Late Sunday night a deal was reached over the debt ceiling debacle. For at least the last month there was a big build up over this issue, with the possibility of a default by the government. That has been averted. But is this progress?
Details are scant for the time being, but early reports are indicating that reductions in funding for vital social programs- Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are in the works. From what has come across the news wires in the last eleven hours there is no indication that tax revenue will be raised via increases on the wealthy. As it stands, those who have less are the only ones sacrificing.
Is this the sort of compromise that is needed? President Obama has brokered a deal, but every deal ain’t a bargain. In exchange for supposedly shrewd maneuvering, millions of people are now faced with an increasingly pauperized existence. Some will feel these effects sooner than others.
The debt “crisis” is over, but for an increasing amount of people, the downward spiral is only beginning.
-Marc W. Polite