“They’re breaking down crying, people say the same thing, ‘I’m one disease away from the end’"

[phantom power]

Just a few more tax cuts for millionaires, and some more free money for banksters, I'm sure it will work itself out...

James Carville, former Bill Clinton campaign adviser, on Tuesday called on Democrats to focus on rebuilding the middle-class instead of accepting the conventional wisdom that cutting the deficit was the most important issue facing America.

“I think we make a fundamental error,” he told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. “The biggest problem we have in the country is the deficit. You say, let’s cut entitlements because the deficit is the biggest problem. If you say the biggest problem is that the middle class is shrinking — it would clearly shrink if the deficit got too high — but that would lead you to a conclusion, let’s cut health care costs. That’s the easiest way to cut the deficit. But the Washington consensus is we have to cut entitlements.”

“When people do focus groups and political people all come back and say the same thing, people are breaking down crying,” Carville continued. “They’re breaking down crying, people say the same thing, ‘I’m one disease away from the end.’ They’re taking children back in their house, they’re changing jobs. People are starting lawn mower businesses when they’re 55-years-old, and the Washington consensus is, ah-ha, this person can’t have Medicare, or the Washington consensus is, cut their Social Security.”

He implied no one would be talking about the federal deficit if it were not for Republicans, and said Democrats should work to cut the cost of health care and education.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/07/10/carville-challenges-conventional-wisdom-on-cutting-the-federal-deficit/

[msongs]

1. an effective political party with organized leadership would use this to bury its opposition lol nt

[Duer 157099]

3. But that would look mean n/t

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

15. PLEASE!! Bill Clinton caved to the Republicans over and over again. Hypocrite much, Carville?

[progressivebydesign]

19. and what media forum would they use?? pray tell?

Fox? or one of the few republican controlled fake news stations? How about one of the handful of newspapers conglomerates? Or maybe radio.. yes.. oh wait, owned by 6 republican corporations, too.

How exactly would they fight this? Carrier pigeon? The Daily Show?

Or problem is NOT that the Democrats aren't fighting this, or getting the word out, it's more like the corporate media landscape is Republicans: giant sound system with 30 speakers. Democrats: duct tape over mouth, wrapped in cotton, stuck in a a dome of silence.

Clinton and Gore were right.. beyond ALL of this, the biggest problem the left has and will continue to have, is that of media fairness.

[Abra]

2. Well, we did pass the Guaranteed Insurance Company Profit plan, so we have that going for us

[longship]

4. Carville was on Charlie Rose last night.

Not bad, except Rose kept interrupting him, maybe not an issue as Carville tends to go on and on. But it did come off a bit weird. He was promoting his new book with coauthor, Stan Greenberg.

Their one big message was to protect the middle class.

We'll be seeing a lot of Carville because this is a book tour.

Don't have the title of the book because I am severely BW limited here. I didn't write it down and don't remember it.

It was reviewed by WaPo which is behind a login (pay?) wall.

[shrdlu]

8. "Had Enough?"

Title of the Carville-Greenberg book...

[longship]

20. Many thanks. nt

[Warpy]

5. Cutting the cost of those two items isn't really possible

Raising wages is the answer and always has been. Wages have never caught up to the purchasing power we all lost during the oil shocks of the 1970s.

Raising wages will shore up Social Security as more money is paid in premiums. It will increase national revenue and cut the deficit as more income tax is paid. It will allow people to start to pay down their debt without near starvation, cutting the number of bankruptcies. Most of all, it would give people more money with which to demand more goods and services, and that would cut unemployment.

Unfortunately, the conservative mindset can only see austerity as the road to economic stability, trying to starve people and institutions into fiscal responsibility and prosperity. It is preposterous to think it would ever work, but they've managed to sell many on the idea around the planet.

What we need is the reverse.

[FiveGoodMen]

12. We actually COULD cut a bit out of our military budget

I know the political will isn't there, but we really don't need to be at war with everyone all the time.

[Warpy]

14. We also don't need to protect the corporate trade routes that cost our jobs

However, the post I was replying to cited health care and higher education, not the military.

[FiveGoodMen]

16. "Raising wages is the answer and always has been"

Is what your post said.

Agreed. But it's not the whole answer, was my point.

[L0oniX]

6. The answer is JOBS!

...and jobs =more tax income for the gov.

[They_Live]

11. Jobs with actual WAGES.

so that everyone doesn't have to work multiple jobs, and then they actually have some time to spend that money on some goods.

[rtracey]

18. your statement is true

Your statement is a true statement, but here is the problem as I see it ..... As long as Congress holds out against the actual job creators (the middle class), and not pass jobs bills, there will not be many jobs created. This country needs a good old fashioned recession buster. Government needs to bring on workers to fix the infrastructure. Pres Obama was correct when stating the private sector is doing fine, he just expressed it incorrectly. The private sector corporations are doing fine. They are sitting on 2 TRILLION cash. Feed the middle class with bonus checks, assistance and tax breaks and watch this economy skyrocket. The warehouses of the rich owners are filled, because middle class workers are afraid of spending. No middle class spending, no warehouse emptying, no hiring of new workers to build the stuff that goes in the warehouse, and round and round....

[Amonester]

7. But what about the bloated and wasteful MIC budget$?

Year in, year out.

Like $100M to a Kabul hospital ending in 100 diplomatic briefcases of $1M each en route to Dubai International Airport, for a small example...

[Doremus]

9. I've had no use for Carville since he hung Howard Dean out to dry.

Carville is as much a corporatist as any other 1%er, don't let that down-home good old boy demeanor fool you.

He would cut you off at the knees without the slightest guilt.

[12AngryBorneoWildmen]

10. And his lovely wife

leads me to question his passion.

[JDPriestly]

13. NO CUTS TO SOCIAL SECURITY OR MEDICARE WHATSOEVER.

The average monthly Social Security benefit for a retired worker was about $1,230 at the beginning of 2012. This amount changes monthly based upon the total amount of all benefits paid and the total number of people receiving benefits.

http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/13/~/average-monthly-social-security-benefit-for-a-retired-worker

And those of us who are younger paid around 7.5% of our income plus our employers paid another 7.5% of the equivalent of our earnings into the Social Security Trust Fund toward our benefits.

Cutting Social Security is stealing.

Cut the trade deficit. Call it protectionism. Call it whatever you want. Bring the jobs for young people back -- especially the manufacturing jobs. Build environmentally safe factories this time.

Cutting Social Security will just lead to misery because Social Security payments are about as low as they can go as it is.

Those who continue to work or have income in addition to Social Security pay normal taxes on that additional money. The system is fair. Don't lower Social Security benefits.

Cut CEO salaries. Cut congressional staffs and salaries to no more than the average Social Security benefit, and you will find that talk about cutting Social Security benefits ends right then and there.

When we seniors have money, we pay our taxes including property taxes and income taxes, volunteer in their communities, are generous to charities, take care of their grandchildren and spend just to live. Most of us seniors can no longer get paying jobs but we do not waste our time or our money.

Social Security is not a gift to seniors. It's money we earned plus interest.

James Carville should be ashamed of himself. No one should even talk about cutting Social Security. It is not OK. It is picking on the weak and on those who can no longer go back to school and get jobs.

[leftyohiolib]

17. He implied no one would be talking about the federal deficit if it were not for Republicans b/c

say it with me folks b/c with out republicans there'd be no deficit