Politico: House Republicans plan massive cuts to programs for the poor

[JA]

Such a proposal could pass the more conservative House, but it is DOA in the Senate. They are struggling to find moderate Republicans willing to sign off on their healthcare bill; now they want them to cut taxes for the rich and corporations, grow the military budget, and slash funding to programs for the poor? Republican Senators from states that are even remotely Senate swing states will never sign their name on that legislation if they value their careers, especially if they are up for reelection in 2018.

[JA]

Such a proposal could pass the more conservative House, but it is DOA in the Senate. They are struggling to find moderate Republicans willing to sign off on their healthcare bill; now they want them to cut taxes for the rich and corporations, grow the military budget, and slash funding to programs for the poor? Republican Senators from states that are even remotely Senate swing states will never sign their name on that legislation if they value their careers, especially if they are up for reelection in 2018.

Could you see less substantial cuts, but cuts nonetheless, passing? The trend so far does seem to be that the House passes something disgusting, the Senate basically throws it out the window and then in the end, Republicans get little of what they originally wanted, if anything. Now that tax cuts for the wealthy are on the table, I'm wondering if they can find a way to cut something, even if it doesn't meet their original goal.

Personally, I think that they will try and cut stuff, probably will fail and despite initial efforts and past whining about the debt/deficit when Obama was in office, they will pass large tax-but-temporary tax cuts funded by deficit spending anyway.

I imagine the end result will be a symbolic victory more than anything. For example, remember Trump's proposed budget that had all those cuts to programs, such as the arts, that Republicans have pursued for years, yet they amounted to practically a tiny drop in the bucket? That seems the Republicans' best case scenario at this point. The end result will be, inevitably, a failure to do anything substantive about the ballooning debt, massive tax cuts, symbolic cuts to the government budget, increased defense spending, and further kicking the can down the road so they can scream at the next Democratic administration "but the deficit!"

[JA]

mass murder disguised as ~fiscal responsibility~ part 16,789,516

Can you please explain how this is murder? Does this mean the government was guilty of mass murder before 1965? Do you really think that it is murder when government ceases to be a charity? Do you not understand that there are other ways of doing thing besides government?

This is like accusing people of wanting famine if they want the government to let private farmers grow grain.

This is NOT a choice of private charities and individuals OR government support. It hasn't been for close to a century. More to the point, if you have ever spoken to a food pantry or other private/church charity organization they will tell you they desperately can't carry more of the burden and want government to help with the many many people they don't have resources to assist. Many of them in fact rely on government grants and other funding for their support, and thus will likewise get dinged hard by these cuts.

Oh, and don't delude yourself into the fantasy upper income tax cuts will somehow create more charitable giving. Every study ever done of the Reagan tax cuts shows charitable giving remained essentially flat. Furthermore, the rich give a disproportionatly small share of their income to charity compared to the poor and middle class (much of a "there but for the grace of God go I" syndrome). To top it off, the Rich's charitable giving tends to concentrate in areas the build prestige among their peers, such as art, the theatre, etc.. Thatch fine and important, but services for the poor, hungry, homeless, etc. tend to get short shrift.

And yes, malnourishment kills, even in 2017 America.

*Applauds*