Super-Committee Democrats still giving away the store

It was reported the other day that the Dems on the Super-Committee are now proposing even bigger cuts in Medicare and cut Social Security. The total cuts now stand at $3 Trillion.

Yes, we get the fact that the GOP is not going to accept any deal that includes any tax rises for the 1%. So Democrats can appear to be reasonable by making offers they know the GOP will refuse. But offering to give away the store is still a boneheaded strategy. It moves the terms of debate from 'what caused the deficit' to 'what are we going to cut to pay for it'.

Per capita, the US is one of the richest countries in the world. It should be able to easily afford the welfare and universal healthcare systems that every other major industrial power provides. The only reason that there is any deficit issue is that the 1% don't pay their fair share and the US spends as much on militarism as the rest of the planet combined.

The US does not have a 'defense' budget. There was nothing defensive about the Iraq war. There is nothing defensive about attempting global hegemony. Bush sent the country to war in Iraq because he thought the US military so strong that the invasion would be a 'cake walk'. Having a military that is too strong makes the US less safe: The US has to join in every war that comes along.

Letting the automatic cuts in the military budget kick in is probably the best chance we have for achieving a modest reduction in military spending and thus making the country safer.

The deficit was caused by tax cuts for the 1% and the invasion of Iraq.