This is a time for moderation and careful, forward looking budget management. Instead, we are about to gut federal spending. The cost is going to be a return to severe economic recession. Everybody in politics knows this perfectly well, and so do economists left, right and center. Indeed, agreement is practically unanimous. Except it’s not what you hear on talk radio. Far from it.
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Basically, the Tea Party congressional caucus is pointing a knife directly at the hearts of the seniors who elected them. These seniors were drawn to the voting booth by promises that Obamacare would be repealed. What they have gotten instead are two things: a) the Ryan Plan, which basically ends any significant access to medical care for people over 65; and b) a certainty that any budget cuts that come in the next few weeks will hobble Medicare and cut Social Security payments.
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