No deal on cuts except military. Tax the corporations and the wealthy.

Neither happened in the debt ceiling deal that is now through the Senate.

By Scott Steward

Representatives take a sober oath of office to serve the people and what we get are plutocrats. Replutocrats and Deplutocrats, choose their Parties of Grievance or Complicity, controlled by plutocrats in succession to be the Pelosis and the McConnells of their time – McCarthy and Jeffries.

There is no good scenario where irresponsible military spending, grossly fattened tax benefits (for the already ultra-wealthy) and withholding aid to the hungry is the plan.

The 20 year wars in Iraq and Afghanistan cost us $21 trillion. Whatever we've been doing in the middle east, now Ukraine, and around the world has cost us trillions. When crying for a balanced budget, why aren't we ending sixty years of US led forever war policy?

Corporate profits have increased 14 times since 1980 to $2.8 trillion a quarter. In the same years, most wages have just kept up. Tax law has increased owner, executive, and trust babies purchasing power a 100 times. They can afford the cost cost of health care, housing and education.  For these essentials, the rest of us have less purchasing power than we did 60 years ago. That is what our budget policy should fix.

Why are we worried about the full faith and credit of the US vs. doing something worthwhile for the future of the country?  This choice is false. The dollar is worth more when we invest in our people, debts get paid and people are able to care for each other.

In light of all the trillions lost for wasteful military campaigns, corporate greed driven inflation, the latest 2017 tax cut for the rich (noticeably kept in place by "Democrats" in power); the two largest reasons for our debt are wars and tax cuts.

The debt ceiling drama is a farce. It is an austerity tactic used most every 2 years since 2011. The plutocrats play their parts and what has to be done, to prevent rioting in the streets, is done. People's health, climate safety, jobs, education, food and an end to child poverty, those are all underfunded.

The top 10% have $60 trillion and the bottom 50%, 2% of all wealth. That is the problem. The rich could use 2-3% of their wealth to pay the interest on the $31 trillion debt. The people making the most money, from the systemically inequitable machinery, should pay enough so that some equity is restored.

Tax corporate profits and the uber wealthy. Put military spending on the table and no deal for cuts that help people. To do this we will need to be ready to elect people in office that believe in real social change and don't identify with the plutocrat class. We need to elect people like Barbara Lee. A livable future depends on it.