Bravo Bernie Sanders!

Senator Bernie Sanders is having his Network moment by speaking for hours against the tax deal and ,more importantly, how the United States got to such a position where the top 1% have 23% of the national income, which is more than the entire bottom 50%. The Washington Post had an interactive poll on whether Sanders is wasting everyone's time or making a valid point. 87% of those responding said he was making a valid point. And, probably, most heroic of this lonely gesture is that he really is filibustering in the classic sense and not idly threatening as the republicans do. Alas, Bernie, great speech--which polifact has fact checked and found "true"--but the Big Dog spoke this afternoon and called the tax plan a great deal. The cloture vote will happen at 3pm on Monday. Big Dog referred to Krauthammer's column as showing it was a bonus for Democrats. And they even trotted Mark Penn out on television. But it was Bernie who captured our hearts and minds.

I still think it's a great deal even though the Obama Administration has gotten a bit ham-fisted in their sales pitch. First, Larry Sumners threatened a second Depression if it didn 't go through. Then, one wheels out Bill Clinton, the father of triangulation.

Bloomberg News has commissioned a Nation Poll on the federal budget deficit, which Americans believe is "dangerously out of control". The poll was commissioned shortly after the release of the Catfood Commission's findings.The public wants Congress to keep its hands off Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. They oppose cuts in most other domestic programs and defense. They want to maintain subsidies for farmers and tax breaks like the mortgage-interest deduction. And they are also against raising the gas tax. The poll did see concern over the debt fall from 53 in October to 48% now.

Americans claim they want to balance the budget over the next 20 years. They opposed more than a dozen possible spending cuts and tax increases. The majority backs raising the cap on earnings covered by the tax on Social Security to over $108,000. Two-thirds would means test Social Security and Medicare benefits. Six out of 10 would end tax cuts for the highest-earning Americans. Seven out of 10 favor a tax on Wall Street profits.

Republicans are split on eliminating tax cuts for the wealthy--50% opposed, 47% supporting. On the end of a cap on earnings, the Repubicans are evenly split. Half of Republicans want to see both Medicare and Social Security preserved. Only 35% of all respondents back a system in which government vouchers would help people pay for their health insurance. 82% opposed benefit cuts to the Medicare health-insurance system.

72% of those earning $100,000 or more are opposed to any reduction in the Medicare Health program for the poor.

The Tea Baggers want to see a dramatic overhaul of social security--49%, compared to 41% of Republicans. Teabaggers want an overhaul of Medicare by 52% over 43% Rwepublicans.

On a new sales tax to eliminate the deficit, 46% are in favor and 49% are opposed.
53% favor a freeze on nondefense discretionary spending. But cuts in defense are opposed by 51% versus 45% in favor.

In other words, Americans are really concerned about the national debt but don't want to make any sacrifices to deal with it. It's clear from the poll that any efforts to cut the national debt will be despite popular opinion and not with its support. But it is nice to see Americans actually support the social welfare net.

The Pete Peterson Foundation held townhall meetings around the country and tried to persuade people to accept cuts to social security and Medicare. Interestingly, no one was buying this either. They opted for 10% cuts in defense. The Foundation didn't offer an alternatives higher than that. Otherwise, these townhall meetings would have gone for more defense cuts. The result was not to the liking of the organizers.

With the taxcut program, President Obama is moving ahead with his tax code overhaul. Appearing on NPR this afternoon was the man who was a major force in the last tax reform project twenty-five years ago--Bill Bradley. Bill Bradley talked about how and why the tax rates were lowered in the 1980s and spoke about how they have to be flattened again and the loopholes closed as they were then. He said that it was the closing of loopholes rather than raising tax rates that made the difference. he said that the current loopholes cost the government a trillion dollars a year. He pointed to the fact that this coming year will mirror the situation in 1986--one party controlling the Presidency and the Senate and another the House. That the time is perfect to start the process, which Dollar Bill said will take a long time. He said no one believed it could have been done last time but he talked about the bipartisan nature of the give and take necessary.