Originally Posted by James Brown
Dave:
Here is my bottom line. Politicians talk a lot more than they act. So, R politicians may spout off about agency spending and agency authority run amok. D politician may support calls to defund the police. Talk is cheap. Action is rare. Occasionally the politicians might introduce a bill to limit or expand agency authority in some way. Occasionally citizens groups might litigate and fight specific agency actions or rules. There is a lot of good tension in the system.
But no one, literally no serious politician, is calling for abolishing SS, Medicare, the EPA, public education or other institutions. This is as plain as day if you look around.
The reality of US governance does not stop alarmists on the left from exhuming an Ayn Rand fantasy wish list from 1980 as evidence of R intent any more than it stops their soul mates (I couldn't resist, hope you get the joke)... any more than it stops their soul mate alarmists on the Right from claiming loudly and persistently that the Democrats are one tiny step away from a Chavez-style communist dictatorship.
Alarmist rhetoric is part of the political scene. That does not make it any less stupid and detached from reality. We should all, left and right, consider the reality of governance when faced with the rantings of an alarmist ideolog of either flavor. Jim
Wall Street Journal: “Sen. Rick Scott (R., Fla.), who leads Senate Republicans’ campaign operation, released a policy plan in February that included a proposal to sunset all federal legislation every five years, and require Congress to pass each law again.”
New York Times: “Mr. Johnson has proposed subjecting Social Security and Medicare to annual congressional spending bills… making it more difficult for retirees to count on a steady stream of benefits.”
Politico: “Lindsey’s pledge: If Republicans regain control of the Senate following the midterms, the current Senate Budget ranking member is laying the groundwork: ‘Entitlement reform is a must…’”
https://democrats.org/news/these-republicans-want-to-cut-social-security-medicare/