Finances are tottery

I'm still puzzled about the logic of Obama's unilateral pay freeze on mostly relatively low income federal government employees, while at the same debating whether we can extend unemployment benefits and setting the stage for an extension of the Bush tax cuts (and a massive windfall) for the super-rich.

Look, I am all for deficit reduction and fiscal responsibility. But where's the balance on all of this? If a pay freeze that impacts working-class Americans is necessary and wise, in the name of belt-tightening, where's the logic in giving a massive tax break to those who need it least? I mean, the non-electoral mumbo-jumbo logic. Really, if the pay-freeze makes sense, how

much sense does any extension of the Bush tax cuts make? Is any of this fiscally-responsible?

And how much sense does the pay freeze make with respect to economic growth? Let's put less money in the pockets of those most likely to spend it and then somehow expect retail spending to increase. It makes sense only if you believe that the economy is actually on the upswing, that the recession is far behind us, and that the only thing holding the economy back is the fiscal recklessness by the federal government. It makes sense if you think the U.S. has bad international credit and is in danger of turning into a Greek or Irish or Spanish economic collapse.

How much sense does it make when the economic rallying cry is "jobs, jobs jobs?" Where are those jobs going to come from when people have less money to spend?

(As an aside, I am also frustrated by the attempt to characterize the Administration's proposal as something that doesn't preserve tax cuts for all Americans. It does. Just because the wealthiest taxpayers would only be getting a break on the portion of their income up to $250,000 doesn't mean they are not getting a tax break. They are. The Republicans just filibustered a bill that gave a tax break to all Americans, in the hope that they can do better for the mega-rich, because if they can't give the rich more breaks - which will not be spent but rather banked for their kids, providing no economic stimulus whatsoever - then nobody should get anything.)