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| Home Front: Politix |
| WaPo: Can the Democrats Deliver? |
| 2006-11-16 |
| Robert J Samuelson Among Washington lobbyists, policy analysts, congressional staffers and journalists, the game last week was to figure out how the Democrats' capture of Congress will refashion legislative agendas. One answer is that we won't know until the leadership sets its political strategy, canvasses its members and consults interest groups. Another answer is: Temper your expectations. Even forgetting possible vetoes by President Bush, the Democrats have less leeway to alter policy than their rhetoric implies. Although Democrats didn't promise much -- they benefited heavily from unhappiness with the war in Iraq -- they still succumbed to exaggeration. Their sound bites ran ahead of plausible solutions. Consider three familiar themes. Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy; inaction on the minimum wage; and Republican opposition to negotiating Medicare drug prices with the pharmaceutical companies. All are of a piece: The Republicans are lackeys for the wealthy business class; they don't care much about the poor. But what can the Democrats do? Let's see. |
| Posted by:.com |
| #6 BUt, but, but ASIA TIMES/OTHERS say the USA will collapse andor go into recesion next year??? GLEN BECK > Wall Street + Financial bigwigs believe new terror is coming very soon against America, including Naw Yawk-Manhattan, which is why Beck says many are starting to protect, hide, + transfer their investments. RECESSION, COLLAPSE, + AAMER HIROSHIMA(S)??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2006-11-16 23:24 |
| #5 It'll still happen. Especially for public-sector unions. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2006-11-16 22:58 |
| #4 Union pay scales are based on negotiatied contracts with contractors in the district. They cannot be adjusted until the contract runs out. Trying to get more money from the contractors assosiation because the kids at Taco Bell are making more money is going to be hard to do. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2006-11-16 15:04 |
| #3 eLarson, most, if not all Union wage scales are tied to the minimum wage. If the minimum wage goes up x% then the Union wage goes up the same x%. All the way up the line. Talk about an inflation generator! |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2006-11-16 12:41 |
| #2 raise capital gains => kill the stock market => kill the expansion of the economy => recession => no jobs for the working class. They still haven't learned have they? Its called CAPITALISM becuuas eyou need to form CAPITAL to create new wealth. Thats right boys and girls, ther eis no fixed amount of wealth - we can make NEW wealth if we have proper environment for capital formation. They just don't get it at the Dem Party or their MSM liberal allies at the WaPo and NYT. What will they deliver? Overspending on pork (Byrd, Murtha are masters of this), social projects that backfire, higher taxes to pay for it, indecisiveness on foreign poliy and the military, and corruption (Already beginning with Hastings, Murtha, and the coming investigations in the Senate in to Reid et al). Plus divisiveness even within the Dem party (San Fran liberalism vs Blue Dog Dems). Question is, will the press hound them as hard as they hounded the Repubs? Nope. And there's the shame. The Amereican people are being duped by the press' half truths and blinders. |
| Posted by: Oldspook 2006-11-16 12:38 |
| #1 The minimum wage. Out of curiosity... do union contract wages have some connection to "N time minimum wage" or "minimum wage + N"? |
| Posted by: eLarson 2006-11-16 10:12 |