The Deficit Commission

[TedEdFred21]

1:39 ten seconds of soul searching

[garand]

actually the bill doesn't touch social security and medicare spending as much as it does the waste. it focuses on the "entitlement" programs that is bilking the US tax payer out of trillions a year. for all the "tax the rich" people. they tried that, it kept unemployment to 20% the interest rate on homes at 25% and everyone in America suffered. when reagan cut the top tax bracket we saw 20 years of progress until the bank regulators destroyed the houseing market.

[Andreas748]

It's hopeless. With powerfull special interest groups and inept politicians, the defecit will keep growing. It's almost beyond the tipping point. John Boehner's answer is a 5% cutback on Congress' spending -a measly 25 million a year which is nothing but politcal ploy to make himself look good, and is no help at all. Won't be long before the dollar is no longer the world currency. America don't have the willpower to fix their financial armaggedon....

[vloghog1]

@Andreas748 If the dollar drops to zero, those Egypts riot will look like a block party compared to what Americans will do.

[Andreas748]

@vloghog1 .....if the dollar drops to zero.....I'm in big trouble. Since I have no gold to barter with. I'll be like Tom Hanks on that island in Cast Away...

[Calsummersishere]

Well that's that!

[cesar333]

I cant wait for wikileaks to post the emails from all of the major banks ceo.

[cmfluteguy]

@cesar333

The countries attacking Wikileaks are doing it on behalf of the Banks.

[jeffmonc2]

They should cut spending - the democrats have the presidency, both houses. They are in charge. They have incredibly bad timing - you don't introduce hugely expensive programs like health care and cap and trade in the middle of a recession. They are stupidly plowing ahead with no regard for the economic times. They have been in charge for two years - they have increased defense spending, gone ahead with the bailout of banks - not even cut spending that would have been popular with their base.

[cmfluteguy]

@jeffmonc2

Slash the fuck out of the military budget.

We've funded enough killing haven't we?

Wikileaks rules!

[jeffmonc2]

@cmfluteguy Couldn't agree more. Slash the fuck out of every budget, especially the military.

[DeficitSolutions]

NEW RULE: If you can't specifically say what you would cut from the long term structural deficit that adds up to 1 trillion per year, you loose the right to say the deficit is caused by out of control spending. The reality is, it's out of control tax cuts. It's a myth created for votes. They are betting that no one will study the real budget numbers, & instead latch on to catchy lines like "Spending is out of control". It's not supported by the facts. They are playing us. And it's worked.

[BillymanWag]

Ok folks. The correct target for correction, or eradication really, is The Federal Reserve System. This the the CAUSE!!!! The reason we are in this hole is The Fed. They own our government. Google The Money Masters and watch it. You will have an epiphany. I did. It is a history of the banking system in America. Just facts, no blathering about conspiracy theories akin to Alex Jones. The only solution to our financial crisis is getting rid of The Fed. They run our country. Really.

[Budney420]

This commission is nothing more than an exuse to raise tax revenue. The President and Congress can the relax becasue it wasn't thier idea. I think the American public will accept new taxes as long as dollar for dollar spending cuts are made. New revenue does not suddenly make the state more fiscally responsible as evedenced by the gaming revenue generated in PA.

[MetallicaRunner1]

Wow, what a softball segment here from RealNews. Glad I gave it one star.

[PeakOilCountdown]

modern economic systems are based on growth. to the extent that credit is indirectly linked to the future supply of energy. economic "growth", already misguided and out of control, is about to run up against physical limits which do not react to increased demand the way an economy would.

[hamletundone]

after the corruption we have seen in the US govt, how can anyone think that giving that govt. monopoly over social programs would preclude abuse over a privatized system? just a question...because the people i trust the least in this cvountry are in the govt,,,chizy low-life grifting politicians of Both parties...GOVT GO AWAY!! Wall St GO AWAY!!

[hamletundone]

This guy doesn't realize that Obama was chosen to take the fall

[asphyxiafeeling]

This game conservatives are playing with the deficit sounds so disgusting. Of course this is just an interview with one person's opinion so i take it with a grain of salt. but it just makes me cringe. "Propaganda tool"? Makes me so angry. Mary Bono Mack (R) ((my congresswoman)), I'm going to work to bring you DOWN in 2010!

