Back to Bush, Only Much Worse?
A few weeks ago, the Republican National Committee confirmed what we already knew: that Mitt Romney’s agenda would be the same as President George W. Bush, “just updated.”
What are some of the updates?
- New, even larger tax cuts for the wealthy and huge corporations
- Tax increases on middle class families with children and the poorest Americans
- The end of the Medicare guarantee
- Draconian cuts to Social Security and Medicaid
- Devastating cuts to programs and services that benefit the middle class each and every day
- Even more wasteful and unnecessary defense spending
In short, how does Mitt Romney differ from Bush? Romney is much further to the right and would give even more away to the wealthiest at the expense of the rest of us.
Americans Still Blame Bush for the Economy — And Five Reasons Why That’s Totally Fair
A new poll out today shows that Americans overwhelmingly blame Bush for our current economic conditions. Even 49 percent of Republicans blame Bush, along with 67 percent of independents and 90 percent of Democrats.
ThinkProgress’ Annie-Rose Strasser and Tara Culp-Ressler round up the top five reasons why Americans should continue to blame Bush for the economy:
1. Deregulated Wall Street: It was a great time to be a Wall Street executive during the Bush administration. Sweeping financial deregulation helped build the housing bubble and allowed financial institutions to pursue risky trades unchecked. In fact, Bush eliminated the rules that allowed Wall Street to cause the financial crash that plunged the nation into the Great Recession.
2. Cut Taxes For The Wealthy: The Bush tax cuts — over 50 percent of which benefited the richest 5 percent of American taxpayers — cost about $2.5 trillion over the decade after they were enacted. Ten years later, Bush’s tax cuts are still the main driving factor of the national debt:
3. Ran Up A Tab On Two Wars: The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost the country trillionsofdollars. Combined with Bush’s tax cuts, war spending was amain factor in blowing up the deficit and spending the surplus accumulated under Clinton. Lawmakers now use the deficit as an excuse for inaction.
4. Left Homeowners In A Lurch: While Bush was happy to help out the banks in the wake of the housing crisis, he did little to assist struggling homeowners.Hope For Homeowners, Bush’s proposal to assist those struggling with their mortgages, was a colossal failure; in its first six months, it helped just one homeowner renegotiate his mortgage. Many mortgage holders — 15.7 million or, one in three — are still underwater today.
5. Weakened Workers: Bush weakened worker safety regulations and collective bargaining rights under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Department of Labor throughout his time in office. Today, corporations are back to making record profits, while workers’ incomes are falling.
Evening Brief: Important Stories That You May Have Missed
The Romney campaign confirms that he’ll do nothing to help people with pre-existing conditions obtain health insurance.
The people who brought you the Iraq war released a new ad: bomb Iran.
The RNC uses stock photos of Asian children on its outreach site for…Latinos.
An extreme right-wing billionaire pledges unlimited contributions to help Mitt Romney defeat President Obama.
The Republican governor of Iowa wants Mitt Romney to stop telling voters the economy in his state is bad.
STUDY: The media uncritically repeats the GOP’s “job-killer” talking point.
How Chinese censorship is changing American movies.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has announced his support for Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s illegal voter purge.
Health insurer Aetna inadvertently admitted to secretly channeling nearly $8 MILLION to Republican groups opposed to Obamacare.