“A big part of the problem stems from the news industry itself,” said a photo-journalist who recently visited my bookshop. “What we’re seeing stems from trends that’ve been unfolding for decades. Media companies consolidate and cut large portions of their staff. Reporters who remain are told to focus on click-bait.”
The visitor and her husband recently moved to Portland, Oregon from Long Island, New York. The change of location corresponded with a social transition.
“In New York I couldn’t count the times I was cut off or honked at on the highway,” she said, “just because I was one of the only people where I lived who drove a Prius. Here I just go with the flow.”
Her words reminded me of something I’ve said about rude summertime motorists in Cannon Beach. I’ve compared them to New Yorkers, which is stupid because I really haven’t spent much time in that state, and after all New York includes folks of every persuasion.
People as distinct in their civic temperaments as Donald Trump and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, for example. These individuals represent two ends of the political spectrum – one a symbol of old money and white male prowess, one a rising millennial superstar for social justice and cultural diversity.
Recently these two squared off over a bill that gave more spending money to Trump for his border program. AOC and other progressives wanted to restrict taxpayer dollars for humanitarian aid. Trump wanted no spending restrictions. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell carried that water for Trump, even increasing the allocation. Democrat Chuck Schumer joined with McConnell, endorsing Trump’s more costly bill without humanitarian restrictions. In doing so he removed any leverage House Democrats might have used to negotiate tighter spending.
One week later, Schumer visited Trump’s border detention facilities for the first time and publicly decried the inhumane conditions. No mainstream media outlets mentioned the irony of Schumer’s criticism after he pushed Democrats to give Trump more border money without humanitarian restrictions. Reporters were too busy covering Trump’s racially-provocative attacks against AOC and other congresswomen of color who spoke up against the unrestricted spending. Click bait can serve as cover for big money schemes.
And now the establishment marches on behind a White House executive who, unlike the last one, has the right political complexion to avoid budgetary obstruction from Republicans. After Schumer’s hollow criticism of Trump’s border program, the executive teasingly tweeted they should meet asap. The next day Trump announced a $1.37 trillion budget deal with Schumer and Pelosi which raises spending limits by $320 billion and agrees to ignore the debt ceiling for two years.
The deal does not sit well with people who are keeping their eyes on the budgetary ball.
“This agreement is a total abdication of fiscal responsibility by Congress and the president,” said Maya MacGuineas, president of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. “It may end up being the worst budget agreement in our nation’s history, proposed at a time when our fiscal conditions are already precarious.”
A few right-wingers are wringing their hands too in the wake of Trump’s tweet proclaiming his deal.
“We used to at least have fiscal conservatives; there are no more fiscal conservatives, maybe a handful,” said talk-radio commentator Mark Levin. “But the Republican Party today does not stand for fiscal responsibility. Therefore nobody does. What a bunch of punks we’ve become, this generation. You know, we like to talk about Millennials. … We’re doing this. And the generation before us did this.”
Missing from Levin’s assessment is any mention of America’s best-known Millennial Democrat — that other New Yorker I mentioned earlier, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“Notice how whenever we pursue large spending increases + tax cuts for corporations, contractors & the connected, it’s treated as business as usual,” said AOC. “But the moment we consider investing similar [money] in working class people (ex tuition-free college) they cry out it’s ‘unrealistic.’ ”
The political landscape will shift if progressives challenge this budget deal and use the opportunity to advance fiscal responsibility. Taxpayers win when humanitarian aims are coupled with cuts in corrupt spending, adherence to balanced budgets, and aversion to the debt industry.
A left-right coalition of grassroots civic activists could counter the top-down establishment that rules Washington by way of the White House and Congressional leadership. Now the reins are in the hands of Trump and his four fiscal enablers – Mitch McConnell, Chuck Shumer, Nancy Pelosi, and Kevin McCarthy (House minority leader). Perhaps if taxpayers start calling them the White Squad, we’ll get some attention from click-baiters in the media.
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