Wow. The president basically got Paul Krugman to shut the eff up and applaud. I didn’t think it was possible. As for me, I did catch the speech but I was packing up to run to the doctor’s office, pharmacy, etc., and so I couldn’t really concentrate on the substance. Sylistically, it seemed like another Home Run of a speech. I didn’t disagree with anything I heard. I liked the president’s explanation of American/progressive values. I liked that he said he will not authorize another year of Bush’s tax cuts. I liked that he said that he won’t voucherize Medicare. I liked that he ripped Paul Ryan’s plan apart and cast it as an all-out assault on granny. I even liked that he took progressives to task for thinking we can do nothing about the debt, or that we can tackle the debt without doing some reform to entitlements.
One thing that is already obvious is that we have a shutdown situation on the 2012 budget. How is John Boehner’s House going to pass a bill that lets Bush’s tax cuts for the rich expire? The president said he won’t back down.
In December, I agreed to extend the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans because it was the only way I could prevent a tax hike on middle-class Americans. But we cannot afford $1 trillion worth of tax cuts for every millionaire and billionaire in our society. We can’t afford it. And I refuse to renew them again.
I don’t think he will back down. I don’t think the Tea-Partying House will back down. So, get ready. The government will almost definitely shut down late this fall over the issue of Bush’s tax cuts for the top three percent.
