Voyou wrote:
> Laurence O'Donnell on MSNBC has been putting forward a theory about
> Obama's plans here, which is premised on the idea that Obama thinks the
> Republicans are so opposed to him, they'll reject anything he offers, so
> he can make himself look "reasonable" and "bipartisan" by conceding
> anything at all, without having to actually go through with it.
I think this is exactly right. I think you have to accept that or accept that he really does want to cut MC and SS. Or actually you can accept both: he can make that offer because he wins either way.
^^^^ CB: I don't yet have a full theory of what is going on, but partial true statements might be as follows:
1. A default would slaughter both major economic classes. Finance capital ( which is a merger of finance capital proper and big industrial capital; Ford, GE are part of finance capital) would suffer a double dip financial crisis, which are real crisis for monopoly capital. Finance capital would dump the second dip on the working class of the whole world as it is doing now with the first financial dip in the form of the forced austerity most prominently in Greece, Spain, Ireland, Britain, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Cairo, et al
2. So, the Tea Partiers in the House ,who reportedly are taking an absolute non-compromise position the there must be enough cuts in social programs with no raising taxes on the rich to "balance", are sort of rogue in relation to finance capital. The ruling class leaders don't want a default.
3. Eventually, the House will have to raise the debt ceiling and avoid default, because their ultimate bosses don't want a default.
4. Obama probably knows all the above, including 3. But he knows the TP'ers, will not cave until having done their thing as now. So, putting the whole thing in the media as he has done is a minor political education thingy cause most Americans don't want to think that hard about politics, but they are being force fed this now. It's the only avenue open to try to explode the Tea Party's warmed over Reaganomics, Laffer Curve , nonsense. Hopefully it will somehow stick in case there is any future Republican President who runs up the debt ( as Reagan, Bush and Bush did despite the fake Republican reputation for concern about the debt ) in contradiction to the current Republican demagogic concern about the debt.