Sequesters and Budget Cuts. And We Eventually Learn that We Get What We Pay For.

 

Of late, Wally’s been mystified about how we American citizens can demand that our government do so  more with a heck-of-a-lot-less less.  “It worked for a while,” he recently said.  “But now we’re seeing the actual costs.”   Although it was fun to cut taxes, increase loopholes for the top 2% while cutting spending for programs aimed at poor and middle class citizens, most of the rest of us got no benefit and mostly pain from the sequestration and budget cuts. The Koch brothers and other billionaires, meanwhile, made out like the bandits that they are. 

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for instance, had its budget cut nearly $600 million since 2010.  In addition, the National Institute of health has had its budget cut nearly $1 billion.   Back in 2010, some conservatives were screaming about a high deficit and insisting on cutting government while slashing taxes for the top 2% or, as they like to say, “The job creators.”

And now that the Ebola shit is about to hit the fan, deficits don’t seem all that important.   But Wally remembers what happened with Veterans Affairs back in May and “the same exact principles apply with this mess,” he said.

Wally’s been watching as Ebola has played out in the media.  “I’m confused,” he said.  “There are so many spokespeople, all contradicting each other.  In the old days, we would have had a single person telling us everything we needed to know, and that would have been the Surgeon General.  But thanks to the National Rifle Association (NRA), we don’t have a Surgeon General.    Not only would the SG be the face health and safety, this person would also help set medical policy during this emergency and perhaps, most of the many mistakes that were made, would have been prevented from the get-go. 

Fun with FoxNews:  First, Fox News smears theSurgeon General nominee for saying that guns were a public health issue and then smears Obama for not having a Surgeon General.  Actually, Republicans are doing something very similar.  First they refuse to confirm the nominee for SG, then complain about the fact that Obama does not have a Surgeon General.  Neat trick