The Whole Mess

in less than fifteen minutes. A brilliant segment from Rachel Maddow on the tax "compromise" (a/k/a "throw your hand down before the game starts"), featuring Bernie Sanders' marathon speech in the Senate (with graphs and charts) and commentary by Jan Schakowsky, who really comes out swinging (in the nicest possible way).



This brings it home: the Republicans are running a scam, and we're the ones who are paying for it. There's not a lot to add to Maddow's commentary, and there's even less to add to Schakowsky's. The Republicans are offering bullshit, and president is lapping it up, and it's up to us to stop it.

If you want a good take on how pernicious this deal is, think about the payroll tax holiday. Sounds good, right? Except FICA is the funding for Social Security. It's a Wall Street wet dream.

"They have to look everywhere for ways to stimulate the economy," said Nancy Altman, co-director of Social Security Works and author of The Battle for Social Security. "Republicans suggested this, they went for it."

Dean Baker, progressive economist and co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, agreed.

"I think that's speculation, I don’t believe the administration planned in advance for this situation," he said. "It simply wasn’t a priority for them. First and foremost, [it was to] get a deal with the Republicans. They weren't really thinking down the line."

Barbara B. Kennelly, President of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said the payroll tax holiday was "a longstanding Republican idea. I have no idea why they went for it. They wanted to give some stimulus to the economy."

Of course the Republicans suggested it -- the Republicans have been trying to gut Social Security since it was created. It's the one big government program that works, it's keeping seniors out of poverty (now that the bankers have eaten their retirement savings), and the Republicans want to "fix" it -- like you have your cat fixed.

Meanwhile, the EU is getting its act together and clamping down on the bankers who caused the mess.

Bankers were yesterday told there will be no backing down from an EU demand that they should be paid no more than 20 per cent of their bonuses up front in cash, as experts said Europe's pay rules would be the "toughest in the world".

The Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) has resisted an intense lobbying effort by UK officials and the banking industry
, which pleaded for the rules to be watered down and phased in only gradually.

Applying from 1 January, the requirements finalised yesterday will cover this year's forthcoming bonus round. Many bankers in Britain are top-rate taxpayers, so any cash component of their bonuses is hit by a hefty 50 per cent tax take.

Just remember: It can't happen here, because the bankers own the government. Or at least, what's not owned by other major industries.