[JixMa]

Hear hear for Roger Hickey! Great comments! 5*****

[HardFoughtThought]

government can't do anything without intimidation theft and violence therefore it will always be wrong no matter what it does.

[bbburton]

What a bunch of crap. Hickey is a liar and Paul Jay facilitates liars like Hickey to spread their lies. Deficits are created by spending. Big spending leads to huge tax increases to pay for the spending. Stop war spending, welfare spending, and you'll end massive taxation. These guys are socialists spreading lies to scare people into believing more gov is better for the people. Freedom and liberty are the only things that bring us security and prosperity.

[radioactive1415]

Yes, the national deficit IS created by spending, i.e., on education, health, industry, etc. But what Hickey is saying is that many conservatives have made huge deal over THE DEFICIT, decrying it as malignant to business and detrimental to the economy, when in fact spending more than you have (increasing deficits) in conjunction with a positively stable economic growth (GDP) not only continues to expand the economy, but "gives back" that tax money in terms of schools, health, shelter, whatever.

[bbburton]

And what I'm saying is that it is not up to the fed gov to spend on education, health, industry, etc. Deficits are a huge deal because it makes debtors out of us all. You're mistake is to believe that taxation is a good thing if it tied to the GDP. That's a cannibalistic paradigm; it feeds off of itself, but does not grow. Eventually its appetite, more taxes, ends up consuming more than it produces. In fact, the gov produces nothing. Production is what we should do for ourselves.

[radioactive1415]

You seem to be very attached to an ideology fixated on deficits and taxes (like most Republicans), but never actually explain why or how these two make "debtors out of us all." If you really analyze where our money goes, it goes into (exactly as I said): health, residence, and thousands of other services, all of which benefit YOU on a daily basis—as well as other Americans. Yet, according to you, the government "produces nothing."

[radioactive1415]

I also never said taxation is a good thing if tied to the GDP. I said that DEFICITS can be good things IF the GDP expands at a rate able to keep up with spending more money than we have and IF they are directed towards ameliorating vastly common American problems. I said that we have to be careful WHERE the deficits are directed. We dont want money flowing precipitously (and in my view, wastefully) into wars as well as the unjust corporate benefits which most of us overlook completely.

[radioactive1415]

I think what you and I need to be careful of, though, is that we properly limit WHAT the government spends on. For example, government deficits can be directed towards weapons and war, something all Americans should be fighting. So while I disagree with you on cutting back welfare spending and helping out most Americans, I do agree with your general sentiment. War spending is repugnant, and freedom and liberty will bring us security and prosperity.

[bbburton]

No matter what you personally believe, the Constitution should be followed, not ignored. We have a constitutional obligation to defend ourselves from all enemies foreign and domestic, but that does not mean we should be engaged in empire building. We do not have a constitutional right to steal from one person to give to another. Charity is a virtue every individual should strive for. Gov by its very nature is incapable of legislating virtue. Gov welfare has been and continues to be disastrous.

[radioactive1415]

What youre bringing up is totally irrelevant. The only sentence in there that I which logically corresponds to the discussion is the last, which is easily refutable. I cant understand how forcing the government with public pressure to stop hording taxpayer money and to use it for benefits is disastrous. I mean, really? Is it disastrous to unemployed mothers who lost their husbands? Or to your children getting an education? Or to millions of poor who need a decent hospital in their town?

[PeakOilCountdown]

How about negotiating for future energy security instead of setting up occupational forces in sovereign countries years before they're necessary???

[hiyukenmusic]

it is so hard to listen to 12 minutes of such ignorant debate...if defict=credit=credit card debt is not a problem then why can't an individual do the same in their own home? Why does an economic policy that supposedly works so well on a Macro scale bankrupt millions with 100% accuracy when applied to the micro.

[AndroidPolitician]

@hiyukenmusic

The way a countries debt works is somewhat different because it eventually comes back if it's invested correctly.

If you looked at our WWII debt it vastly exceeds our debt now as a percentage of GDP, but the investment came back in the form of new technology.

[MrSuperpunch019]

Screw capitalism. And screw the people that think there is some invisible hand that will come out and fix everything. We had to have these bailouts. The problem is though that we needed to know where the hell this money went.

[UKLooney]

2010 is not going to be fun if you live in the US or the UK :(

[zappos49]

From what I hear the banks fucked over the UK even more then the US.

