By The People, For The People

As the Sunday talk shows tell millions of Americans what they should be thinking about the deal that was brokered this weekend, let's keep in mind that a grand total of zero people you'll see on TV today proclaiming winners and losers will be truly negatively impacted by the results of the "debate" our Washington Very Serious People are having.

The debate now is basically not "what role should government play in the lives of the American people" but "at what rate should government transfer the remaining wealth that the middle class has in this country to the top 1% and how can we benefit from that?"

Republicans, with a large assist from the media giants, have gone from the "compassionate conservatism" of the Bush era straight to openly talking about how to dismantle the social safety net this country has depended on for 70 years.  We're being told that sacrifice is now the only option, and yet it's the people telling us we have to sacrifice who will be just fine.

This week the guests are especially egregious.  Paul Ryan, Mike Pence, Tony Blair and even Jim Cramer will be telling you that a rising tide lifts all boats.  That's all fine and good if you have a boat in this economy, a means to take advantage of the growth and improve your lot with it.  But a vast majority of Americans don't.  At some point in their lives, they will need help from the government in some fashion.

And in this economy, right now, that point has been reached for tens of millions of us.  Some 44 million Americans are on food assistance just to eat, and yet we're told that the reason these folks are all on SNAP is that they must be lazy, and more importantly, must be jettisoned from society.  We are told "we cannot afford this" and yet the people who can afford it are getting the lion's share of the benefits over the last two years.  So our social betters tell us to tighten our belts and say things like this:

At least if we had a shutdown, we'd all have gotten to see just how nonessential most of government actually is.

Anyone who has ever said that has never given up a meal to have enough left over to feed a child.  Anyone who has ever said that has never been in a situation where their insurance benefits haven't kicked in at their job yet and need to see a doctor.  Anyone who has ever said that has never had to find a way to get to work 25 miles away because they can't afford to repair their car for the next month.   Anyone who has ever said that hasn't lost their job and been made to choose what to cut out of the budget this month.

Anyone who has ever said that has enough money and resources to have the luxury of simply not caring about anyone else.  And the guys who destroyed it for the rest of us?  Are they making any shared sacrifices, let alone facing justice?

Naah.  They're now making more money than ever.

How about you?