The Republicans would have us believe that this country is in serious financial trouble with the current budget deficit (which they caused after inheriting a budget surplus from President Clinton), and that the only way to fix it is to cut services and benefits for the needy and the elderly (and children) -- and then give the rich and the corporations more tax cuts. That's ridiculous. It's the same failed economic policy the GOP has been following for a while now (and the same policy that caused the Great Recession).The truth is that there are a lot of things that could be done without hurting those who need government help the most -- and many of them are listed in the graphic above. In addition to those, the best thing the government could do is to put more money into the economy to increase demand and create jobs -- good jobs that will be subject to taxation. The easiest way to do this is to rebuild our infrastructure and raise the minimum wage (to at least $10 an hour).
The poor, the elderly, and the nation's children need government help. The rich and the corporations do not need any help -- since they are doing better right now than ever before. It simply makes no sense to cut funds for those needing help and give more to those who don't need help. But then the Republicans don't really care about what's good for the country -- only what's good for them and their Wall Street buddies. They don't like it when people call them the party for the rich, but that's exactly what they are.
