David Brooks, "The D.C. Dubstep": Is Suicide Painless?

Through early morning for I see
Visions of the things to be
The pains that are withheld for me
I realise that I can see

That suicide is painless
It brings so many changes
And I can take or leave them if I please

- Lyrics from "Suicide Is Painless," Theme from 1970 Black Comedy "MASH"

Is suicide painless? I suppose it depends upon how you go about it. The United States is preparing to commit economic suicide, and believe me, it is not going to be painless at all.

In his latest New York Times op-ed entitled "The D.C. Dubstep" (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/22/opinion/brooks-the-dc-dubstep.html?_r=0), David Brooks bemoans the inability of Democrats and Republicans to reach any agreement to forestall this imminent tragedy. Brooks writes of Obama and the Democrats:

"Democrats get to do the P.C. Shimmy. Traditional presidents go through a normal set of motions: They identify a problem. They come up with a proposal to address the problem. They try to convince the country that their proposal is the best approach.

Under the Permanent Campaign Shimmy, the president identifies a problem. Then he declines to come up with a proposal to address the problem. Then he comes up with a vague-but-politically-convenient concept that doesn’t address the problem (let’s raise taxes on the rich). Then he goes around the country blasting the opposition for not having as politically popular a concept. Then he returns to Washington and congratulates himself for being the only serious and substantive person in town."

Brooks holds the Republicans equally to blame:

"In this dance, the Republicans mount the stage and roar that they are about to courageously cut spending. In this anthem they carefully emphasize cuts to programs the country sympathizes with, such as special education, while sparing programs that actually created the debt problem, like Medicare.

Then, when they have worked themselves up into a frenzy of self-admiration, they sprint across the stage and leap into what they imagine is the loving arms of their adoring fans. When they are 4 feet off the ground, they realize the voters have left the building in disgust and they land with a thud on the floor."

US national debt has reached some $16.6 trillion. It will never be paid back. Federal budget deficits are not sustainable. The US is now in the fifth year of an economic downturn that is showing no sign of abating.

Sure things could have been done, such as reinstating the Uptick Rule (see: http://jgcaesarea.blogspot.co.il/search/label/Uptick%20Rule) to reignite growth, waging war against Medicare fraud, and ending America's inane ground involvement in Afghanistan. But none of this happened.

Blood vessels are occluded, the flow of blood to the brain is blocked, and the US federal government has begun to experience a series of mini-strokes. However, old habits have yet to change, and it's only a matter of time until the advent of paralysis.

It's not going to be rhythmic, soothing or pretty.