Attacks on Government Workers in Tax Deal
But it's not a blunder. This is intentional. Union-busting, wage-and-benefit slashing, all snuck in under the radar.
Dec 10, 2010
Republican activist Grover Norquist once famously declared that he'd like to shrink the federal government to the point where he could drown it in a bathtub--but a little-noticed provision in the "tax cut compromise" we discussed today with Bernie Sanders might well drain the states' sinks first.
Yves Smith and Reuters blogger James Pethokoukis report that the billionaires-for-benefits compromise effectively ends the Build America Bonds program. That's the program which makes it easier for states to borrow money to cover their budget shortfalls--estimated at $140 billion just next year.
Who are the victims when the states can't borrow? Bill Fletcher reminded us this week of the attacks on public employees' pay. Public employee retirement benefits will probably be the first to go -- estimated at $750 billion to more than $3 trillion.
Pethokoukis further notes that legislation amending bankruptcy law is in the works, possibly permitting states to declare bankruptcy. And if they declare bankruptcy, just like GM, workers' benefits are the first thing on the chopping block.
Former Wall Street trader turned blogger Bruce Krasting called the failure to renew the bonds a "black swan"--an unexpectedly huge event that has a disproportionate effect. And he wondered how legislators "could have blundered on this?"
But it's not a blunder. This is intentional. Union-busting, wage-and-benefit slashing, all snuck in under the radar.... And its impact will be felt first not in DC - where the money media watch - but in the states. We've seen this strategy from the right before -- move the action to the states, in the media dark. Think welfare reform.. And typically it works. Will Build America Bonds be next?
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© 2023 Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders interviews forward-thinking people about the key questions of our time on The Laura Flanders Show, a nationally syndicated radio and television program also available as a podcast. A contributing writer to The Nation, Flanders is also the author of six books, including "Bushwomen: How They Won the White House for Their Man" (2005). She is the recipient of a 2019 Izzy Award for excellence in independent journalism, the Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award for advancing women's and girls' visibility in media, and a 2020 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship for her reporting and advocacy for public media. lauraflanders.org
Republican activist Grover Norquist once famously declared that he'd like to shrink the federal government to the point where he could drown it in a bathtub--but a little-noticed provision in the "tax cut compromise" we discussed today with Bernie Sanders might well drain the states' sinks first.
Yves Smith and Reuters blogger James Pethokoukis report that the billionaires-for-benefits compromise effectively ends the Build America Bonds program. That's the program which makes it easier for states to borrow money to cover their budget shortfalls--estimated at $140 billion just next year.
Who are the victims when the states can't borrow? Bill Fletcher reminded us this week of the attacks on public employees' pay. Public employee retirement benefits will probably be the first to go -- estimated at $750 billion to more than $3 trillion.
Pethokoukis further notes that legislation amending bankruptcy law is in the works, possibly permitting states to declare bankruptcy. And if they declare bankruptcy, just like GM, workers' benefits are the first thing on the chopping block.
Former Wall Street trader turned blogger Bruce Krasting called the failure to renew the bonds a "black swan"--an unexpectedly huge event that has a disproportionate effect. And he wondered how legislators "could have blundered on this?"
But it's not a blunder. This is intentional. Union-busting, wage-and-benefit slashing, all snuck in under the radar.... And its impact will be felt first not in DC - where the money media watch - but in the states. We've seen this strategy from the right before -- move the action to the states, in the media dark. Think welfare reform.. And typically it works. Will Build America Bonds be next?
Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders interviews forward-thinking people about the key questions of our time on The Laura Flanders Show, a nationally syndicated radio and television program also available as a podcast. A contributing writer to The Nation, Flanders is also the author of six books, including "Bushwomen: How They Won the White House for Their Man" (2005). She is the recipient of a 2019 Izzy Award for excellence in independent journalism, the Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award for advancing women's and girls' visibility in media, and a 2020 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship for her reporting and advocacy for public media. lauraflanders.org
Republican activist Grover Norquist once famously declared that he'd like to shrink the federal government to the point where he could drown it in a bathtub--but a little-noticed provision in the "tax cut compromise" we discussed today with Bernie Sanders might well drain the states' sinks first.
Yves Smith and Reuters blogger James Pethokoukis report that the billionaires-for-benefits compromise effectively ends the Build America Bonds program. That's the program which makes it easier for states to borrow money to cover their budget shortfalls--estimated at $140 billion just next year.
Who are the victims when the states can't borrow? Bill Fletcher reminded us this week of the attacks on public employees' pay. Public employee retirement benefits will probably be the first to go -- estimated at $750 billion to more than $3 trillion.
Pethokoukis further notes that legislation amending bankruptcy law is in the works, possibly permitting states to declare bankruptcy. And if they declare bankruptcy, just like GM, workers' benefits are the first thing on the chopping block.
Former Wall Street trader turned blogger Bruce Krasting called the failure to renew the bonds a "black swan"--an unexpectedly huge event that has a disproportionate effect. And he wondered how legislators "could have blundered on this?"
But it's not a blunder. This is intentional. Union-busting, wage-and-benefit slashing, all snuck in under the radar.... And its impact will be felt first not in DC - where the money media watch - but in the states. We've seen this strategy from the right before -- move the action to the states, in the media dark. Think welfare reform.. And typically it works. Will Build America Bonds be next?
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