Beware the Republican Economy Lies

We have been hearing them for years. Republicans, and now their corporate-created offshoot, the 'Tea Party' are constantly whining about deficit spending and the national debt, except of course when THEY are doing the spending for needless wars and inflated military budgets. Somehow they hope we'll believe that spending is only bad when Democrats do it.

Some people do believe them, especially those who see no difference between a national budget and a personal one. But right now is a critically important time to understand that there IS a difference, and how the Republican lies fit into their strategy.

In more prosperous times, it is a reasonable notion that we should try to reduce or eliminate deficits, and when there is steady economic growth it is relatively easy to do that. This is not the time. A serious recession, barely saved from being a depression by quick and decisive action, requires concentration on recovery. We need to make sure that unemployed Americans can survive, and that state and local budget shortages do not unemploy those providing vital services. Stimulus spending is necessary. More will probably be needed.

This is the absolute WORST time for a 'cut spending' message. Even the Republicans know that, and that is why they're intensifying their selling of that very message. They hope Democrats will attempt to cut back on spending in response, that this hesitancy will slow the recovery, which they can then blame on the Democrats.

It's a clever plot, and one that could work if we fail to understand what they are up to, and that they are not concerned about the effects of the economy on the American people, only on winning.

Another common Republican lie is the claim that Social Security is in danger of running out of funds. In fact, it is not. There is plenty of reserve in the fund that will cover the "baby boom" generation for many years to come. Their deception is based on the fact that the fund is in the form of US bond securities, which they call 'IOU's'. These securities are redeemable whenever needed, and are earning interest in the meantime. Storing the fund as piles of cash would not be any more secure, nor would it be wise management.

The motive for these lies is their desire to either kill, privatize, or severely cut social security. None of that needs to be done, and none of it should. Corporations want to keep the labor pool as large and hungry as possible so that they can pay workers as little as possible. Increasing the retirement age and making retirement security less certain adds to the total unemployed.