This week, OtherWords unpacks the fiscal challenges furrowing the brows of our lawmakers and just about every Obama administration official. Columnist Sam Pizzigati highlights the way billionaire Peter Peterson bankrolled the misleading portrayal of Social Security cuts as the only way to balance the budget. The Green Party’s Jill Stein points out that the biggest problem we’re facing is the “climate cliff” and that any “grand bargain” should do something to stop global warming. I explain that at least $881 billion in creative revenue-raisers and spending cuts belong on the table. If you’d like to check out this deficit-reduction proposal, please download the new report that the Institute for Policy Studies is releasing today.
Be sure to visit our blog, where I recently posted more highlights from the avalanche of fan mail that followed Donald Kaul’s heart attack. We’re also running bonus pieces from Jim Hightower there — such as his recent take on Texan secessionists. And, consider subscribing to our weekly newsletter if you haven’t signed up yet.
- Mother Nature Belongs at the Bargaining Table / Jill Stein
Throwing the nation over the climate cliff will make our current fiscal challenges look like a minor bump in the road. - Snake-Oil Deficit Savings / Ryan Alexander
Like things you spot in your side-view mirror, many of the budget numbers flitting around the debt talks are larger than they appear. - The Fiscal Hoax / Peter Hart
Don’t believe the cliff hype. - For Pete’s Sake, What’s Happened to Our Democracy? / Sam Pizzigati
One billionaire has the wherewithal to totally redirect America’s political discourse. - Dodging the Fiscal Swindle / Emily Schwartz Greco
With a little creativity, we can easily balance the budget without cutting Social Security. - Solving the Twinkie Murder Case / Jim Hightower
Equity hucksters plundered the company to feather their own nests. - The Answer Is Blowing in the Wind / William A. Collins
Do we all have to drown in rising seas or broil in epic droughts before we decide it’s time to switch to renewable energy? - Highway Robbery / Khalil Bendib (Cartoon)
Highway Robbery, an OtherWords cartoon by Khalil Bendib