Locals relieved, empathic, disappointed
Special to the NNPA from Blackvoicenews.com
Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA) blasted President Barack Obama’s brokered deal to raise the debt ceiling insisting “the rich will feel no pain and the vulnerable will pay for their spoils”.
“The cuts will be deep, they will be lasting, and they will weaken an already-depressed economy,” Waters said during a House floor speech against the “Budget Control Act” or 2011 Debt Ceiling Deal.
After weeks of high stakes wrangling, President Obama and congressional leaders hammered out a deal to raise the government’s debt ceiling while cutting spending about $2.4 trillion, and avoid a government default but setting the stage for a new round of fierce debate.
House Democrats including members of the Congressional Black Caucus expressed outrage at the White House for how it handled the debt ceiling negotiations, claiming the administration caved to the GOP and left them in the dark.
“Our negotiators weren’t tough enough,” Rep. Waters said. “They didn’t do the work.”
Waters and other Progressives have been steaming for months after they were largely left out of the negotiations to extend the George W. Bushera tax cuts and craft policy on long term government funding.
Congressional Black Caucus chairman Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) railed against the deal accusing the administration of taking their support for granted, ignoring their policy concerns and bowing to the demands of Republicans without putting up much of a fight.
Cleaver told the online Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call that the deal was a “sugarcoated Satan sandwich.”
“What you see is antithetical to everything the religions of the world teach: take care of the poor, take care of the aged.”
Crafted largely by Obama and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the proposal locks in roughly $1 trillion in cuts over the next 10 years.
Congressional leaders would then appoint a bipartisan panel to identify roughly $2 trillion in additional deficit reduction over the same span. If it fails, then automatic cuts of the same level would kick in — including steep reductions in military and Medicare spending.
“What’s clear is that the Tea Party is so ideologically driven to kill government that they’re willing to kill the private sector, kill jobs, and kill growth in the process,” Waters told colleagues in the House.
Locals were relieved, empathic, and disappointed at a San Bernardino Starbucks. William and Peggy Denney like most Americans, seemed relieved that the wrangling over the debt limit is over. As for the deal itself …….
“We’re no fans,” said William. “I think the President sold out. It’s pretty clear who’s driving this train. They ain’t for the people out here looking for work.”
“On to the next government debacle,” added Eric, an off duty barista. “It’s an extraordinary display of brinksmanship, but at what cost,” said Eduardo Mitchell of Redlands. “I’m all for cutting spending but I don’t think people should be made to suffer as a result.”
Still there was a show of both sympathy and empathy for lawmakers who brokered the deal.
“I just pray that from these polarizing dark times our political leaders will see the price of power is responsibility for the public good,” said Louis Sykes, an educator and local youth leader.
“There’s plenty of blame to go around. But you have to give them credit for getting a hard job done,” said Shirley Weems.
President Obama said he had hoped for a more sweeping deal that didn’t delegate many cuts to a special committee.
“It’s nowhere near perfect, but it will begin to lift the cloud of debt and the cloud of uncertainty that hangs over our economy.”
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) told House Republicans, “This isn’t the greatest deal in the world…..but it shows how much we’ve changed the debate.”
Most Democrats and Republicans agree, the deal leaves many unanswered questions and sets in motion years of fiscal pain. It forces spending caps, but puts decisions on what social programs to cut in the hands of congressional committees.
