If You're Poor, You're Screwed

Now that the Republicans have once again taken control of the House of Representatives, they have decided that the deficit must be cut. And with their recent massive tax cut for the rich, they'd made it abundantly clear that the deficit will not be reduced by taxing the super-rich who are making record profits. The Republicans will protect the rich at all costs -- even if it means the rest of America will be hurt.

And they've also made it clear that the deficit will not be reduced by making cuts to the Defense Department. There's a lot of fat there that could be cut. The two wars that are sucking billions from our economy and accomplishing nothing could be stopped. And unnecessary programs like a second engine for the F-35 fighter jet (which the military doesn't even want) could be cut. But making cuts like that would interfere with the profits of the super-rich, and like I said, the Republicans would never do that.

So where are these cuts going to come from? It'll start with the people who have no political power in this country -- the poor. In our corporatocracy, political power is bought and paid for, and since the poor can't afford to pay they will be the first to suffer. In the past, they have been protected by progressives in the Democratic Party. But they no longer control the House and if the "blue dogs" vote with the Republicans they will be outvoted in the Senate also.

That just leaves the White House, and sadly, it looks like President Obama is ready to knuckle under to the Republicans also. It was just announced that President Obama's 2012 budget is proposing drastic cuts to the program that helps low-income people to pay their energy bills when the temperatures get extreme in the winter and the summer. In fact, the program will be cut nearly in half -- with $2.5 billion being cut from the $5.1 billion program. That'll keep a lot of low-income people, many of them children or the elderly, from being able to meet their energy needs in extremely cold or hot weather.

That would be bad enough, but I doubt that'll be enough to satisfy the Republicans. They have never liked giving money to poor people, and they'll probably want to eliminate the program completely. Will the president or the Senate Democrats stop them from doing that? Probably not. They haven't shown yet that they have the political courage to stand up to the Republicans. Why would they start doing so by defending people with no political power?

This is only going to be the start. We can expect to see vicious cuts to all programs that help the poor and working classes. These draconian cuts will start in the House, and they'll be approved by the Senate and the White House. I hope I'm wrong, but it looks like the Republicans are going to make their deficit cuts on the backs of those Americans who can least afford it. If you're poor, then you're screwed. At least for the next couple of years.