The poet William Stafford set himself the task of writing a poem a day. When someone asked him what he would do when his poem-of-the-day wasn't very good, he replied "I simply lower my standards." In order to increase output, the bar here is set at a low level - the point of this is to have some fun with current events and politics. I welcome contributions and comments. Now you can also follow Doggerelo on Twitter (@doggerelo). Because of continuing medical problems, I'm no longer able to post a poem-a-day. I'll continue to post poems, but at a reduced frequency, so please stay tuned.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Debt Ceiling Redux

Coming to a TV near you: a replay of the great debt ceiling debate.  Speaker of the House John Boehner has stated that when the national debt nears its legal limit next January, spending cuts will have to be made that are greater than the debt limit increase.  If you remember, that really worked out well last time.  House Republicans are even now trying to undermine the agreement they made during the last debt ceiling debate.  I suspect there will be no incentive for Republicans to compromise on any of their positions and so the nation will once again be held hostage by the far right wing-nuts in the House. 

The speaker’s primed to say once more
It’s rising debt that he must halt
He’ll hold us hostages encore
Perhaps he’ll lead us to default

This doesn’t seem to bother Boehner
He’s glad to take us to the brink.
There is no posture that’s insaner
You’ve got to wonder what they think.

The sticking point in these debates
Is that no taxes can be raised
That’s what the GOP relates
Is sacrosanct, the Lord be praised.  

No tax increases for the rich
They’re “job creators”, don’t you see
They’ll drive us all into the ditch -
Default would be catastrophe.

But Boehner and his right-wing friends
Are full of fight and we surmise
That, judging by the latest trends,
They’ll not consider compromise.

Why do things have to be this way?
Nothing ever seems to work.
And the reason it’s so bad today?
Republicans have gone berserk.
Posted by Doggerelo at Wednesday, May 16, 2012

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am sick and tired of being lectured to by Republicans over budget deficits. Over three quarters of the current deficit is the responsibility of a Republican President who did the following:

1. Initiate a war in Afghanistan without funding it.
2. Initiate a war in Iraq (for oil) without funding it - remember how Iraqi oil was going to help pay for rebuilding the country - that worked out well.
3. Initiate tax cuts, mainly for the rich, which we now know did nothing to stimulate the economy.*
4. Initiate Medicare drug changes without paying for it.


This is fair game for President Obama to reference, because they are re-occurring charges to be dealt with year after year.

All of this despite the fact that GWB was handed a budget surplus from his Democratic predecessor.

-Nessie

* This really gets under my fur because in addition to the tax cuts there is a wink and a nod to the wealthy that they will not be required to send their sons and daughters to fight in those wars, we will just keep sending the same 1% on multiple tours and then have them come back (that is, if they survive, or possibly minus a leg here on an arm there) and help pay for the deficit, that is if they can get a job.

May 16, 2012 at 12:02 PM
Doggerelo said...

Right on, Nessie. You're a damn good dog.

May 16, 2012 at 7:27 PM

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