, respectively, from the Pentagon that year.) Of the six Democrats on the supercommittee, only Kerry received no contributions from one of the two defense giants
No member of the supercommittee, and no lawmaker in all of Washington, D.C., received more donations from Boeing than co-chair Patty Murray. Of the $3.2 million that the missile-maker dispersed to lawmakers in 2009-2010, the Washington Democrat received $85,860. That sum was $20,000 more than was donated to the next two largest congressional recipients of Boeing money combined, according to data from the Sunlight Foundation.
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So the US Government is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wall Street.
Get used to it.
Prepare yourself to live without it before it collapses rather than waiting until Wall Street steals the last public creditability moment.
Start right where you live. Study and teach the democratic practices that make the republican civic traditions effective power-building practices for building the needed polities from below.
We all know, or should know the political forms we have are dead or dying, being sucked to death by the Wall Street Leeches, Inc.
Why waste time blinkered with what doesn’t function?
The Buffett Rule puts and end to loopholes exploited by many who earn more
than $1 million annually. Why the Republicans insist on defending the over
300,000 US taxpayers who make over 500K and whose combined income & pay
roll taxes is less than 12.6% is beyond me. When Republicans cry “class
warfare”, I think some historical perspective is needed—a return to Clinton era
rates for the highest tax bracket isn’t that extreme.
I do wish Obama focused on taxing capital gains & dividends as ordinary
income—it is more progressive and much more efficient. For visuals on
historical income & capital gains tax rates + the Buffet Rule in one chart
The whole freakin’ govt. is in the pocket of the MIC! Where have you been this last couple of generations? Do you really think that constantly restating this obvious fact is somehow going to change reality? Until this perverse and criminal system is brought down the economy will continue to languish and education will be nothing more than propaganda and unaffordable for those not part of the chosen elite. How better to keep a steady flow of brainless cannon fodder available to the legions of empire? It may be spring in much of the rest of the world; but the dark days of winter continue apace in Amerika!
A Cooler Century? Wait and See
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By litlpeep, September 24, 2011 at 7:48 am Link to this comment
So the US Government is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wall Street.
Get used to it.
Prepare yourself to live without it before it collapses rather than waiting until Wall Street steals the last public creditability moment.
Start right where you live. Study and teach the democratic practices that make the republican civic traditions effective power-building practices for building the needed polities from below.
We all know, or should know the political forms we have are dead or dying, being sucked to death by the Wall Street Leeches, Inc.
Why waste time blinkered with what doesn’t function?
Report thisBy Bat Guano, September 24, 2011 at 7:38 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Shocking, truly shocking. Oh wait, this is a story about corruption in government isn’t it.
I take the shocking, truly shocking part back. This is and has been the norm almost since the very beginning of the country.
Its just now so apparent that people can no longer pretend not to see it. Our corruption hides in plain sight and is ignored.
Report thisBy PatrickHenry, September 23, 2011 at 7:35 pm Link to this comment
Taking the cap off social security would be a sure fire way to shore up that fund.
Report thisBy dean1981, September 23, 2011 at 2:17 pm Link to this comment
We need government stimulus, not tax cuts:
The Buffett Rule puts and end to loopholes exploited by many who earn more
than $1 million annually. Why the Republicans insist on defending the over
300,000 US taxpayers who make over 500K and whose combined income & pay
roll taxes is less than 12.6% is beyond me. When Republicans cry “class
warfare”, I think some historical perspective is needed—a return to Clinton era
rates for the highest tax bracket isn’t that extreme.
I do wish Obama focused on taxing capital gains & dividends as ordinary
income—it is more progressive and much more efficient. For visuals on
historical income & capital gains tax rates + the Buffet Rule in one chart
http://www.verisi.com/resources/us-marginal-tax-rates.htm
Report thisBy berniem, September 23, 2011 at 10:49 am Link to this comment
The whole freakin’ govt. is in the pocket of the MIC! Where have you been this last couple of generations? Do you really think that constantly restating this obvious fact is somehow going to change reality? Until this perverse and criminal system is brought down the economy will continue to languish and education will be nothing more than propaganda and unaffordable for those not part of the chosen elite. How better to keep a steady flow of brainless cannon fodder available to the legions of empire? It may be spring in much of the rest of the world; but the dark days of winter continue apace in Amerika!
Report thisBy PatrickHenry, September 23, 2011 at 2:46 am Link to this comment
Supercommittee = Unconstitutional.
Report this