A Short History of Deficit Scolds

Here is a history of what I have been hearing my whole life. I will start in 1969 because that was the first year I could vote (the voting age was 21 then).

1969: The deficit and national debt are out of control. Catastrophe is just around the corner.
1970: The deficit and national debt are out of control . Catastrophe is just around the corner.
1971: The deficit and national debt are out of control . Catastrophe is just around the corner.
1972: The deficit and national debt are out of control . Catastrophe is just around the corner.
1973: The deficit and national debt are out of control . Catastrophe is just around the corner.
1974: The deficit and national debt are out of control . Catastrophe is just around the corner.
1975: The deficit and national debt are out of control . Catastrophe is just around the corner.
1976: The deficit and national debt are out of control . Catastrophe is just around the corner.
...
...
...
2009: The deficit and national debt are out of control . Catastrophe is just around the corner.
2010: The deficit and national debt are out of control . Catastrophe is just around the corner.
2011: The deficit and national debt are out of control . Catastrophe is just around the corner.
2012: The deficit and national debt are out of control . Catastrophe is just around the corner.
2013: The deficit and national debt are out of control . Catastrophe is just around the corner.
2014: The deficit and national debt are out of control . Catastrophe is just around the corner.
2015: The deficit and national debt are out of control . Catastrophe is just around the corner.
2016: The deficit and national debt are out of control . Catastrophe is just around the corner.
2017: The deficit and national debt are out of control . Catastrophe is just around the corner.
2018: The deficit and national debt are out of control . Catastrophe is just around the corner.

My message for the debt/deficit scolds (yes I mean you Simpson and Bowles): please excuse me while I ignore you the rest of my life. You're batting 0 for 50.

"We didn't see this coming"

From this story in today's Washington Post:

Mid-Continent Nail of Poplar Bluff, Mo., the largest U.S. nail manufacturer, cut 60 jobs on June 15 and plans to lay off an additional 200 workers in a few days, citing plummeting sales following the imposition of Trump’s metals tariffs. The company said it may not survive past Labor Day if it doesn’t get relief from the tariffs.

“It’s not just us. There will be many, many companies that will pay a price for this,” said George Skarich, vice president of sales and marketing. “I’m disappointed in Trump. We didn’t see this coming.” (emphasis is mine)

I admit that it's hard to not say "you got what you asked for", but I really do feel bad for these workers and the company. It's never pleasant to see someone played like a piano like President Trump does. But time after time I've seen quotes like "We didn't see this coming" and I want to ask just what did you see coming? It seems too me that this is entirely what was to expected.

Real Democrats?

My Twitter feed is full of establishment Democrats and their supporters telling me that Bernie Sanders is not a "real" Democrat (or whatever) and is bad for the Party. They seem to want some sort of pledge to only support "real" Democrats. Many of these tweets are quite hateful and full of denial about the 2016 election, but let's put that aside for now. (Full disclosure: I voted for Hillary Clinton in both the primary and the general election. Further disclosure: I am now a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.)

Well, I am willing to make a deal with these folks. As soon as I see and hear a "real" Democrat speaking as persistently and as forcefully as Bernie Sanders does about

• Medicare for All
• Job guarantee
• Free college tuition
• Income inequality
• Opposition to our support for the catastrophic war in Yemen
• $15 minimum wage
• Other progressive issues

That is when I will gladly support such a "real" Democrat.

In the meantime, they can stop insulting us that this is some kind of personality Bernie cult. (Actually, some of these tweets suggest a Hillary cult to me.) It's about POLICY! Progressive policy. That is the person I will support. I hope the Democratic Party recognizes that the future lies with a progressive agenda, not the Third Way or some other tiresome tack to the right.