[UKLooney]

They sure did, combine that with the fact that we just handed our sovereignty over to a bunch of unelected euro bureaucrats last month.

Time for another World War I thinks... 2012 sounds like a good round number.

[Lingerfoot]

Why do you say that?

[UKLooney]

@Lingerfoot

Sorry, my comment was a reply to

zappos49's earilier one. What I meant was that world war is the politicians most common form of recovery from a depression/recession.

Blame the other guy...

[gringodeltoro1]

A message to the Americans. If you're smart enough, leave your country now. The all system is going to collapse very soon, don't let yourself be drown by all thoseclowns. Mexico, Cuba, Ecuador, You will thrive over there, while the people in the States wake up one day with nothing in their pocket. The dollar is already gone. Don't become a casualty of this recession. You still have a chance. DO IT !

[Lingerfoot]

Why would anyone leave the country? The Soviet Union collapsed too. Peace!

[gringodeltoro1]

That's what I'm saying, now it's our turn. If the United States was a normal country, they would have failed a long time ago, but because they are so big, they've been able to buy themself time by fabricating false money, making their fall even more dramatic when it comes. Life is going to be a disaster in Europe and the USA during the next couple of years. Your money is still worth something now, use it while you can. PEACE

[Lingerfoot]

What about The North American Union and The Amero? Peace!

[gringodeltoro1]

That's bush's idea of wiping off the Mexican and Canadian borders in order to expand his free market policies. (I think)

Europe and the USA has been a consummer on all levels. The only thing we are good at making ourselves is weapons. Everything else is done in Asia and South America by cheap labour. What happens when those countries nationalize their industries? We're fucked. Our money and guns is worthless without real exports. We consume but don't make anything, where do you think this going

[OutdoorsBlackMan]

I am not paying the government's bills.

[kc9gpj]

"the conservatives are trying to freak people out about the debt"

Yes, yes we are. You should probably listen.

[LPBguy]

LOL

[PeakOilCountdown]

X-) Awesome. From a liberal!

[dmp079]

The trashing of the constitution has been going on every since it was drafted. We are just continuing the beating. SMH!

[mymojorisin]

Boom period of the Clinton period?  Where was I at? The Clinton surplus was an accounting trick. They may want to change the way the budget is done but it is really a way to bypass the current system. They always want to cut the few small under funded programs that are given to the actual citizens of the US.

[hanauhs]

Dude! This would be wonderful! I'm a liberal and I think so. This is the only way we could get it done, with an up or down vote. No pork, no taking out certain cuts.

[BusterXXXL]

Sure man, corporate america left-wing... LOL

[911truthncDotOrg]

Hickey - Financing our debt internally just fine.

Yeah, by printing money we the taxpayers have to pay back.

The Real News is a shill for corporate America left-wing noise machine.

[jonz23m]

yea republicans put us into debt so democrats can do it to . Lol what a brainfart argument.

[zoticus1]

what the fuck happened to this channel?

It used to talk truth and now its all nonsense.

They never get into the roots of the problem.

Our debt should be a worry to us and who gives a shit if its conservatives or democrats that raise the issue? This guy is full of shit, look at him!

[utinomen]

There has always been a massive public debt, which never gets paid off.

Debts at the national level don't make sense in accounting terms. Usually with borrowing, there are debtors and creditors, yet every govt is in debt. Who the hell are the creditors?

The current level of debt by %GDP is at the same level as it was back in 1990. Also note that in $ terms, the debt started to spike up in the 80's with Reagan. So why no fuss about it back then, if there is no fear mongering?

[EuropeanAmericanMan]

Wow is this retarded channel arguing that the United States has to borrow more money and spend more.

Paul Jay I am never ever contributing to your jew bullshit channel anymore. This shit sucks and is worse than the MSM with its fucking agenda. I am sure you get serious donations from special interest groups.

Trying to freak people out about the debt!?

Anyone that believes any of this is fucking retarded. They want to spend and get our economy back like it was. NOT happening: peak oil!

[FreeganGleaner]

Don't know why you got so many thumbs down on your comment, youre dead on about Peak Oil.

EuropeanAmericanMan is correct.

We cannot spend our way out, in fact the opposite is our only option: savings.

This MUST be done by the REAL wealth creators: The Middle Class.

The Middle Class has been under attack for some time now, coupled with the fact that we no longer manufacture anything here anymore, no not even bicycles.

