By Ben Werschkul
...America's two biggest entitlement programs (click here) —which make up about a third of the federal budget—are all but certain to remain at the center of the debate at least when Democrats are in front of microphones. McCarthy recently promised that these entitlement programs are "off the table." But Democrats say the math simply doesn't add up if the Speaker wants to achieve a balanced budget and raising taxes are also off the table.
And the pattern repeated on Wednesday night following the Oval Office meeting.
"The real issue is, do the Republicans have a plan and what is that plan?" outgoing White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said in an MSNBC interview. "Some Republicans say they’re going to cut Social Security and Medicare. Some say they aren’t."....
February 2, 2023
By Simon Jack and Nick Edser
Shell reports highest profits in 115 years
...America's two biggest entitlement programs (click here) —which make up about a third of the federal budget—are all but certain to remain at the center of the debate at least when Democrats are in front of microphones. McCarthy recently promised that these entitlement programs are "off the table." But Democrats say the math simply doesn't add up if the Speaker wants to achieve a balanced budget and raising taxes are also off the table.
And the pattern repeated on Wednesday night following the Oval Office meeting.
"The real issue is, do the Republicans have a plan and what is that plan?" outgoing White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said in an MSNBC interview. "Some Republicans say they’re going to cut Social Security and Medicare. Some say they aren’t."....
The Republicans continue to celebrate the same old rhetoric over and over, year after year.
The budget cuts the Republicans state they want to make cannot be taken seriously. It is the same old rhetoric for the sake of driving politics. The Republicans don't govern. They seek to maintain majorities to hold onto their own corruption of government.
We have had at least two years of Wall Street greed. Housing has gotten to be ridiculous as well as the cost of eggs. Well, the bird flu and the death of millions of birds in the USA had something to do with that, but, the cost of goods has gone up and there are two points of view. The Republicans state it is the cost of the supply chain and; oh, yeah, the cost of labor. The Democrats point to ridiculous profits by companies that sell things like petroleum vs. the bread and butter issues of the American family such as school supplies and medical costs.
By Simon Jack and Nick Edser
Shell reports highest profits in 115 years
Oil and gas giant Shell (click here) has reported record annual profits after energy prices surged last year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Profits hit $39.9bn (£32.2bn) in 2022, double last year's total and the highest in its 115-year history.
Energy firms have seen record earnings since oil and gas prices jumped following the invasion of Ukraine.
It has heaped pressure on firms to pay more tax as households struggle with rising bills.
Opposition parties said Shell's profits were "outrageous" and the government was letting energy firms "off the hook". They also called for the planned increase in the energy price cap due in April to be scrapped....
Quite frankly, the folks screaming "It is nothing but pure Wall Street greed," have it right. Basically, it is about time labor got it's appropriate piece of the Wall Street greed pie. Shell was not charging exorbitant prices for their products. Quite the opposite. They were allowing their rewards cards to give 5 cents a gallon off to anyone who asks. So, in all honesty, most if not all Wall Street IPOs have racked in significant profits. GM is feeling very confident about its future, too.
So, the whining from the Republicans every time the Democrats raise the issue of increasing taxes, especially windfall amounts of taxes, it is only reassurances to their cronies to keep monies flowing into the party. It has nothing to do with governance. The Republicans rather let the Middle Class pay more and more year after Trump tax year, then do something MORAL like a Wall Street Transaction Tax.
LONG BEFORE McCarthy even thinks about touching Social Security or Medicare and Medicaid he needs to take a lesson in "Governance 101." He might be interested in realizing there is a path forward to end the log jam of the debt ceiling IF his party actually governs and stops allowing the exploitation of the American Middle Class' monthly budgets for corporate profits.
