"480 Minutes" - A GOP Myth Exploded
The last time the debt ceiling needed raising the so-called "deficit hawks" called it a crisis and tried to force the government to cut spending on social programs. That was then, when a Democrat was in the oval office. The Republican-created "crisis," in which they threatened to default on the nation's debt and destroy the world economy in the process, resulted in the the country's credit rating being downgraded and the economic recovery slowing.
Don't get me wrong, borrowing trillions with no long-term plan to repay it is no way to run a railroad, but the hypocrisy of the Republican Party here is beyond even Ted "Green Eggs And Ham" Cruz denying he had anything to do with the government shutdown he lead in 2013. Republicans claim to be all about fiscal responsibility when in fact, there have only been two presidents in the last 40 years who have lowered the deficit, and they happen to both be Democrats -- Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
Meanwhile the debt ceiling was raised again yesterday (seriously) and only CNN junkies and Rand Paul fanboys heard about it. Now it won't become an issue again until...wait for it...after the 2020 election!
Those Republicans who screamed "the sky is falling" over the deficit when Obama was President are right now being lead by none other than Ted Cruz to add trillions more to the the deficit by changing the way capital gains are taxed. Like the 2017 GOP Tax Scam enacted by those same "deficit hawks," this plan will add trillions to the deficit for the benefit of billionaires at the expense of everyone else.
The GOP myth is that they want to cut spending in the name of fiscal responsibility. The reality is they want to cut spending on social programs, the arts, healthcare, infrastructure...things which help the vast majority of U.S. citizens
How can we afford public option health insurance? Public education K-16? Clean water? Welfare? Mass transit? Safe roads and bridges? Environmental regulations? By taxing those who can afford it most. That is, doing the opposite of what the Republicans have done and are proposing.
In other news most of my NYC pinball friends are in Pittsburgh for the biggest tournament of the year, Pinburgh. I'm sad that I am not there competing, but the fact is this is a great time to be a pinball player in the city -- the pinball joints are all empty. No waiting for your favorite machine, or even your least favorite! It's like Boston in the summer when the college kids clear out!
Today's 480 Minutes show will feature new music by The Chats (Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia), Clairo (Boston, MA, @clairo), Dry Cleaning (London, England), High Sunn (San Francisco, CA, @HighSunn), Joy Again, (Philadelphia, PA, @joyagainonline), Lunch Lady (Los Angeles, CA, @lunchladymusic), minihorse (Detroit, MI, @minihorseband), Thee Oh Sees (Los Angeles, CA, @theeohsees), and Possible Humans (Melbourne, Australia, @possible_humans).
480 Minutes is live-hosted from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Eastern U.S. Time and is followed by 2 hours of uninterrupted music. The show is then rebroadcast in it's entirety beginning at 7 p.m., then again on Saturday at 5 a.m. and 3 p.m., and one final time on Sunday at 1 a.m., followed by a rebroadcast of this week's Fuzzy Road radio show at 11 a.m. and then a couple of old 480 Minutes episodes from this week in past years, making for hosted shows all weekend long.
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Videos
480 Minutes / Year 15 - Episode 27/658