Road to economic recovery won't be like WWII, no surplus savings

[brotherjupiter]

How about an oligarchy commision?

Starting with the filthy greedy manipulative corporation responsible for the bulk of financial damage,

Goldman Sachs & gov.

[arcanekrusader]

Poor/dead/sick.

[strawman007]

Churches should be double taxed for all the brainwashing they do!

[blackiron60]

And given how much money the televangelists rake in each year through their lies.

[unameitltd]

yea lets just spend the country into hyperinflationary dollar collapse and bankrupcy!!!

Its brain dead thinking like this that debt spending is good is why I keep putting my money into gold and silver bars.

[InternetArgument]

Yay welfare state!

[iknownothingnow]

For a progressive news station, I agree with Roger Hickey about the crimes that the Republicans made. Unfortunately though like the Republicans, he too has blinders on as he appears to be oblivious of who the enemy really is and who is going to hurt him. But not for long.

[jotunobsidianeyes]

Close wealthy tax havens, close corporate tax loopholes, bring back the estate tax (like it was), cut military contractor spending (but not cut spending for training or things like body armor), legalize prostitution and tax it, legalize marijuana and tax it, tax churches who's revenue isn't 75% directed to straight up charity, tax derivatives trading, fine and penalize all the war profiteers, charge Mexico for every illegal immigrant returned.

[CollateralSandwich]

@jotunobsidianeyes

You lost me at punishing Mexico. But besides that; I wish I could give your comment 10 thumbs up!

[kwillyou22]

i agree with everthing jotunobsidianeyes said except for the churhc thing. with a special emphasis on the immigrant return policy

[InTheSticks1881]

Just for starters, does this fellow understand what will happen to prices in this country as the dollar looses it's World Reserve status? What happens when no one will buy our debt? Will we be able to continue the 'war' much longer anyway?

Let's not be silly. Face it now or face it latter when the consequences will be much worse and greatly limit our ability to make choices, or don't we care about the middle classes and the poor becoming poorer?

[sonnybrown]

We're spending ourselves out of house and home. We NEED someone pulling the string on the coin purse.

[agentm83]

@sonnybrown I agree. Military spending cuts would be a good place to start for the US.

[PsyogiBottoms]

And still no cuts in military spending...right.

[sansez]

The presenter interrupts the guy speech all the time. Let the man talk

[ferrozm]

dumbasses

[flyhead2]

The 'growth' under Clinton was pure bunkum, it was a bubble brought on by leveraged casino-capitalism through financial institutions who knew they would be collecting welfare-handouts from their goons in the WH (whoever they turned out to be).

It is interesting that Hermetic symbolism is used as a background; quite descriptive in fact.

[bbburton]

More progressive crap; tax and spend, tax and spend. Hickey is a socialist liar, bent on destroying the Constitution.

[kmg501]

This man is a liar and proven wrong by history. Read the history for yourselves: tinyurl . com /djvfzc

You can also watch this lecture on the same topic:

watch?v=czcUmnsprQI

[kmg501]

Aww, look at this, another wholly partisan video by the "RealNews"...

The military budget is not "the biggest elephant in the room". The illegal federal entitlement programs are. And I'm for greatly reducing the military, I just don't like lies.

And the proposed panel would be illegal anyway.

[klard]

What is with the Cadudeus in the background of the interviewee?

[StepUPNJ]

What is "ideologically right wing" about the government being fiscally responsible? He doesn't want to cut entitlements, but offers no solution to paying off 60 Trillion in liabilities over the next 40 years. Question: how do you propose we pay for a government that will be perhaps 100 Trillion in debt over the next 2 generations? How do we not drown in debt service at the current rate of $18,000 per second?

[klard]

How much is the operating costs of this commission going to add to the deficit? This commission is just another layer of the government to further rob the people of any voice in their governance.

[jfcrow1]

Conservative are alway concerned about the deficit when they are not in Power! Otherwise they spend like liberals.

[gsuitter]

I would substitute "Republican" for "Conservative". A true conservative is always concerned about the deficit whether his party is in power or not.

[klard]

gsuitter:  Now they refer to true Conservatives as Libertarians.

[klard]

jfcrow1: You are exactly right. These people differ only in the things they waste money on to achieve the wealth transfers to their wealthy masters.