GOP Extortionists Push Hostages to Edge of Fiscal Cliff

Republicans in the House of Representatives, angry that a pending deal would tax their millionaire masters, are holding America’s working families hostage and threatening to heave them off that Fiscal Cliff. We suspect their rage is really because this crisis (of their own making) forces them to watch college bowl games on TV instead of on the 50 yard line with their wealthy donors.

More:

“G.O.P. Anger Over Tax Deal Endangers Final Passage,” Jennifer Steinhauer and Jonathan Weisman, New York Times

“Cliff deal hits a new snag with House Republicans,” Rosalind Helderman, Ed O’Keefe and Jerry Markon, Washington Post

“House GOP threatens to scuttle fiscal cliff deal,”  Ryu Spaeth, The Week

“Fiscal cliff reveals how dysfunctional Republican nihilism makes US politics,” Michael  Cohen, The Guardian

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Two-and-a-Half Minutes

Eight principles to guide Democrats through the fiscal cliff showdown, from Robert Reich.

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Adam Smith Endorses Obama Tax Plan

“It is not unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expense, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion.”

– Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, 1776

Related:

“Let the Bush Tax Cuts for the Wealthy Expire Already,” Senator Bernie Sanders, Truthdig

“How to raise taxes on the rich,” Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money

“Tax hike for wealthy won’t kill growth, CBO says,” Reuters via NBC News

“The Great Capitalist Heist: How Paris Hilton’s Dogs Ended Up Better Off Than You,” Gerald Friedman, Naked Capitalism [caution: numbers n’ stuff]

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Short Link:  http://wp.me/p6sb6-dzL

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

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GOP ‘Cranks & Crazies’

The Republican Tea Party loons of the U.S. Congress have become world famous, and no wonder, since their capture of the GOP endangers the entire global economy. The most recent observation of this was by Australia’s deputy PM and finance minister, Wayne Swan:

“Let’s be blunt and acknowledge the biggest threat to the world’s biggest economy are the cranks and crazies that have taken over a part of the Republican Party. Global markets are nervously watching the positioning of hardline elements of the Republican Party for signs that they will dangerously block reasonable attempts at compromise.”

“Swan: GOP ‘Cranks and Crazies’ Threaten Growth,” Edward Johnson, Businessweek