Anyone else noticed the tectonic shift? David Leonhardt, writing in the increasingly interesting New York Times business section, goes straight to the heart of what passage of the health care reform bill has accomplished.
The bill that President Obama signed on Tuesday is the federal government’s biggest attack on economic inequality since inequality began rising more than three decades ago.Over most of that period, government policy and market forces have been moving in the same direction, both increasing inequality. ...This fact helps explain why Mr. Obama was willing to spend so much political capital on the issue, even though it did not appear to be his top priority as a presidential candidate.
At least one Republican has noticed.
The ways in which the bill attacks the inequality of the Reagan era — whether you love them or hate them — will probably be around for a long time.“Legislative majorities come and go,” David Frum, a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, lamented on Sunday. “This health care bill is forever.”
It doesn't end there. "Too big to fail" -- and other heavy burdens casually tossed by corporate America onto the shoulders of middle-class Americans -- are next on the list. Both parties in Congress seem unwilling to tackle the issue. Maureen Dowd thinks Obama will have to put on his Superman cape again soon.
He will also have to take the lead in improving the financial regulatory bills moving through Congress. Neither chamber’s version is adequate to fix the problems that led to the financial meltdown, and the banking lobby is working hard to render them even less effective.
The devil's spawn, through whom Reagan fights from beyond the grave, are polishing their brass knuckles.
With rare exceptions, the Republicans are not going to help. Anyone who thinks otherwise should consider what Senator John McCain of Arizona said on Monday: “There will be no cooperation for the rest of the year.”
As if!
