Don't tax the gang on Wall Street....

Better rob the geezers, the sick, the working stiff and vets because they don't bribe the politicians. Of course, too many don't vote to stop it so I guess we deserve it.

Why Don’t the Deficit Hawks Want to Tax Wall Street? | Op-Eds & Columns

What is most remarkable in this picture is the complete failure of the media to identify Wall Street’s role in pushing this deficit reduction agenda. For example, Erskine Bowles, who was a co-chair of President Obama’s deficit commission, is never identified as a director of Morgan Stanley.

It is entirely possible that this role has no influence on Bowles’ views on the deficit, but it still seems that public should know about it. If a commission member were receiving $350,000 a year from the United Auto Workers or AFSCME, it is difficult to imagine that the media would not include this fact as part of the commissioner’s standard identification.

The media also see little reason to balance the Wall Street influence with people presenting an alternative perspective. For example, the Post ran a news article on the budget last week featuring the views of two people who headed Peter Peterson-funded organizations. These views were complimented by the views of an unnamed Republican staffer and a long-time corporate lobbyist. This was Fair and Balanced reporting at the Post.

In short, it is hard to understand why taxing financial speculation never appears on the agenda of the deficit hawks or gets mentioned in budget reporting, if the issue really is deficit reduction. On the other hand, if this is all about using an economic crisis to push a longstanding agenda to cut Social Security and Medicare, then everything suddenly makes sense.